2 minutes ago, swissie said:

Statistics. By whom? Especially in the US, most will never make it in any "statistics".

If you have more accurate figures, please share them.

On 6/3/2026 at 5:14 PM, swissie said:

In recent history, the French revolution and the "introduction" of communism is being considered as the major "sociological events".

As the French revolution left it's marks, communism failed.

Many theories. Russian focus on military hardware, neglecting "consumer needs". Logistic problems. One town had an oversupply of shoes, an other (100KM's away) had no shoes for sale, as an example, etc etc etc............ Production and logistic problems. Next to an emerging "Party Aristocracy". Rivalling French Kings.

With the help of AI, could those production/logistic problems be resolved? Heaven forbid, giving communism a second chance? AI making communist party leaders unnececcary?

Giving thaught, that there are a few individuals having billions, whyle about 2 billions of people live on less than 2 Dollars a day.

Has there possibly gone something wrong?

Wouldn't say it's dead. We're currently seeing a communist takeover of the West.

10 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

If you have more accurate figures, please share them.

Every "governement statistic", no matter where, is "downplaying" the matter. For obvious reasons. U Tube probably coming closer. Applying some "filters".

In a declining American/European economical shpare, the only "growth industry" is the increase of people falling into "poverty". Inspite of going to work every day.

PS: As far as I know, Americans having lost their homes and now living in their cars are not considered "homeless". Correct me if I am wrong.

1 minute ago, swissie said:

Every "governement statistic", no matter where, is "downplaying" the matter. For obvious reasons. U Tube probably coming closer. Applying some "filters".

In a declining American/European economical shpare, the only "growth industry" is the increase of people falling into "poverty". Inspite of going to work every day.

PS: As far as I know, Americans having lost their homes and now living in their cars are not considered "homeless". Correct me if I am wrong.

You claim that YouTube statistics are more accurate than government statistics. This is a strange assertion.

5 minutes ago, swissie said:

Every "governement statistic", no matter where, is "downplaying" the matter. For obvious reasons. U Tube probably coming closer. Applying some "filters".

In a declining American/European economical shpare, the only "growth industry" is the increase of people falling into "poverty". Inspite of going to work every day.

PS: As far as I know, Americans having lost their homes and now living in their cars are not considered "homeless". Correct me if I am wrong.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/11302?utm_source=chatgpt.com

33 minutes ago, swissie said:

Most Americans want to become millionaires. It's the gospel. But, compared to the population, relatively few make it. Most remain "middle class" all their lives. Keeping up with mortgage payements and hoping not to lose their jobs, once past 45 years old.

Most Americans have good jobs, are successful and live comfortably and for the most part content with becoming more successful as the years progress.

36 minutes ago, swissie said:

The millions of US citizens living on the street or in tents (if privileged), you consider as people that simply diden't understand the opportunities that capitalism offers. In other words: "If you live in a tent, it's your damm own fault as you have not understood the capitalist system".

By far for the most part the folks living on the streets chosen their own path, ex-convicts, criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics and etc, all of which is their own demise of self imposed mental illness. This is the consequence of passing up the opportunity of capitalism, the opportunity that many folks from other nations came to the US with little and worked hard and exploited the opportunity of capitalism to become successful while some of the US’s own citizens passed up on the opportunity.

48 minutes ago, swissie said:

Fine. Understood. Let's keep going. Past history shows, that we have always found a way to dispose of "useless people".

This is a great example of the pessimism of those with little ambition and put the blame on others and want someone else to be accountable and pull the weight of the inaction of others. How about self ownership and self accountability, if everyone projected themselves as such from the moment of self awareness, then wouldn’t there be less problems and more success in the world? Are you even capable of honestly answering this question to yourself?

Edited June 5Jun 5 by novacova

38 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/11302?utm_source=chatgpt.com

I am absuutely shure that homeless people are quite aware of all this. Consultig their lawyer on a weekly basis. Still remaining in their tents.

On 6/3/2026 at 12:14 PM, swissie said:

Has there possibly gone something wrong

By its very nature, it cannot work even with the deaths it requires.

Communism/Socialism is the greatest murderous evil the world has ever seen since Ghengis Khan

On 6/3/2026 at 7:14 PM, swissie said:

With the help of AI, could those production/logistic problems be resolved? Heaven forbid, giving communism a second chance? AI making communist party leaders unnececcary?

Quality AI would simply tell you that pure communism always fails for very simple reasons:

1. We are not equal - some people can achieve vastly superior results and some can barely achieve anything. Some put more effort, some put less. It is grossly unfair and unproductive to punish success and reward laziness by pooling everyone's results and distributing them equally and not according to effort. Most tax systems already do that to an extent anyway with progressive tax brackets, but they stop around 50% precisely because people would have no incentive to work beyond that bracket. Pure communism means 100% income tax which is then distributed to everybody - at 100% income tax what's your incentive to work? might as well fake disability or illness or otherwise excuse yourself.

2. Corruption - where there's communism, there's corruption. If you take away everything from the people and give it to the state (people at the top) to distribute as they please it creates the possibility and temptation for them to hoard some or all of it and keep it to themselves. This always happens with communism.

3. Black markets and crime - if the government takes 100% tax then the only option for people to get ahead is by either working under the table and hiding their income, and that leads to more crime.

4. Bribes - when nobody gets wages (or the wages aren't enough) it is incredibly temptin and common for people in key positions to accept bribes for favors.

5. No private innovation - there is a limit to how much the government can innovate by itself, but if there is no incentive to start your own business and follow your dreams then no one innovates.

Neither China nor Vietnam are economically communist - they are communist in that they are ruled by one party and in general things are directed top-down, however their economies are socially-oriented market economies. The government may intervene as they see fit and encourage industries they favor (by huge loans for example in China's case), but the market itself is fueled by private innovation. Chinese pay significantly less income taxes than workers in developed countries.

Where DOES communist work? small - very small: your family. Most families pool and share resources essentially making them a small commune. Some might even share with siblings and even cousins (for example a big country ranch). And some might even share among a few or many families - for example a kibbutz. But that's where things get murky - the larger you go, the more likely you are to run into the same inherent problems. People care dearly about their spouse and kids and family, but they care less about other families, and even less about strangers.

Bottom line: communism inherently encourages people to be lazy, innovate less, and be more corrupt. Free market economies encourage the opposite - those who work hard and innovate get ahead, and opportunities for corruption are more limited. Developed countries became developed exactly because they are free market economies. Kids these days are being brainwashed by marxist ideas and leftist communism nonsense in the very countries that benefited the most from free markets, it's ridiculous.

13 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

By its very nature, it cannot work even with the deaths it requires.

Communism/Socialism is the greatest murderous evil the world has ever seen since Ghengis Khan

Yes, the black plague. in combination of Ghengis Khan, Capitalism at it's finest. Plunder, Rape and Steal. It had nothing to do with "communism" as Karl Marks and Friedrich Engels has seen as "communism". Comparing Apples with historical Oranges has never lead to any "enligthenement". So far.

Ghenghis Khan was not a capitalist nor a socialist. He just discovered that stealing the wealth of of other peoples is more rewarding than tilling the soil for meager rewards, in a mongolian environement that wold not allow much for argriculture.

So, take it from military weaklings, all the things you can not produce yourself. Anything new? Without the Taiwanese Chips, the world would come to a stadstill. No need for another Ghenghis Kahn. The very fact, that China has 95% of Rare Earths makes it complely unnecessary and pointless to engage China in any sort of military controvesity, as China will always win

9 hours ago, connda said:

For the 1% who hoover-up all of the wealth of the nation into their own pockets. This isn't even worth debating. Westerner's insist Capitalism is "one of the most freest expressions known to mankind" as the majority of citizens in Western capitalistic countries are barely scraping by month to month, or even day to day, and most Gen Z kids are well and truly f***ed and will never own a home, many will be saddled with debt for a lifetime, many can't afford transportation or even basic healthcare. Yes! The Capitalistic Utopia!

If I was in my 20's I'd be looking to immigrate to Asia as opposed to retired in Thailand, perhaps even China or Russia, where Western proponents of Capitalism insist that these countries economies are destitute. I don't buy the rhetoric that countries like China or Russia are hell-hole pits of inhumanity while I look around the country of my birth and see first-hand what a utopia that capitalism has brought to the United States.

👇🏼👇👇🏻👇🏽👇🏾👇🏿 Here is reality in the Capitalist Utopia of America 👇🏼👇👇🏻👇🏽👇🏾👇🏿

Welcome To The Capitalist Utopia Of The United States of America

ALL HAIL CAPITALISM!!!

Los Angeles is one of the homeless capitals of planet earth and a definite reminder that capitalism is not working as it could or should.

22 minutes ago, swissie said:

Yes, the black plague. in combination of Ghengis Khan, Capitalism at it's finest. Plunder, Rape and Steal. It had nothing to do with "communism" as Karl Marks and Friedrich Engels has seen as "communism". Comparing Apples with historical Oranges has never lead to any "enligthenement". So far.

Ghenghis Khan was not a capitalist nor a socialist. He just discovered that stealing the wealth of of other peoples is more rewarding than tilling the soil for meager rewards, in a mongolian environement that wold not allow much for argriculture.

So, take it from military weaklings, all the things you can not produce yourself. Anything new? Without the Taiwanese Chips, the world would come to a stadstill. No need for another Ghenghis Kahn. The very fact, that China has 95% of Rare Earths makes it complely unnecessary and pointless to engage China in any sort of military controvesity, as China will always win

Got it. English is clearly not your first language.

16 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Los Angeles is one of the homeless capitals of planet earth and a definite reminder that capitalism is not working as it could or should.

1. Because its run by semi socialistss

2. Some folks just arent gonna make it. Darwin rules.

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Got it. English is clearly not your first language.

Of course not. I go by "swiissie". Since 2006 if I remenber correctly. I speak German, French, Italian and Spanish and some sort of English. Depending on Boston English, London English, or English spoken in Wales,

If you prefer to communicate in those languages in the future with me, perfectlly OK with with me.

2 hours ago, swissie said:

Of course not. I go by "swiissie". Since 2006 if I remenber correctly. I speak German, French, Italian and Spanish and some sort of English. Depending on Boston English, London English, or English spoken in Wales,

If you prefer to communicate in those languages in the future with me, perfectlly OK with with me.

Got it. Work on your translation then.

On 6/5/2026 at 2:03 PM, KhunLA said:

Capitalism is the best, but one has to exercise the opportunities it offers. Quite a few do, and then some ...

... "There are approximately 23.8 million to 25.4 million millionaires living in the United States." ... - G AI

Almost 1000 Billionaires. Yea, capitalism sucks ... for those that don't take advantage of it.

I retired at 45, and don't think that would have been possible if say, I lived in Cuba, unless a drug runner.

Communism is good for the lower classes.

Communism has just taken a different stance. Western governments are still making those better off, to pay, to be excessively taxed, squandered of their savings...and all for what ? To cash out to the migrants, the illegals or to all those countries eastbound who are in war...

2 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Communism is good for the lower classes.

They're the only ones dumb and lazy enough to accept it. I'm a LPOS, but you really have to be a LPOS, with no ambitions to accept a total socialist society.

Barely enough, sorry, just isn't enough for me. I WANT IT ALL

Edited June 6Jun 6 by KhunLA

On 6/5/2026 at 5:52 PM, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Quality AI would simply tell you that pure communism always fails for very simple reasons:

1. We are not equal - some people can achieve vastly superior results and some can barely achieve anything. Some put more effort, some put less. It is grossly unfair and unproductive to punish success and reward laziness by pooling everyone's results and distributing them equally and not according to effort. Most tax systems already do that to an extent anyway with progressive tax brackets, but they stop around 50% precisely because people would have no incentive to work beyond that bracket. Pure communism means 100% income tax which is then distributed to everybody - at 100% income tax what's your incentive to work? might as well fake disability or illness or otherwise excuse yourself.

2. Corruption - where there's communism, there's corruption. If you take away everything from the people and give it to the state (people at the top) to distribute as they please it creates the possibility and temptation for them to hoard some or all of it and keep it to themselves. This always happens with communism.

3. Black markets and crime - if the government takes 100% tax then the only option for people to get ahead is by either working under the table and hiding their income, and that leads to more crime.

4. Bribes - when nobody gets wages (or the wages aren't enough) it is incredibly temptin and common for people in key positions to accept bribes for favors.

5. No private innovation - there is a limit to how much the government can innovate by itself, but if there is no incentive to start your own business and follow your dreams then no one innovates.

Neither China nor Vietnam are economically communist - they are communist in that they are ruled by one party and in general things are directed top-down, however their economies are socially-oriented market economies. The government may intervene as they see fit and encourage industries they favor (by huge loans for example in China's case), but the market itself is fueled by private innovation. Chinese pay significantly less income taxes than workers in developed countries.

Where DOES communist work? small - very small: your family. Most families pool and share resources essentially making them a small commune. Some might even share with siblings and even cousins (for example a big country ranch). And some might even share among a few or many families - for example a kibbutz. But that's where things get murky - the larger you go, the more likely you are to run into the same inherent problems. People care dearly about their spouse and kids and family, but they care less about other families, and even less about strangers.

Bottom line: communism inherently encourages people to be lazy, innovate less, and be more corrupt. Free market economies encourage the opposite - those who work hard and innovate get ahead, and opportunities for corruption are more limited. Developed countries became developed exactly because they are free market economies. Kids these days are being brainwashed by marxist ideas and leftist communism nonsense in the very countries that benefited the most from free markets, it's ridiculous.

A good analisys, well worth reading, free of ideological bias. Good work.

On 6/5/2026 at 12:09 PM, swissie said:

Yes, the black plague. in combination of Ghengis Khan, Capitalism at it's finest. Plunder, Rape and Steal.

Capitalism represents a mutually beneficial exchange between a willing buyer and a willing seller.

On 6/5/2026 at 12:16 PM, spidermike007 said:

Los Angeles is one of the homeless capitals of planet earth and a definite reminder that capitalism is not working as it could or should.

How can this be blamed on capitalism when the state has invested over $23 billion between 2018 and 2023 to address the homeless issue, with minimal results? Perhaps the government officials and their policies should be held accountable for the problem in Los Angeles.

7 minutes ago, Mr Awesome said:

Capitalism represents a mutually beneficial exchange between a willing buyer and a willing seller.

Mutually beneficial is a bit of a problem. If I buy a stock at 10 and it drops to 5, I am a loser and the one that sold it to me for 10 is a winner.

If I buy a pair of shoes and after 2 weeks they fall apart, I am a loser and the one that sold it to me is a winner. That's why "win win" situations are rare.

13 minutes ago, Mr Awesome said:

How can this be blamed on capitalism when the state has invested over $23 billion between 2018 and 2023 to address the homeless issue, with minimal results? Perhaps the government officials and their policies should be held accountable for the problem in Los Angeles.

LA is special. Comperatively high cost of living. The cost of "housing" has explodet. So, low income people have been priced out of the housing market. Unless they are willing and able to work 24 hours a day.

On 6/5/2026 at 11:03 PM, Yagoda said:

Got it. Work on your translation then.

Why would I ? As long as you are here to correct me (free of charge) , why should I use AI to write stuff for me? 😉

5 minutes ago, swissie said:

LA is special. Comperatively high cost of living. The cost of "housing" has explodet. So, low income people have been priced out of the housing market. Unless they are willing and able to work 24 hours a day.

High housing prices in California are largely due to government policies and NIMBYism. Additionally, Proposition 13 exist, which keeps taxes down for the long term ownernship. . Higher property taxes can lead to decreased housing prices.

https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2024/how-higher-property-taxes-increase-home-affordability

21 minutes ago, swissie said:

Mutually beneficial is a bit of a problem. If I buy a stock at 10 and it drops to 5, I am a loser and the one that sold it to me for 10 is a winner.

If I buy a pair of shoes and after 2 weeks they fall apart, I am a loser and the one that sold it to me is a winner. That's why "win win" situations are rare.

It's essential to thoroughly research your stock and shoe purchases. Companies that offer low-quality products are unlikely to survive in the long run.

On 6/5/2026 at 6:06 AM, Effective altruism said:

China struggled until it embraced capitalism. While communism aims for a classless society, the ruling class always retains a higher status.

As is demonstrated by the upcoming auction of Stalin's 40,000 bottle wine cellar, that is likely worth $100 million. Not exactly a man of the people. But certainly a man who took advantage of the people and killed a few million of them in the process. Communism is ridiculous.

On 6/5/2026 at 2:05 PM, Tourist2 said:

China isn't communist and western countries aren't genuinely capitalist or 'freedom loving'.

UK Government is made up of former(?) marxists and current fabian socialists.
US Government is made up of a clique of insiders only working for themselves, their sponsers and israel.
Hardly capitalist

China is a blend of communism and capitalism. Central planning, 5 year plans... the CCP are in charge of economic strategy and governmental support while regional bodies and private enterprise are choosing the tactics to implement the national strategy.

I grew up in an area with similar traits. A lot of resource management and essential services (health care, power, water, telecommunications, auto insurance) were owned by the government instead of private companies. Private enterprise handled all the rest.

I would say that under the current administration the US system has become 'crony capitalism' .

Crony capitalism is an economic system where business success is determined by political connections, favoritism, and insider influence rather than competitive free-market forces. Companies thrive through government-granted privileges like bailouts, tax breaks, and favorable regulations, which suppresses open competition and harms consumers.

Edited June 8Jun 8 by gamb00ler

On 6/3/2026 at 11:14 PM, swissie said:

communism failed

I'll tell you why communism failed.

"Tempe Co-op"

It was supposed to be just like communism where the workers made all the decisions

Well, I went to one of their meetings

There was one guy who apparently always showed up and argued endlessly about everything

He was some Jewish pseudo intellectual not really very aware of how to read the room.

Everyone rolled their eyes at his suggestions.

Just like Animal Farm, some animals are more equal than others and their voices carry more weight.

Guess what? The co-op failed and they sold their prime location and they were replaced by some giant for-profit natural food store similar to Whole Foods.

All because Communism failed 😁

The End.

On 6/4/2026 at 6:56 AM, spidermike007 said:

I used to spend a lot of time in Cuba and we would have these discussions about communism. I also have a friend from the Czech Republic back when it was Czechoslovakia. Every communist person I know, or should I say every person I know who comes from a communist country or lives in a communist country utterly despises communism, and is acutely aware of the extreme failure of communism every time it's been attempted in the history of mankind.

Stripped agrarian systems that have completely collapsed in the case of Cuba, very greedy leaders like Stalin with 40,000 bottle wine cellars, cockroaches like Fidel Castro with tens of billions of dollars socked away somewhere, from allowing Cuba to be used for drug transiting and stealing from the people. Kim depriving his people of a decent life and sucking the blood of his nation to the very last pint. The list goes on and on of communist atrocities.

Some might say the same thing about democracy, but I would certainly prefer it to Communism without exception.

Communism sucks! Communism has always failed its people.

Including the capitalist communism of China and Vietnam?