This community is the first one on lemmy of its kind. It sits between the idea of anarchism/anti-capitalism and left leaning economic policy.
Our goal is to make people aware of the dangers of corporate control, its influence on governments and people as well as the small but steady abrasion of empathy around the world indirectly caused by it.
Current topics this includes but is not limited to:
Feel free to debate this but beware, corporate rhetoric is not welcome here. If you have arguments, bring them on. If its rhetoric trying to defend the evil actions of corporations, we will know and you will go.
Our declared goal so far is to have all companies and individuals worldwide capped at 999 mil USD in all assets, including ownership of other companies, sister companies and marital assets. The reason for this is that companies (and individuals) are not supposed to resemble small(?) countries with a single leader(-board) and shareholder primacy. Thats why we feel like they must be kept in check indefinitely.
But companies will just wander off The argument that large companies will just wander off is valid, which we embrace. We dont need microsoft, apple, google, amazon and other trillion dollar companies. There are small competitors being kept small and driven into brankruptcy by anti competitive behavior of these giants or simply bought up and closed. If starbucks left tomorrow, we would not have an issue with this.
But then we have x little microsofts that all belong to the same person(s) If in fact nobody was allowed to accumulate more than 999 mil in assets, they would not be able to own all these. And like defending agains burglary, it is not about complete defence but time and effort. You only have to keep the thief occupied long enough for them to be caught, give up or make a mistake.
But these giants have tons of IP which would then limit our growth Thats another topic we must touch on. We will (only this one time) take a page out of russias playbook and demand that IP of non complying companies (assets over 999 mil USD) will be declared invalid, which opens them up to be copied.
But then they will "live" in one country that doesnt accept this Correct, and they should be taken into custody the moment they enter the airspace of a country that supports this act.
I don't see any adverts. I only watch stuff with ads blocked, where I can't block them I don't use that service.
Given the widespread data collection going on, the way it's collected for advertising and then used for more sinister reasons, if we could all avoid all adverts as a collective boycott we'd fix a lot of social issues and internet problems.
Reason all the services are inserting adverts is because it's working.
Very much, yes. I agree fully. But try to tell people they should stop viewing ads or install an ad blocker. They will make a ritual sacrifice out of you. It's always like life of brian when they all scream "he's the messiah". If it weren't so sad, it would actually be a lot of fun. :D
I'm old enough to remember when there were only four TV channels, two of them advertising funded.
I don't think it's an unreasonable model to fund a company that way, however the lack of transparency in the modern infrastructure gives the impression something is going on that they know we wouldn't be happy with if we knew.
If your business can't function without keeping secrets I want nothing to do with it.
I'm not old enough for that but I was alive when chernobyl went boom. ;)
The issue is not just making advertisement. That I would be mostly fine with. My issue is monopolism (examle google favoring youtube on search results), manipulation (showing happy people drinking alcohol, implying you will be happy if you drink), cancer-capitalism where companies drive for infinite growth, wage-slavery where people get half of what they got 50 yrs ago if you count inflation.
Thats why this community exists. People are fed up with this psycho-capitalism where the customer is just another thing to exploit and get rid of.
I get the resignation most people have about this, I agree that they likely couldn't break free or upend the system itself so they feel they might as well surrender to it.
This is really sad I think. I think with enough collective push things could change direction, even if it would be like adjusting the heading on a supertanker.
i dont willingly use anything i cant adblock, fuck that brainwashing trash
I use my stuff until it breaks. I repair my stuff. I don't buy apple. I read reviews before I buy. I support strong regulation.
sounds like my kind of person. You have my respect. I learned my lesson with apple. Not going to buy that shit again.
I'm on a quest to make everything from scratch that I reasonably can. [email protected] my own beer and cider and other stuff. [email protected] my own bread. [email protected] my own house ware organizers. (next up is recycling plastic bottles into filament!) I'm trying to incorporate walking where I used to drive. It's not easy, I'm in a typical American city, but I do what I can.
Hang on, are you me? Lol
If you're looking for a good summertime beverage, I'd like to point you to tepache. It's made from pineapple rind and sugar and only takes about 2 weeks to brew out. I recently brewed a batch with apples, pineapples, and bread yeast and the result was somewhere between a strong cider and a tropical punch with a nice golden color.
I've made tepache twice and it suuuuucked. It smelled like if a barn had stinky feet.
You added yeast? Everything I've seen says not to.
That's actually the big factor in making it good. Tradition tepache uses the natural bacteria on the pineapple rind to ferment it, but unless you're growing that pineapple yourself you have to compete with the wild nonsense they get exposed to in the shipping process. Add a controlled yeast to the mix and you get a way better result. Personally I like baking yeast because you can buy it by the pound for cheap and it has a low alcohol tolerance so you get sweet, bready flavors but I'd imagine it works fine with any other.
Damn! Thats very cool! Have you considered making videos about it? People underestimate how much others can actually learn from them.
I do a lot of the same stuff and people are constantly telling me I need to make videos. But they fail to realize.is that moment you decide to make videos you have to buy a whole lot of lighting gear and you will increase the amount of time it takes to do anything by at least eight fold when you figure in camera positioning and editing. Massively increases the mental and time load.
I'd love to. I don't wanna be a content creator, but I'd love to make videos as a hobby. Sadly, it's too much time right now. Full time job, family, and making things from scratch leaves little time.
I get that. Some folks just put their phone on record and upload uncut. most often perfection is the enemy of good.
Just buying as little as possible. I take in electronics from my family (laptops/phones). I format the drives for them so they don't have to worry about that and in return I can use them or pass them on as I please.
My wife and I are spending as little money as possible this year.
I’ve been building out my server to replace as many enshittified websites/services/software as I can, and the server is an eight or so year old machine that I repurposed.
I bike for transportation as much as I can.
My wife and I heavily utilize our local library
We continue to look for new opportunities to give a middle finger to capitalism
Thats the most awesome thing I heard today! Thank you so much for sharing this. I think you and your wife are awesome people and great role models. I wish more people were like you two! Congrats to being great! :)
I buy local and independent. If I need something I can't get that way, I shoplift enough from whatever corporate giant has the thing I need to offset the purchase revenue.
I'm very active in the local mutual support and buy-nothing groups, meaning not only do I spend little on consumer purchases, my neighbors spend less, too.
Thats crazy! I like it. I didnt know that this is actually a thing. Obviously, big media doesnt talk about it because it gives power to the people. Congrats to you for helping and sticking it to the man! :)
Make things even if it costs more than buying. This requires you to have access to a lot of tools. Especially in the kitchen.
If you hear an advertisement for something that is offering a discount larger than the amount you would actually pay for the item then never buy it from them.
Pay more for something that will last you the rest of your life.
Look for functional items at antique shops instead of buying a nearly identical item new.
Never buy physical media new unless it's literally your favorite band.
Learn to knit, sew. Even if you're buying yarn or fabric from a big corporation your handmade good will surpass fast fashion in quality and life span.
You don't need any merchandising from your favorite movie or comic book. Lego doesn't count because you can build other stuff.
Pawn shops and thrift stores are your friend. I guess this is a footnote to my first point.
Go through your library's website with a fine tooth comb to see what services and goods they offer. This conclude free streaming stuff or seed packets that are picked for your area or any number of other things other than books. And of course books.
I've been living in a flat since I left Uni (where I lived in the dorms), so naturally I had to buy a garlic press. I couldn't find a good one - all plastic, or half plastic, or metal but definitely didn't look sturdy. After 2 years and a broken garlic press, I went looking and found what I would call The One. Instantly looked sturdy AF, all stainless, all steel, and it was only $40.
I am almost positive this one will last me till the end of days.
WMF Profi Plus
That's how you do it. Well, how I did it. It was a mono-tasker so I dumped my garlic press. I either mince it by hand or if I need that juiced vibe I grate it. Rarely pestil and mortar because that means thoroughly cleaning that thing.
Learn to repair a variety of things - sewing, soldering, basic woodworking and construction. Discover how things work so you can troubleshoot and assess if something is repairable. There are tonnes of books out there and plenty of YouTube videos.
Buy used. Broken, if you think you can fix it. Dumpster dive. Thrift everything, especially clothing. Hit estate sales for tools and other things people don't get rid of when they are alive. Keep a list of things so you don't forget what you need to buy.
Use your skills to help friends and neighbors to fix or find things they need. Often they have a different skillset and will help you with things you might need in the future. It doesn't hurt to have a network.
Don't be afraid to ask about pricing and haggle a bit, but always be polite and know when to compromise or back down. If you see something has sold for a low price online, odds are it will sell again for that if you are patient and keep watch. Bide your time.
Don't get sucked into trends. Used books read the same, decades old video games play the same even if you get them free on their 10-year anniversary promotion.
All that said, if you must buy, go for quality. Something you use every day is worth paying extra for higher quality, and sometimes quality means excellent customer support or a robust warranty. Quality tools make your job easier, but even cheap hand tools can be worth it if you only need them occasionally.
That's it, I can't think of a cool way to close this. This is just how I manage to do okay without spending a bunch of my hard earned money.
I love re-using things, feels like I'm cheating or something. I'm trying to get into fixing and repurposing things, making things out of what's available.
Privately becoming bitter and resentful instead of assassinating somebody.
Boy howdy! Do I feel that.
my first-gen i7 is from 2009. still use it every day, and it plays the games i play (which doesn't include any recent 'aaa' games).
among all the systems around here, which are all former scrap and junk, except for an equally-old propus core athlon that was built using parts from old sales--back when pc parts sales were good, it's the best one i have.
Thats insane! Thanks for sharing. This i5 is also 1st gen I think. Pretty crazy that this thing is still chugging. The fact that so much electronics are perfectly fine if you dont have remote kill switches in them is both great and incredibly sad. I respect the hell out of you for making old stuff work overtime.
I just be as cheap as possible about everything and use my various DIY skills to save money even more where I can. I've never had a single streaming service, I grow some of my own food, I only use open source software and I avoid disposable products as much as possible.
Just repaired my 14-year-old bread machine instead of getting a new one.
Then I actually made bread in it for the first time instead of just using it to make pizza dough. Instant fan, definitely will be doing it more.
I do my best to only buy raw materials or ingredients and make things the closest I can get "from scratch"
I'm fairly good at it for food and some home consumables, I make most of our: bread, soap, after shave, yogurt, beer (and food in general, of course)
Now I'm trying it for home stuff... In the last couple of years I've made our coffee table, dinning table, living room lamp, kids beds, our bed
And since my car is no longer in warranty, I've started doing all the maintenance I can on my own
Converting everything in my kitchen to glass, wood, or metal. No more plastic.
Thats actually a great idea! :) can you give any advice or provide helpful resources for others to follow your lead?
I've repurposed, repaired, and resold as many (> 85% ?) of my PCs, SmartPhones, Laptops, and Tablets as possible since 2013 as smartcams, servers, and edge computing nodes.
I haven't bought new clothes in years. If something tears I'll sew it myself.
I've got a lot of my furniture from cast offs from family.
Not sure if I have it in me to start a blog but definitely happy to share what I learned so far
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