[quote=@Vilageidiotx] Yes. Kings have job descriptions too, but when you get rid of them society doesn't fall apart. [/quote] Actually, it kind of [i]does.[/i] When you remove a figure head like that via revolution, to replace it with a new government, you are taking the previous society apart and rebuilding it with the recycled bricks. This has been going on for ages, and is the reason we DON'T have kings right now. But you're comparing kings and business owners in the wrong way. Some kings did just live a privileged life, letting the church or advisers rule their country while they relaxed. Other kings made laws, managed the economy, discussed military strategy during times of war, etc. [quote=@Vilageidiotx] Marxism/Leninism doesn't work because it is predicated on the belief that democracy doesn't work, and once you've made that decision than you have decided that the people cannot rule themselves, which defeats the purpose of trying to put the people in charge of the economy. [/quote] Someone will always step up and take charge, because there's no way everyone can control the economy at once. Everyone needs a representative, who will look like the leader and, like it or not, that person will have more power over the economy at that point onward. That's how I view it, anyways. [quote=@Vilageidiotx] I personally believe that aristocrats throughout history have been frauds. I think the historical pattern where aristocrats continue to leach power from their civilization until they take too much and their civilization stagnates and either goes through revolution, collapses, or becomes undefendable, is telling. I think the United States is currently entering that stagnation process. [/quote] This is a gripe I have with talking about the current state of things, and talking about politics and the economy. A lot of people seem to think that the US is currently undergoing its demise- we're on our deathbed, even though we have been chugging along fine for years. Our death won't happen because of our current economic system, and it wouldn't happen if we were communist, or socialist, or lived in a dictatorship. Our death would happen when we tried to change all of that, because switching our economic ideology will make us very weak, as we're suddenly getting rid of people that make a lot of money they use to fund the government. [quote=@Vilageidiotx] My main beef with the far left is the sectarian nature of it. I think most of those beliefs are endangered because they are always too worried about the rules, like someone holding up the game to read the rulebook until everyone gets annoyed. [/quote] I kinda agree. It's the same way with AnCap people. If you tell them they're wrong, they'll tell you everything will be OK because of the NAP [quote=@Vilageidiotx] I also think the far left throughout history usually fails. Aristocrats are frauds, but they are really good frauds. So if I had to put money on it, I wouldn't bet that the left will win and we'll enter some Star Trek future, rather I'd bet that our civilization is going to stagnate and fall apart. What that'll look like in the modern world is hard to tell. I'm just reaaallly hoping that it waits until I die before any of the really hairy shit happens. Let me be the last generation of the waning civilization, not the first generation of the First Intermediate Period of the Anglo-Saxon civilization. [/quote] I think everything's going to be fine, for at least another 100 years.