this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

You're taking a vulgar empiricist approach and denying the ongoing material processes and trends that point to decay in imperialist countries and the rise of socialist countries. If you only trust what you can directly see with your own eyes, then you deny evolution, geographical shifts, and other phenomena that require observation over an extended period. Again, you're also choosing to ignore imperialism, that's like saying capitalism works great because capitalists live great while ignoring the necessity of worker exploitation.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I'm sure your theory and methodology is fine. I just don't trust much in that sort of speculation tbh.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Are you denying evolution, geographical shifts, and the process of imperialism, or are just taking an agnostic stance while doubling down on ineffective methodology?

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -2 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

Like said, I'm sure it's a good theory and all. I'm just cautious about trusting that sort of predictions. They don't always pan out quite as predicted.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

The fact that some predictions are wrong doesn't mean we can't analyze trends and trajectories, nor does it mean taking the opposite approach and focusing on static snapshots is better. Again, vulgar empricism denies evolution, geographic shifts, and imperialism. Are you denying evolution, geographical shifts, and the process of imperialism, or are just taking an agnostic stance while doubling down on ineffective methodology?

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 0 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I didn't say you weren't allowed to do your predictions. I'm sure they're good predictions. I just don't put much faith in them.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Are you allergic to giving a clear answer? Being extremely vague about your claims and refusing to address points I've made isn't helping your case here.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

You said according theories you believe in that socialist countries will be best of the best and so on. I'm not concerned about the future and don't really trust these sort of predictions, so what else can even say really. I wanted to be nice and agree that yeah maybe at some point.

I'm just not very interested in speculation, that's all

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I said that socialist countries are better at providing for the working class now. This statement requires isolating variables and taking differences into account when making a comparison, not looking at static and arbitrary comparisons. Further, the decay in imperialist countries and the rise of socialist countries are already ongoing, not processes for the future. You've been explained this before and haven't responded to it, or justified why your arbitrary comparison is better than comparing peer countries and trajectories.

Same goes with not giving a clear answer on geographical shifts, evolution, and imperialism. Your static snapshot method is wrong.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -2 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I mean the best countries are still capitalist. So eh, once a socialist vountry take that top spot your argument will be stronger. But we're not there yet.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

"Best" in what way? A tiny number of countries that fund their safety nets through plundering the global south doesn't mean capitalism is good at safety nets, it means capitalism forces plunder. You never engage with this point and it sounds like you're pro-imperialism.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -1 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Best in the way we've talked about the whole time... Least amount of people living paycheck to paycheck and since social safety nets count, the ones with best of those too. Nordics are top at that.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

And it makes no difference to you if these safety nets are eroding, and depend entirely on depriving people in the global south of their own wealth and safety nets? By your logic billionaires have the best safety nets, so being a billionaire is the best system.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -2 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

I think you know how I feel about speculation about the future. And being a billionaire would be a great system, though they seem to exist in both system we talked about, since there's billionaires in socialist countries and capitalist ones.

Maybe your theory about billionaires being the ultimate winner is on to something.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Billionaires cannot exist without the workers they plunder from, just like imperialist countries cannot exist without the countries they plunder from. Trying to isolate a subsection of the economy and erase those doing the work to prop it up is your error. The workers in the global south that prop up the Nordic systems are contained within that system, and as a consequence the actual working class is below China in terms of safety nets. China doesn't rely on this system, and as such is ahead.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I mean there's loads of billionaires in China.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Sure, but China is a socialist country that orients production towards common prosperity, and the billionaires aren't in control of the state. The billionaires in the Nordics exist at the expense of the global south, the billionaires in China exploit Chinese people. The major difference is that China takes care of their working classes, while the Nordics take care of their internal working class while forcing austerity on their external working class. Comparing the bottom in both systems, China surpasses the Nordics by a long shot.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -1 points 16 hours ago (3 children)

I mean, this doesn't seem as much based on numbers than "well China has socialist rhetoric so less social safety nets is actually more so I win". I think better to just stick to the numbers tbh

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Replying here because we reached the max comment depth.

If you cut the Nordics off of their imperialism, they would not be able to have these same safety nets. The people doing the bulk of the labor for the Nordic safety nets do not get access to them. China does run its safety nets from its own labor. You're taking a selectively blind approach that apologizes for imperialism.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -2 points 15 hours ago

I think the max comment limit was the hint that it might be time to stop hah. If you do this or that, eh. But situation is what it is right now and it was countries that we compared.

I don't think there's anything that interesting coming out of this tbh

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

It's not about "rhetoric," but the system itself. China has more social safety nets for those it depends on than the Nordics do. The Nordics just withold the safety nets for those inside the imperial core while depending on austerity abroad, while China is internally driven. Again, you're trying to remove those that the system depends on from consideration, equivalent to saying "being a billionaire is the best system." The Nordics are not a self-sufficient, closed loop, but instead part of the imperial core.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -2 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

I mean yeah of course we are talking about people in the country that are actually eligible for the welfare and such.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

You erased imperialism, continuity, motion, and history, in favor of steering the conversation towards imperialist countries somehow being a better system for enjoying their plunder.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip -1 points 14 hours ago

I guess the hint to stop was a bit too subtle...