strypey

strypey, 45 minutes ago

@shoq
I'm not sure if you noticed, but you didn't actually put forward a falsifiable argument. You just reworded the same tired There Is No Alternative rhetoric we've been hearing since Reagan and Thatcher. Which is exactly what I was rolling my eyes at Rosenberg for.

(1/2)

strypey, 45 minutes ago

The claims that need to be backed up are that;

1. there is an "American-led, rules-based order"

2. this is a good thing for the people of the US

3. ... and the people of the rest of the world

4. "democratic capitalism" is not a contradiction-in-terms

5. "democratic capitalism" is a "system for human advancement"

6. it's the best one

None of this is self-evident.

(2/2)

@shoq

strypey, 37 minutes ago

@shoq
> How exactly do we “horizontally scale economic systems,” whatever that means

Vertical scaling is what capitalism (and cancer) does. It's how the net ended up like 5 giant websites full of screenshots of the other 4. Horizontal scaling is what decentralised networks (and healthy organisms) do; adding more elements that interrelate, rather than continually adding more servers to one service.

strypey, 33 minutes ago

@shoq
> How exactly do we “horizontally scale economic systems,” whatever that means, and nurture and then wield the political power that would be required to do it?

The separation of political power from economic power is an illusion. All political power is also economic and vice-versa, and always has been. What political power would states have if they couldn't tax and regulate economic activity? How would corporations grow like cancer without political power to limit tax and regulation?

strypey, 32 minutes ago

@mcc
> Turns to you slowly, looks you directly in the eye before replying in a monotone

How very Lynchian ; )

@Aedius

strypey, 43 minutes ago

@jackyan
> Prefer telly at that hour

Specifically via broadcast or just a news show with a video component?

strypey, 7 minutes ago

@jennifilm
> This week they implemented basic following of other ghost publications

Do you know if this work will allow Ghost blogs to be followed from the fediverse?

strypey, 9 minutes ago

@fgraver
> together, Canada, USA, Mexico... — ie. North America — are more than twice the the size of China and... bigger than the largest country in the world, Russia

OK, but Russia also seems to offer better rail services than North America;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_Russia

... as does India;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_India

... although neither is as advanced as China. If you look at rail across China, India and Russia as a whole, that's much bigger than North America.

@AccordionBruce @Br3nda @tbaldauf

strypey, 9 minutes ago

@fgraver
> Should there be better rail offerings in North America? Of course there should. But the problems posed by sheer size are non-trivial

Granted, but I raised China as an example of how size is not a barrier to a functioning passenger rail system if the political-economic decision-makers prioritise it. I doubt we disagree that people in North America suffer from generations of over-investment in roads and cars, and underinvestment in passenger rail.

@AccordionBruce @Br3nda @tbaldauf

strypey, 3 minutes ago

@AccordionBruce
> Those big open spaces make trains hard to fund with the US’s archaic government

This is my point. It's a political-economic problem. As the examples of China, Russia, India and even SEA demonstrate, the logistical and technological obstacles can be overcome, even with far less wealth (per capital or per acre) than the US or Canada has at their disposal.

@fgraver @Br3nda @tbaldauf