this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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Before you all get your panties in a twist, I know it's technically not true.

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[–] Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 45 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

That link is an unsourced opinion piece on a site belonging to something called the Adam Smith Institute. I'm gonna need something a bit more credible before I believe it tbh.

[–] kugel7c@feddit.de 18 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

The Adam smith institute is a right wing free market think tank with likely very questionable donors. wiki It likely doesn't really do research but takes sources that support their preexisting believes and retells them.

Certainly it was at least very hard to make the capitalist exploitation of the worker so all encompassing before the invention of the mechanical watch (Although there was likely a ton of housework and the general situation was garbage what with feudal lords and all that) . It then likely exploded with the industrial revolution and at least in places where the working class managed to emancipate themselves got somewhat cut back. Now especially for countries outside of the west and increasingly also the US and parts of EU it's likely getting worse, especially with multi employment and precarious employment(gig work, semi self employment, 0h contracts, mechanical turk ...).

Generally i feel work where you or your peers get to keep the total output of your work isn't really a problem, it's a problem when your work gets appropriated into this terrible machine and as a result you are alienated from the work.

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 13 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Adam Smith Institute

I always find it kinda funny when the right turns to Adam Smith. Smith thought that the free market would free us from the monopolistic tendencies of the mercantile system. (Although he wouldn't have written it as such, as the term 'monopoly' wasn't nearly as taxonomically precise as it is now.) If he was alive today, he'd probably be rather dismayed at the failures of capitalism.

But then again, I guess that's the right's shtick: coopt any idea that they can and pervert it to benefit the ultra-wealthy.

Anyways, here's Smith:

The object, besides, of the greater part of the bye-laws of all regulated companies, as well as of all other corporations, is not so much to oppress those who are already members, as to discourage others from becoming so; which may be done, not only by a high fine, but by many other contrivances. The constant view of such companies is always to raise the rate of their own profit as high as they can; to keep the market, both for the goods which they export, and for those which they import, as much understocked as they can: which can be done only by restraining the competition, or by discouraging new adventurers from entering into the trade. (The Wealth of Nations V.i.e.10)

[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

There's also the materialist take on capitalism that it's a stage between feudalism and a more socialist or communist organization of society.

[–] kugel7c@feddit.de 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

It would be funny if it weren't so sad. As much as reading and understanding smith and other philosophy is important for the individual, think tanks unfortunately seem necessary in a modern context aiming to transform, often quite unreadable, as your excerpt demonstrates, philosophical learning, into applicable law/policy.

As with everything this process is utterly captured by right wing and market fundamentalist interests. Just sort this list by Bias/Affiliation and skim some of the descriptions it's a bit horrific, but it also might save you from reading an old school stochastic parrot with an inhumane agenda. Or if you actually find one you can agree with it might give you a reasonable first source.

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Lol yeah, it's definitely the "funny-because-that's-how-I-cope-with-the-absurdity" funny, not the "I'm-actually-having-fun" funny.

Here's my Luke warm take: It's kinda a self fulfilling prophecy that think tanks are so "necessary". They prop up modern thought because our education is so filled with practicality and specialization that there's not enough time for proper philosophical education, which every person should be offered. And further, that is by design to maintain the status quo.

You certainly don't get much hat tipping to the early greats, many of whom said in some form or other that the study of philosophy was one of the most important pursuits a person can have in order to live a good life and build a healthy society.

Warm take, because the corpus of human philosophy really is insanely massive, and realistically we do in fact need food and doctors and house builders and whatnot, and there's too little time and too much to be done for everyone to get a B.A. equivalent in philosophy. Probably. Maybe a think tank has studied the idea.

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[–] bouh@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The time was very different. Most people lived and worked in the country, not in cities, so de facto they couldn't control them however they liked. Christian Church was also imposing morality over everything, which means they couldn't enslave people as easily as today.

We are living in neo-feudalism. Your boss is a lord, and your only freedom is to choose a lord, provided this lord accept you.

[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Christendom was basically like the church was the structure of society, when you were baptized as an infant and written in the books that was like social security today. The anabaptists weren't just so radical because they opposed theology, but because they protested the fundamental structure of how society was organized.

Also religion back then was like entertainment as well, people actually loved going to see preachers and they'd talk about them in the same way we talk about shows or movies now. It had that function in the society as sort of a language for discussing fundamental truths and life experience that people loved engaging in. They didn't have a notion of a political or national identity, but they had a soul and all the stuff to do with that.

[–] lugal@lemmy.ml 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

If that's ok too, I have read a book by an anthropologist who claims the opposite (that in fact people in the past had more leisure than today). I can look up a good quote tomorrow. For the claim in the post, I'm afraid, there ain't no good sources, as for most alternative facts.

[–] Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I mean it seems like the sort of thing people are just ready to believe because "we have technology now so we must have better lives" despite loads of that technology being turned towards controlling us.

As for the book, it wouldn't be Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, would it?

[–] lugal@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It was the first book I read by Graeber but not the last one. He mentioned it in other books too but yes, I was about to quote from Bullshit Jobs

[–] hex_m_hell@slrpnk.net 4 points 10 months ago

Anyone wanting to read it can do so for free: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-bullshit-jobs

The official version I think is better formatted, but this one is functional if you can't access the official one for some reason.

[–] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 3 points 10 months ago (4 children)

It's historical consensus. Your quality of life is still better because you have civil rights and access to medical care that actually works.

[–] Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 6 points 10 months ago (15 children)

If it's consensus then there must be sources somewhere.

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[–] yiliu@informis.land 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's not historical consensus. It's a claim made by some historians that went viral online.

[–] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It seems very emotionally important to you that you believe that. Best of luck.

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[–] dingleberry@discuss.tchncs.de 28 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Medieval peasant's idea of luxury was also "some butter". Let's not glorify the past.

[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

They loved showing off what spices they had, like "yo this is a nutmeg pie, that's right I got nutmeg bitches." Some of the recipes are actually hilarious cause they seem to be based around showing off your spices, the original lasagna for example.

What's also funny is the foods peasants could afford and eat, were at least to our modern diet a lot healthier than what the lord would eat. They'd be eating root vegetables, cabbage, squash, porridges. Cheese as well because it was a method of preservation and the separated whey had it's own uses, lot of peasants made their own cheese. Meanwhile the lord would be eating marrow and fatty salted meats, hunting his own game, or more like wanting people to believe he did so trying to curate that image of himself. Maybe commission a "morning hunt" portrait of himself in case you weren't sure.

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[–] Underwaterbob@lemm.ee 17 points 10 months ago (2 children)

More time off to take care of the fourteen children you need to have to keep your farm going.

[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

You'd be having sex in the same room as all your kids and animals lived too

[–] norgur@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 10 months ago

And almost succumb to some form of the common cold

[–] nooneescapesthelaw@lemmy.ml 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Dies at 46 after a minor cut gets infected

[–] balderdash9@lemmy.zip 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You don't want to go back to the past. At least not before germ theory and anesthesia.

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[–] Goodbyeworld@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

there were no cameras in the Middle Ages. Checkmate shitposters.

[–] Carvex@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

Also that woman clearly isn't middle aged.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

It's still bullshit.

[–] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

OP I thought debunking the Adam Smith Institute claim would be easy, but you've just introduced me to Tim Worstall and he might be based: We Can afford UBI, and its better than the cruel welfare state - Tim Worstall

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

That's a great read, thanks for sharing.

[–] Prunebutt@feddit.de 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There was a recent report (rather exagerrated but still) which claimed that in the 1930s it took 65 hours of human labour a week to run a household. Today it takes 3. Things were worse back in medieval days.

Doubt.jpeg

[–] ComicalMayhem@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Only way that is acceptable is if they missed a 0. Even then 30 is pushing it

[–] azurefirefly@lemmy.basedcount.com 8 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Can't wait for people in debate class to look at this post and discuss which logical fallacy is most fitting

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Or how is just blatantly wrong.

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[–] Assman@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 months ago

Actually medieval people got wayyy more time off across the board. It's because they all died by 45.

[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

It's holiday season, we got pies and ale, a new preacher is coming to town and we're getting shitfaced. Nobody has plague yet and life is good.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No way in fucking hell it takes 3 hours a week to run a household. I do that daily.

Clothing, kids homework, meals to cook, cleaning, shopping for food, kids extracurriculars, bills.

6:00 pick up kids from aftercare

6:15 Get home with kids, take care of pets, reheat dinner

6:30-7:00 kids eat dinner and I do laundry

7:00-8:00 kids homework and cleaning

8:00-8:30: violin practice

8:30 - 9:00 whatever subject they are lagging in or if nothing shared reading.

9:00 - 10:00 kids bath and ready for next day. Around 9:20 or so I eat dinner

[–] Murais@lemmy.one 6 points 10 months ago

You also do it alone.

People generally used to live with their extended families.

The tasks you're describing were generally spread out between 4-8 grown-ass adults.

[–] Lauchs@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (6 children)
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[–] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 4 points 10 months ago

A medieval peasant looked nothing like this.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I already work less than a medieval peasant.

Just don't tell my boss.

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I do too. My boss is an asshole though, spends all her time on lemmy shitposting and then tells me to work harder. But then again, I am my own boss, so PEBCAK.

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