Karl Marx Doco

[Voltaire]

Ever wondered about Karl Marx but could not be arsed doing lots of reading?

Interesting Doco on BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyrhoHtSkzg

Over the last 10 years we have all seen the stagnation of wages, the huge increase in house prices, and the ever willing banks prepared to lend

you more. Although they go on about " World Class Cities" efficiency in population density, but does immigration really work if you have to

pay for huge infrastructure programs, houses that are 10 times the average wage, traffic gridlock and so on.

When they come out with stupid statements like " we need to build more housing but will need to get the labour from offshore"

Maybe instead of teaching you all the crap at school that you will never use they teach building and making things.

On a side note, I'm totally over the fucking Royal Wedding and the whole stupid Monarchy.

viva la republica, and get rid of all the Parties who are well past their best by date and start again.

Right...off to the shed now.

[OddDuck]

Some interesting reading on this sort of topic

When Corporations Rule The World

Anything by Robert Kiyosaki, in terms of explaining western-style money and how the game works

Adam Smith's Mistake - the basic premise of this book is that Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations and essentially the justification for free market capitalism, forgot to add a caveat to his theory of the invisible hand of the market. The best possible result for all will be had if someone is free to make their income as best suits them, as long as it's done honestly.

Lot of dishonest earning going on out there at the moment.

As to NZ politics... A remarkable lack of whole-system thinking and an even worse lack of medium and long term planning. I've lost faith but then as a Gen Xer I can't recall a time when politics worked for me.

[Voltaire]

When you see what the world Debt is now compared to 2007 its pretty clear its a load of bollocks.

I wish I could wrap up debt, call it say....a Security and get people to invest in it with money they probably borrowed.

What really pisses me off is " Govt Bailouts"....thats taxpayers money to keep the likes of banks going.

I did see a bit of Nigal Latta's observation that its far easier to spend money you don't have when using plastic.

My Boss was over here from Sydney and said you get funny looks using cash here.

When the record bull run on the Dow ends, its not going to be pretty.

[Ocean1]

When they come out with stupid statements like " we need to build more housing but will need to get the labour from offshore"

Maybe instead of teaching you all the crap at school that you will never use they teach building and making things.

Yep, socialism will always fuck up, with the best possible intentions:

https://pro.newsroom.co.nz/articles/...eneration-rent

Adam Smith's Mistake - the basic premise of this book is that Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations and essentially the justification for free market capitalism, forgot to add a caveat to his theory of the invisible hand of the market. The best possible result for all will be had if someone is free to make their income as best suits them, as long as it's done honestly.

Isn't honesty a core tenet of a free market? If the two parties in a legal transaction both agree to it where's the dishonesty coming from?

[Voltaire]

Yep, socialism will always fuck up, with the best possible intentions:

https://pro.newsroom.co.nz/articles/...eneration-rent

Interesting if not depressing read.

I read this one about bullshit jobs.

https://www.smh.com.au/public-servic...831-2sy3j.html

I work for a US Corporate and can relate to it.

[pritch]

There are some strange things going on at the moment. Both Britain and the USA seem governed by kakistocracies.

Chris Graying who as Lord Chancellor, in charge of the whole British justice system, was noted for such "intelligent" moves as banning books in prisons. Later almost everything he introduced was declared unlawful under Judicial Review, which is ironic for a Lord Chancellor. Now though, I gather he is Transport Minister in the Tory government, and for his next act he wants to nationalise one of Britain's railways.

Not too many would've seen that coming, Tories nationalising private companies.

[OddDuck]

Isn't honesty a core tenet of a free market? If the two parties in a legal transaction both agree to it where's the dishonesty coming from?

Unequal access to information - chances are that the rich guy's got way better info than the poor guy and uses that to offer an unfair deal

Acquiring monopoly control of something essential (like say water in various south american cities) and then extorting the market for all its worth

Deliberately confusing marketing campaigns (a la Telecom / Spark not so long ago)

Various sales professionals being rather economical with the truth, like a real estate agent and a leaky building

Out and out lies, like say a job applicant who bulks up their CV and a naive employer who doesn't check what's in it

The builder who doesn't tell the would-be home owner about the other fifteen jobs on the go at the moment but promises speedy delivery of a family home

Major financial institutions (like Lehman Bros) falling over, losing their investor's money, and being bailed out by the taxpayer, no indictments, no trials, no prison, no deterrent to those guys or anyone else from doing it again

Petrol companies engaging in gentlemen's agreements to match each other's prices rather than compete

Supermarket chains stitching their suppliers up with exclusive supply contracts

etc etc

[Ocean1]

Unequal access to information - chances are that the rich guy's got way better info than the poor guy and uses that to offer an unfair deal

Caveat emptor. No amount of "protection" is going to prevent people making poor choices, and after all, they're their choices to make.

Acquiring monopoly control of something essential (like say water in various south american cities) and then extorting the market for all its worth

Which is the exact opposite of a free market.

Deliberately confusing marketing campaigns (a la Telecom / Spark not so long ago)

Various sales professionals being rather economical with the truth, like a real estate agent and a leaky building

Out and out lies, like say a job applicant who bulks up their CV and a naive employer who doesn't check what's in it

The builder who doesn't tell the would-be home owner about the other fifteen jobs on the go at the moment but promises speedy delivery of a family home

Again, how is a third party going to prevent unwise choices? And why should they?


Major financial institutions (like Lehman Bros) falling over, losing their investor's money, and being bailed out by the taxpayer, no indictments, no trials, no prison, no deterrent to those guys or anyone else from doing it again

So, not a free market, then.

Petrol companies engaging in gentlemen's agreements to match each other's prices rather than compete

Again, the exact opposite of a free market. And completely illegal.

Supermarket chains stitching their suppliers up with exclusive supply contracts

Again, the exact opposite of a free market.

For all of it's faults the US is savagely protective of it's internal market, directors in the US absolutely shit themselves about what they call anti-trust infringements, (most of the above behaviour) they get jail time for the slightest transgression. Here, the commerce commission has a history more of protecting and encouraging monopolies, so we have monopolies everywhere. Which is why Kiwis pay twice what the rest of the world does for pretty much everything.

[Voltaire]

Out and out lies, like say a job applicant who bulks up their CV and a naive employer who doesn't check what's in it

And the jobs that are oversold and have lines like " and other duties and the Employer may see fit and my contract favourite 'etc etc'

Global Contracts written and agreed to by people who will never have to carry any of it out and only look at " the bottom line".

[TheDemonLord]

Unequal access to information - chances are that the rich guy's got way better info than the poor guy and uses that to offer an unfair deal

Acquiring monopoly control of something essential (like say water in various south american cities) and then extorting the market for all its worth

Deliberately confusing marketing campaigns (a la Telecom / Spark not so long ago)

Various sales professionals being rather economical with the truth, like a real estate agent and a leaky building

Out and out lies, like say a job applicant who bulks up their CV and a naive employer who doesn't check what's in it

The builder who doesn't tell the would-be home owner about the other fifteen jobs on the go at the moment but promises speedy delivery of a family home

Major financial institutions (like Lehman Bros) falling over, losing their investor's money, and being bailed out by the taxpayer, no indictments, no trials, no prison, no deterrent to those guys or anyone else from doing it again

Petrol companies engaging in gentlemen's agreements to match each other's prices rather than compete

Supermarket chains stitching their suppliers up with exclusive supply contracts

etc etc

And yet, even if everything you say is 100% true, it's still paradise compared to ANY political system that was inspired by Marx...

[oldrider]

For those that seek an explanation for world events the answers could well be found right here? - All that is required is to listen and think about what he is saying - make of it what you will?