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What are some big social issues that need to be discussed, but aren't?

There are a lot social issues, but which ones are the most un-talked about and important?

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  • Bob Stiglitz

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    Dec 13 2012: Debunking capitalist ideology and market economics as a sham. If there is one thing america needs, it's that the 'free market' has created huge amounts of un-freedom through abusive laws and monopoly privileges backed by the force of the state. Because money = power to buy the government and have it do your bidding.
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      Krisztián Pintér 200+

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      TED Translator
      Dec 13 2012: " 'free market' has created huge amounts of un-freedom through abusive laws"

      since when market creates laws? since when the market creates privileges? since when market creates the state? if the government is on sale, don't you think the government might have something to do with it? they bear, you know, some responsibility about it? just sayin

      • Bob Stiglitz

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        Dec 13 2012: The two things cannot be divorced from one another, governments and markets are not seperate entities since the government is rule by the most monied interests (historically) and hence there has never been a 'market' in which the rich did not abuse their power and create un-freedom by giving themselves special legal privileges in law

        Copyright law is one good example of monopoly rich members of society vote themselves, the problem is in historical practice, rich people always expand and abuse their power by buying up congressmen and spreading propaganda and leading astray the public to protect their interests.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act

        See more here:

        http://homepages.law.asu.edu/~dkarjala/opposingcopyrightextension/default.htm

        Copyrights and intellectual property are restrictions on freedom. We don't have a software repair industry for instance (even though we should) because copyright allows one to lock away source-code permanently when things like games should be going into public domain and libraries (as works of culture). Corporations are allowed to confiscate cultural works by fiat because they can simply buy lawmakers.

        DRM in video-games is a perfect example of this confiscating your right to own the stuff you buy. Works of culture and people are controlled by authoritarian rules enacted and influenced by corporations.

        People are not free to create or re-create works (that they built entirely themselves) and are not selling because of legal con-artists.

        http://www.opcoder.com/projects/chrono/

        Once monied interests buy and create laws you have anonymous dictatorship of corporations just as unfree as totalitarian regimes because no one can check their power effectively because they have all the money and incentive to defeat regulations.

        The below should be able to be done with every game we buy:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhAR8rWPluQ

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeSpace_2_Source_Code_Project
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          Krisztián Pintér 200+

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          TED Translator
          Dec 13 2012: you have correctly identified the situation, namely that as long as a strong government and rich companies coexist, rich companies will buy themselves power from the government. it is not self-evident, one could write books about why that is. but at the end, we seem to agree that this is the case. from that on, we seem to diverge.

          you conclude that we need to put an end to companies. i conclude that we need to get rid of government (anarchy), or at least not allow it to interfere with the economy (minarchy).

          for me, it is an easy decision. any time a company does something evil, it does so with the help of government. without such a help, companies don't engage in horrendous acts. on the other hand, governments commit most terrifying crimes all the time. who locks up millions of young black people in jail for possessing drugs? who bombs countries, killing innocent people day by day? who maintains a police force that routinely violates the rights of citizens? who disregards human rights on daily basis, detaining people without court order, claiming the right to look into any database, search any house without due process? who maintains an army capable of destroying all the armies on the earth combined? who uses the control of the money supply for its own advantage, essentially robbing every citizen in the country? who claims the right to confiscate any land as they see fit?

          if you get a letter from walmart, what do you feel before opening it? and if you receive a letter from a state department? who is to really fear?

      • Bob Stiglitz

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        Dec 13 2012: When you get the time watch the following, there's a good part where he mentions regulation and how industries are all interconnected and what actually happens in reality, rich have political power, so a reduction in their power is not an acceptable political outcome.

        http://fora.tv/2010/03/03/Richard_Wolff_Capitalism_Hits_the_Fan

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