“The Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) new platform promises a world without bills. In their utopia, you’d see no rent check. No health insurance premium. No student loan repayment. No electricity bill. Life’s basics, including food, education, medicine, and transportation, would all become `common goods and utilities.'”
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Samizdata quote of the day – why prices matter editionAugust 16th, 2026 |
 4 comments to Samizdata quote of the day – why prices matter editionLeave a Reply |
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In a world where `common goods and utilities’ are provided without bills who will be able to judge whether or not some local bureaucrat is receiving ‘more than their fair share’?
People are sensitised to someone else getting ‘more than their fair share’. Historically wage controls have always failed because workers try to maintain their ‘differentials’. Black markets flourish when `common goods and utilities’ are scarce.
Life’s basics, including food, education, medicine, and transportation, would all become `common goods and utilities’ – and more-or-less unobtainable, except, of course, for the ‘comrades of proven worth’.
Trump’s motorcade, for all his posturing, goes down the sane streets as everbody else. It was Moscow that had Zil lanes.
llater,
llamas
“Trump’s motorcade, for all his posturing, goes down the same streets as everybody else. It was Moscow that had Zil lanes.”
Maybe, but they still tightly control traffic and when it thunders by.
And just try overtaking that motorcade or getting too close to the president’s tank of a limo when it does go down your street.
“When we labor for our common good instead of private profit, we can all have a secure and dignified life, and use our time and talents how we wish.”
If we’re all “labor[ing] for our common good” how, exactly, does that translate into “use[ing] our time and talents how we wish”?
Does anyone really “wish” to be the dude pumping out sewage systems? Does anyone really “wish” to climb up a power pole during a storm and futz with live power lines to get the lights back on? Does anyone really “wish” to drive around picking up smelly, decomposing roadkill animals and throwing them in the back of the truck?
If everyone wants to spend their time and talents sitting in their beautiful, air conditioned apartments playing games on their game consoles all day long, that’s what they can do…because that apartment and the A/C and the game console and the power to run it all just appear by magic right?
The people who buy into this BS are 6 year olds in adult bodies.
And the people who sell it to them are evil.