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Barbienomics or Why Britain Should Make Less
Comments
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grizzly1911 wrote: »It is amazing how the USA invented brands that really extract extra revenue out of nothing of meaningful substance just experience/image. .
Not a brand, but how Brits fell for the marketing hype behind eating popcorn on a visit to the cinema is beyond me.
People in general seem to go for brands because they want to conform and fit in with their peers, but when incomes become squeezed it may suddenly become fashionable to go for the cheaper alternative than the big brand, and brag about saving rather than spending."When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »If people really can afford it fair enough but so many people chase the experience that can't.
They are driven by a dream "forced" on them not reality.
Nobody is forced to dream.
But it's human nature to dream, to aspire, and to strive.
If everyone sat around being contented with achieving the bare minimum then society would be a much poorer place.Whilst people can afford the premium service it could be argued they are excessively paid/rewarded, relatively or sitting on an investment pile that is stifling the life blood of society.
No I don't think it can be argued.
We live in some of the most meritocratic times in history.
Where a black man from a poor single parent family can become president of the USA, and a greengrocers daughter can become Prime Minister of Britain.
Where Bill Gates, a middle class college drop-out, can become the richest man in the World, and where Alan Sugar, the son of a tailor in London's East End can come from a Council House to a £700 million pound fortune.
The very point of a vibrant, progressive, developing, society, is that not everyone will become a Bill Gates or Alan Sugar, but everyone can try and everyone has the opportunity to get off their backside and make a go of things.
And we'd all be a lot better off if they would try, rather than sitting around moaning about a lack of "fairness" or "equality", words which have become code for dragging everyone else down to the lowest common denominator.Trickle down can't be relied on.
Whereas socialism can be relied on.... to stifle innovation, progress, prosperity, opportunity and success.My local garage will provide all those services (albeit not atop of the range Audi) at a fraction of the price leaving me spare cash to do other things.:)
And that's the beauty of choice.
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »
Whereas socialism can be relied on.... to stifle innovation, progress, prosperity, opportunity and success.
Capitalism and automation was supposed to ease our workloads so we could all work less and spend more time on leisure.
Turned out we're working more hours than anybody in Europe but the irony is there's also loads of people struggling to find any hours of work. And they can't afford to spend all day at the gym or the leisure centre or the cinema on our behalf.
We've fallen for a con trick- more fool us:(There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker0 -
We've fallen for a con trick- more fool us:(
You can opt out at any time....
Still a fair few caves in the UK.
But it looks like consumerism has beat you to it....:rotfl:
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »
Just go to Primark, Aldi, Lidl, etc,
No thank you :eek:'In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are Consequences.'0 -
No thank you :eek:
Why afraid you will catch something like surplus cash in your pocket?"If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »
We live in some of the most meritocratic times in history.
Where a black man from a poor single parent family can become president of the USA, and a greengrocers daughter can become Prime Minister of Britain.
Where Bill Gates, a middle class college drop-out, can become the richest man in the World, and where Alan Sugar, the son of a tailor in London's East End can come from a Council House to a £700 million pound fortune.
The very point of a vibrant, progressive, developing, society, is that not everyone will become a Bill Gates or Alan Sugar, but everyone can try and everyone has the opportunity to get off their backside and make a go of things.
And we'd all be a lot better off if they would try, rather than sitting around moaning about a lack of "fairness" or "equality", words which have become code for dragging everyone else down to the lowest common denominator.
Freedom of opportunity does indeed allow this. The most able or the most fortunate or the most ruthless can indeed succeed. But should those who are less able, fortunate or ruthless expect to be treated unfairly or unequally just because they did not succeed?Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
Freedom of opportunity does indeed allow this. The most able or the most fortunate or the most ruthless can indeed succeed.
Yes.should those who less able, fortunate or ruthless expect to be treated unfairly or unequally just because they did not succeed?
What is fair and equal is that everyone has the opportunity to succeed. Which they do.
It would be deeply unfair to reward failure as well as we reward success.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
MacMickster wrote: »Not a brand, but how Brits fell for the marketing hype behind eating popcorn on a visit to the cinema is beyond me.
People in general seem to go for brands because they want to conform and fit in with their peers, but when incomes become squeezed it may suddenly become fashionable to go for the cheaper alternative than the big brand, and brag about saving rather than spending.
What I find strange is when people want to take that experience home?
I have just nipped into Waitrose for some fresh coffee. I noticed that they were offering Starschmucks and Costa branded fresh coffee at 20% premium to their own:think:HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »Nobody is forced to dream.
But it's human nature to dream, to aspire, and to strive.
If everyone sat around being contented with achieving the bare minimum then society would be a much poorer place.
Whereas socialism can be relied on.... to stifle innovation, progress, prosperity, opportunity and success.
And that's the beauty of choice.
Why price their dreams out of reach or put them into debt and wage slavery to attain it? Or is that the real purpose? A bit like the wealthy landowners of years past who had pubs and village shops to relieve their workers of their hard earned pennies?
I never said communism ( I take it that is what you really meant and introduced it ) could
relied on just that trickle down needs a shove and persuasion.
The beauty of choice is having it in the first place.Capitalism and automation was supposed to ease our workloads so we could all work less and spend more time on leisure.
Turned out we're working more hours than anybody in Europe but the irony is there's also loads of people struggling to find any hours of work. And they can't afford to spend all day at the gym or the leisure centre or the cinema on our behalf.
We've fallen for a con trick- more fool us:(
A link posted on another thread, courtesy of HMT.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21519050
I asked my taxi-driver the other day if he thinks Australians are rich. He was originally from Turkey.
He looked at me as though I was stupid. "We are living in the lap of luxury here," he said, gesturing to the blue sky and the magnificent city skyline.
So I asked him if he thinks Australians are happy. This time, he sighed.
"When I was at school my teacher asked us who had to work harder, the poor Africans, or the rich Americans," he began.
"A lot of us said the Africans, but my teacher told me no, it was the Americans. They were always working to find ways to pay for their lovely life. Australians are the Americans now.""If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »"When I was at school my teacher asked us who had to work harder, the poor Africans, or the rich Americans," he began.
"A lot of us said the Africans, but my teacher told me no, it was the Americans. They were always working to find ways to pay for their lovely life. Australians are the Americans now."
Much like democracy, capitalism isn't perfect.
But it's the least bad system we've tried so far.
It usually favours those who are smart, ambitious, driven, innovative and hard working over those who are lazy, indolent and lacking imagination.
It usually maximises efficiency and productivity and spurs innovation and technological advancement.
Hunter gatherers almost certainly worked less than modern man does. Can't see many people wanting to go back to living that way though.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0
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