as always

The very purpose of 'mercan capitalism.

sociopaths are easy to take down. All you have to do is antagonize them and their inherent instability will rise to the surface. Then It is only a matter of laying a trap.

Psychopaths on the other hand, especially the highly intelligent ones are much more dangerous due to their hyper rational behavior and goal oriented thought. When a psychopath is given authority over any hierarchical structure, they lose the ability to distinguish between themselves and the institution over which they rule.

@Happy_Killbot ,
from what i've read & understand, there's a fine line between sociopaths & psychopaths.

@callmedubious Sort of. Both have to do with damage to the pre frontal cortex, but the key difference is that psychopaths are born with that area malformed, and sociopaths never develop that region usually due to a lack of stimulus in the early years of the child's life.

Both exhibit severe anti-social behaviors such as difficulty in comprehending things from another's perspective and poor impulse control.

A sociopath is the guy who gets in bar fights all the time for no reason, who doesn't understand why fighting is shunned.
The psychopath is the guy who roofies girls drinks and doesn't understand why someone wouldn't do that.

@Happy_Killbot ,
a BC psychologist published a book, about 10yrs ago, titled "Snakes in Suits". he was quite popular for a few yrs & lectured in many cities. it was a very depressing read b/c he showed that a high % of CEOs tick all the boxes for psychopaths.
so,essentially, psychos run the world (corporatocracy) which means that we plebes are pretty well fcked.

@Allamanda Every component in the modern smart phone of today was originally developed for military purpose. The microchip was created for guided missiles, the camera was created for spy satellites, the internet was created to allow spies to transmit information quickly and securely.

Mediocrity is the true enemy of any civilization. If you aren't progressing, you are getting more average.

@Allamanda I have yet to hear any sound arguments that progress is a bad thing

Throughout human history, societal progress and technological innovation have been dictated by people with respective influence. An even greater minority of heretics have risen and fallen making changes to try and break this cycle but yes, these whims of those in power do serve in tandem with the stagnant instinct of basic human survival.
Honestly, in the name of progress, both extremes of are nothing but vile when you throw blind and unearned entitlement into the mix. History is written by the victor who's imposing perspective reigns.
Capacity for record keeping aside, this serves more so an argument that we're not much different from warring troops of chimps in the wild. Again, I call this vile. A versatile moral code must exist to make us any more than we what we are now. However, sociological competition is key as well but the incentive for personal development must be more time centered in regards to reinforcement.

Ever seen a society that did not produce goods and services?

@THHA yes haland all they produce is damage to the hippocampus of the brain by smoking marijuana all the time which is known to destroy the hippocampus of the brain which pretty much destroys ambition not to mention giving you the munchies and obesity

@THHA Pirates ? Vikings ? Mongols ? Religions ?

@Allamanda @THHA

The only difference I see in production and trade in modern times is that of scale. Rising populations along with technological advances have enhanced productivity and trading, enabling a world market. The greater efficiency afforded by economy of scale has brought immense wealth and well-being around the globe.

Compare life today with life just 100 years ago. My father was farming with mules. They had no electricity, refrigeration, running water, indoor toilets, etc. Epidemics of deadly diseases were rampant. Our improved lifestyles of today were not granted us by government—we have grown wealthy through individual efforts in a free market.

Despite this dazzling success there are those who, hearing of wealthy traders, react with envy. By labeling commerce as “capitalism”, they create a symbol for their hatred, but that hatred is based on false thinking.

1. The portfolios of wealthy people do not cause poverty to other people. It’s just the opposite.

2. Money is not wealth. Money is an accounting system. Wealth has to be produced.

3. Corporations, companies, partnerships, cooperatives, associations, they all amount to the same thing: People joining forces to accomplish tasks too large for individuals.

4. Commerce is too important to be handed over to government bureaucrats. There is a role for government in justice, regulation, and defense, but whenever the free market has been stifled through government action the result has been chaos and poverty. There are plenty of examples.

@Allamanda You seem to be saying that bankers and investors contribute nothing to society. I think that both activities are very important to society. Even stock market speculation serves an important role.

There are a lot of occupations where there is no direct production but where the activities benefit society in a supporting role.

I in no way support illegal activities involving coercion, blackmail, etc. That is a different issue. That is the opposite of a free market.

@WilliamFleming ,
wall st has been manipulating the fin mkts forever. there is no such thing as free enterprise. the 1% are rich b/c of the huge national debt which works in their favor.

@callmedubious That huge national debt amounts to nothing but a free gift of taxpayer money to the bond holders. But it isn’t Wall Street causing that debt. Blame politicians who refuse to change their wasteful habits.

The 1% can keep their money for all I care. Life goes on. Products are created and traded—we have what we need. Money is not wealth. Some people’s having money does not cause other people to be poor.

@WilliamFleming ,
think of sharing a pie at a family gathering. the pie is GDP (gross domestic product). if there are 8 of you there & i greedy bastard takes a huge slice comprising 6 slices how much is left for the rest? essentially, that's what's going on right now.

@callmedubious But that’s not the way it is. Money is not wealth.

Think of all the food produced in the world as being on a large table. The person with ten billion dollars eats no more than a person with ten dollars.

@WilliamFleming ,
your circuitous reasoning escapes me.
there are ppl going to bed hungry every day around the world regardless of how much the billionaires do or do not eat.

@callmedubious True enough, but they don’t go to bed hungry because of what billionaires eat any more than because of what you and I eat. There could be various causes for hunger. Local weather conditions might cause famine. Too many people in a region and not enough food production could be a cause. Families could have fallen on hard times through some misfortune or other. In none of those cases are people hungry because rich people have money.

You might think that by taking away money from rich people you could buy food for poor people and thereby eliminate hunger. Short-term such a plan might provide emergency relief, but you would be taking away food from other people. For a permanent solution more crops need to be planted. Irrigation systems installed, etc. Where there are too many people for the available food the demographic must somehow change. Industries might be developed so that manufactured products could be traded for food.

Such changes require capital investment, entrepreneurship and a lot of individual hard work by the people involved. Sitting idle in envy of the rich gets us nowhere. Wealth has to be created.

@WilliamFleming ,
OK, think of it this way. right now there is this huge national debt + state debt + individual debt.
the state of illinois is very close to not being able to pay their retired employees the pensions that they're expecting.
the Feds can crank up the printing press to churn out more $$$ but states & individuals can't. so illinois keeps raising property taxes to pay these pensions which causes ppl to move to other states. other rust belt states such as ohio are just as bad. and then there's CA.
if you think that debt doesn't matter & it doesn't matter if the top 1 % of income earners now have higher incomes that the bottom 80% then either you don't understand rudimentary economics or you are severely deluded.

@callmedubious You are talking about government malfeasance and I am telling you what it takes to produce real wealth. We are getting nowhere.

Goodnight.