• Kbobabob@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    If a significant portion the US population went on general strike, things would change quickly.

    This requires people willing and able to do so. Considering most Americans live paycheck to paycheck I don’t see this as real and viable currently.

    The other option, which is slower, is to build up alternative systems in a network of mutual aid, like cooperatively owned insurance, businesses, housing, energy systems, etc. Essentially slowly replace the state with hundreds of interconnected coops.

    This issue i see with this approach is that some people will always try to be the opposite and we end up in a stalemate. Also, people can be ignorant and not even understand that there is something that needs to be done. There’s so much misinformation in the world today.

    • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net
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      12 days ago

      This requires people willing and able to do so. Considering most Americans live paycheck to paycheck I don’t see this as real and viable currently.

      I can’t dispute that. More of the US workforce would need to unionize for it to be possible.

      This issue i see with this approach is that some people will always try to be the opposite and we end up in a stalemate. Also, people can be ignorant and not even understand that there is something that needs to be done. There’s so much misinformation in the world today.

      I think if it reached a certain point of popularity, it would become so self evident of its benefits for the working class that it would snowball. But it would take a lot of education and time.

      If we look at how Spain was able to have a libertarian socialist revolution, it apparently took 75 years of steady education (some through independent ferrer schools) and organizing before the populace as a whole was educated enough on the concepts and practiced enough through militant unionization to finally attempt a mass resistance movement.

      I suspect the U.S. higher literacy rate combined with the internet may reduce the time needed.

      also @inv3r510n@lemmy.world

      • inv3r510n@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        Union activity has existed for decades and this utter failure of the social contract has been going on just as long. The unions only fought for themselves (understandably) while non union workers were manipulated by media to be against unionization. That’s unlikely to change in any meaningful way anytime soon. We’re too divided, too manipulated, and most importantly it takes too long when people have already been suffering for decades. I see this going the route of stochastic terrorism. This guy fired the first shot of a lopsided future (current?) war.