Quote from: RE on Jun 02, 2025, 12:34 PM

Quote from: TDoS on Jun 02, 2025, 11:57 AM$5-$10M might be a reasonable number I can agree with...but that certainly doesn't get you to the private jet / oligarch level, or master of the universe - shaping the direction of society level.

No, but it is enough to influence City Councilmen to rezone a neighborhood to accomodate your real estate deal or to provide more police patrols around your bizness.

So is someone gathering up 100's of their McDonalds working friends and beginning protests outside of city offices, electing the councilmen in the first place (more poor people who can vote than rich ones...power of the people!) and all the usual grassroots movement stuff. Seemed to work ok for the civil rights movement.

But that runs smack into apathy, the drudgery of getting things done in a democracy, and all that crappy stuff that takes time and looks way too much like work.

Quote from: REWe're not all created equal.  That's a myth.
RE

Tell it to the Declaration of Independence. Someone sure thought good thoughts about the equalness of man once.

Kidding aside, you are correct. K-Dog however seems to be irritated by the idea that this natural and completely normal range of capabilities might be accompanied with the expected unequal results.

We can't forget "Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen".

The basic counter to which is...."yeah...but what if I sand bag on my ability as a 6'4" monster of a person capable of hoisting sacks of flour all day long unlike my midget like friends and I WANT TO BE LAZY INSTEAD".

This person figures out that while their ability at hoisting weight is substantial.....I really don't want to.....so I fuck off and occasionally hoist a flour bag and guess what? I get the same state supplied apartment as the schmuck who DOES load the flour as an honest worker. 

Stalin and Mao both had a tough time with this game. Probably because it ignores basic humans being assholes if not properly motivated. Capitalism seems to do that with money and living conditions. Socialism seems to do better with a better leveling of the playing field, stopping the top of the pile from collecting any more oligarchs than necessary, and coddling the lazy shits at the bottom so at least they aren't starving. But then they get buried by rapaciouis capatalists in their race to glory and riches for those who can get to the top of the pile. And maybe dragging the "some animals are more equal than others" along with them.