from Hacker News

Yes, Computers Have Improved. No, Communism Hasn't

by tujv on 9/2/15, 11:19 PM with 19 comments

• by rorykoehler on 9/4/15, 11:44 AM

  I don't know many people who want to try Communism again however Capitalism also has it's inherent flaws. While Communism suffers from lack of incentive Capitalism suffers from an incentive to plunder the environment for short term personal gain. Even as a huge fan of Universal Basic Income, a scheme that aims to provide the lowest common denominator with a passable quality of life, I can acknowledge that the environmental problem will not be magically solved. In order to succeed as a civilization we need to give up the idea that a single ideology holds all the answers. Good ideas are everywhere and to stick to one ideology exclusively is akin to religious madness. We have more scientific understanding now than every before yet when it comes to political ideology a large portion of society choses to ignore science and go with whatever narrative they have made up in their head that confirms their own biases.

• by letster on 9/3/15, 6:19 AM

  Interesting thing it what will happen, in the future, when computers would-be improved enough to replace most human professions? It is profitable for separate producers to use automated systems but unemployed people have no enough money to buy their products. Will government regulate production like in socialistic economic model?

• by orionblastar on 9/2/15, 11:32 PM

  Communism is flawed because not everyone is allowed to become a member of the Communist party to get perks and elite treatment. The government also controls prices and if they want the price of toilet paper to be low and the price of bread to be low, there will be a shortage of it because the organizations that make it won't earn much money and make it at a loss. Then there are lines for toilet paper and bread to wait for it to be made.

  The military is always given priority in food, and the people get what is left over.

  Some argue that the Communism that the USSR had was not the same as Marxism.

  I had a Russian coworker once, he tried to quit smoking. He had smoked US cigarettes and he switched to Russian cigarettes because they tasted bad and he claimed having bad tasting cigarettes helped him quit. Something about Russian quality control not being as good as quality control in the USA.

  But as AI, automation, and robots improve, they will do the jobs of human beings and put most of us out of work and then there will be a basic income to live on. Perhaps that is when Communism works when the technology does the work for us and doesn't need any motivation to work better.