this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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And I don't mean things you previously had no strong opinion about.

What is a belief you used to hold that you no longer do, and what/who made you change your mind about it?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Democracy and collaboration in general. I love the idea of working together with people for the greater good and the idea that if we just all have a say in things, that will make things better over time, but it feels like the last few decades have shot down both these notions. We've got our own democratic system here in the US that's getting attacked by foreign actors who are jamming up the system with misinformation, noise, and propaganda. We've got Congress members who appear to be on the take from foreign governments and don't seem to have any sort of agenda apart from gumming up the works and bringing government to a halt. I don't think a dictatorship or fascism is the solution, but holy crap do we need to sweep away the people who are obviously working in bad faith to undermine our democracy. Even just relying on people to vote in their own best interests or the best interests of the country in general is really not a reliable way to get rid of bad actors in the system.

With regards to collaboration (in business or personal settings), I've rarely seen anything come from it. In school, "collaboration" meant working on group projects where 99% of the group did nothing and 1 or 2 people drove the project forward. Much the same happens in business work groups. Trying to get friends or random strangers on the internet to collaborate on writing or gaming projects has just been an exercise in futility for years, as it usually ends up being 1 or 2 people driving things forward, and no real commitment or output from anybody else (people flake out regularly). I just stopped trying to work with other people on anything unless somebody else pulls me into something and shows some amount of progress on their end, otherwise I just feel frustrated when it seems like I'm the only one even trying to do anything. Any of my "biggest achievements" in life have been things I worked on on my own or was the primary driver behind it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Capitalism and markets
Anticapitalist views became compelling to me from the analogy between the state's governance and the governance of the firm. The contrast between the (officially) democratic nature of the state and the complete autocracy of private companies worried me. I was initially a market abolitionist when I become an anti-capitalist, but I found no sound explanation for how such an economy would work.

Now I am a pro-market anti-capitalist, an unusual position on the left

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

That makes plenty of sense. Capitalism with multiple small companies competing in the market to produce consumer friendly goods and services is something that can really work if it's well-regulated. Publically traded companies should also be legally relieved of the fiduciary duty to provide constantly growing stock value for shareholders.The government needs to keep tight controls on bribery in any form and harsh punishments given to anyone who tries to commit the kind of white collar crimes you see everywhere (e.g. wage theft, intentional environmental damage, market manipulation, etc.).

No amount of top-down planning from a centralized government could produce the same results as a free market. That said, some things just simply need to be socialized like medicine or energy to prevent financial hardship for the average citizen.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The living dead.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I used to consider myself a Libertarian 20 years ago. Living in a capitalist hellscape had changed my mind.

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