Quote (ThatAlex @ Jan 16 2020 12:05pm)
I see your point. No one dies from mass surveillance, either. But the coordination between mass surveillance and a police state from an authoritarian government probably plays a role. And capitalist countries have mass surveillance operations in effect, too.
The key point of this discussion is what aspect of the authoritarian government likely plays a larger role in this atrocity?
My point is that I concede the economy played a role in getting there but mass surveillance and a police state played larger roles.
both the economy and police state are symptoms of an undemocratic centralized govt, thats what i meant with my aids example.
people can make arguments against a socialist economy, they can make arguments against a police state, they can make arguments against oppresion of the minority. but all 3 of them are present in countries with centralized power.
true enough the USA did act as a police state, the trail of tears, govt backed slave hunters, lack of legal support for spousal abuse, etc. but when did this all happen? 100ish years ago, when the USA didnt allow women or nonwhites to vote, or even nonproperty owners. even when they were given the "right" they werent given equal access to polling stations, or police presence to ensure their vote. then they get the right to vote and in the amount of time ive been alive we get the civil rights movement, improved legal backing for women, destruction of native reculturing schools, etc.
simply put a lack of democracy and control over the economy of a state lead to oppression, both in the pursuit of keeping that power and making more money. let us not forget that the GDP of citizens and their economic status has shot through the roof, it was all going so great. then they started farming organs, mass surveillance, and genocide. and it never could have gone any other way. the only thing preventing this from happening in scandanavia is their lack of control of the economy.