sweden is a terrible country

[Kaios]

Have you ever thought maybe someone doesn't want to be like us? maybe they don't even think in those terms? so? it's us to them, not viceversa.
This is exactly what we need to preserve, different ideas and visions of the world ...
And don't think we taught some of them human rights cause we are good, that's all thanks to money ... and that's a good thing, money always did good things in the history like when farmers started to get paid by the lord of the land for their job, and so they also have become free, not servants anymore. The problem with money it's when they are too many ... but that's another thing.

I don't care how people act as long as they act in a manner that doesn't hurt others or impose their will on to others, if you don't want to be "western" that's fine but there are obvious traits inherent in some cultures that most people can point to and say "those are poor values" because they are.

Wealth is another issue entirely, have you read anything about Vilfredo Pareto or Pareto's distribution? While admittedly his discoveries were used by Mussolini to push his own fascist agenda the theories themselves weren't inherently fascist but simply a conclusion made through using empirical data that despite many different factors wealth is always distributed without equality, or in other words 80% of the wealth is owned by 20% of the population. To redistribute the wealth so arbitrarily would be to break the Pareto efficiency rule which is the idea that a system is enjoying maximum economic satisfaction when no one can be made better off without making someone else worse off. The greatest good for the greatest number cannot be distributed effectively because "good" cannot be measured.

Another point is that victims create victims, most of the west hasn't really had to endure lasting occupation or oppression, poverty etc for a period lasting even one generation. A lot of other nations aren't so fortunate, this means a lot of their population is experiencing psychological distress. The result? Victims create victims and parasites profit.

What I think makes western society unique in this aspect though is that in the early 19th century it was immigrants coming from western and northern Europe from squalid conditions due to the depression of the 1890's to a place where they intended to make a better future for themselves and generations of families and it certainly wasn't easy but in that regard they succeeded. It isn't like the immigrants themselves didn't deal with hardship too, though. But I would agree that we are certainly blessed to live in such a privileged society, and I use the word privileged sparingly because we are all privileged in that sense.

[Robben_DuMarsch]

>implying "people" have any sort of power in [insert any form of Government]. [Insert any form of Government] is the rule of mobs and monied interests.

Prove me wrong.

[sMartins]

I don't care how people act as long as they act in a manner that doesn't hurt others or impose their will on to others

The thing is we do that ...

>implying "people" have any sort of power in [insert any form of Government]. [Insert any form of Government] is the rule of mobs and monied interests.

Athens 4-5 century b.c. I don't think was a good thing, but still it happened. It was a democracy, not what we think now it's a democracy, cause now it's not ... a real democracy, a bit scary tbh. Litterally people went up on a hill, all the citieziens male at least ... and those who were there vote for this or that ... they even get paid to do that ... day by day, everyone passing by could vote for what they were discussing that moment.

[Kaios]

I don't care how people act as long as they act in a manner that doesn't hurt others or impose their will on to others

The thing is we do that ...

I don't think it's so black and white but what should we do then? Allow for a return to feudalism? Remove the separation of church and state? Personally I think a majority of western society would be fine to not meddle in the affairs of other countries but at the same time one would have to concede that in this generation there is also a large part of the world that wonders why the West doesn't do MORE to assist in improving the wretched conditions that working class people in many countries face.

[Jalpha]

Another point is that victims create victims, most of the west hasn't really had to endure lasting occupation or oppression, poverty etc for a period lasting even one generation. A lot of other nations aren't so fortunate, this means a lot of their population is experiencing psychological distress. The result? Victims create victims and parasites profit.

What I think makes western society unique in this aspect though is that in the early 19th century it was immigrants coming from western and northern Europe from squalid conditions due to the depression of the 1890's to a place where they intended to make a better future for themselves and generations of families and it certainly wasn't easy but in that regard they succeeded. It isn't like the immigrants themselves didn't deal with hardship too, though. But I would agree that we are certainly blessed to live in such a privileged society, and I use the word privileged sparingly because we are all privileged in that sense.

People went and created a new and better place several times, and the social and cultural advances slowly made their way back to the place those people had left behind. The problem now is that there is no new frontier. Which brings me onto a huge rant about the necessity of pushing our species to begin constructing super-massive space habitats. Each one a fresh start, a new beginning which will eventually provide a return value and improve quality of life. I'll spare you.

However with no new frontier we will inevitably create one through war or stagnate, resulting in societal collapse and eventual rebirth which may or may not eventually provide a superior quality of life to that we have now.

Honestly it's easier to leave Earth than to fix it. Fuck you all, I'm leaving and I don't care if you come.

[Kaios]

I guess I could have elaborated more on that by instead saying something like “and in that regard they succeeded more than anyone else so far.” When I say western society is more unique in this regard I mean the amount of cultural diversity you find in Canada and the States. People of all colours following various religions still manage to unite under one flag or one country and co-operate together for the betterment of all peoplekind. (That’s a Trudeau reference)

Visit Toronto and take a walk around and try your hardest not to run in to anyone that speaks a different language than you, it’s impossible.

[Jalpha]

I would argue that there is more cultural diversity here in Australia. On a side note you may find it interesting to read about Hybrid vigour. Interesting trajectory the west is heading on...

Australia was settled after both Canada and the USA but I am unsure if our higher standard of living can be attributed to being the youngest when there are countries with better living standards which are much older. We also have a much better quality of life here than in either of those nations. Their success is not based upon their cultural merit, it's simply a result of a large spike in financial growth due to access to quality "free" land. Which we have little of here. Honestly it's no surprise the natives never had any agriculture to speak of, we struggled when we first came here...

It's also very important to highlight the fact that the success of the USA has come at the expense of just about everybody else. They're a worse threat than China.

[Granger]

for the most part the wealthy 1% changes constantly and many people will be in the top 1% of income earners at least once in their lifetime.

This statement is completely false.

[shubla]

power sockets try to kill you, or at least your devices

I am curious about this claim in particular.

A huge light arc with a loud bang came from the power socket when I was plugging a laptop charger in, which partially melted the charger. I have never ever seen such things before in Finland! So it must be Swedens fault.

Same voltage, frequency (-> NORDEL grid system /RG Nordic) and plug types (C,F) ... i'm curios too

It is neither of those, thus it is swedens fault.

We should all migrate to Finland.
Hello, my name is Muhammad and I am 15 year old refugee from Syria

There were also many more foreign people than in Finland! Terrible!

>implying "people" have any sort of power in [insert any form of Government]. [Insert any form of Government] is the rule of mobs and monied interests.

Prove me wrong.

Some other forms at least openly admit it, or at least it is a fact that is commonly agreed.

[Kaios]

for the most part the wealthy 1% changes constantly and many people will be in the top 1% of income earners at least once in their lifetime.

This statement is completely false.

My bad the more accurate number is around 10% chance of being in the top 1% of income earners for at least 1 year in a lifetime but wealth still changes hands regularly

I would argue that there is more cultural diversity here in Australia.

Idk maybe I'd have to read more about it but I was just basing the Toronto thing off a statistic that said 200 different languages are spoken in Toronto, and 45% of the residents speak a native language other than French or English