Part II From each according to his ability, to each according to his needOn a personal level, part of the reason why I argue on the internet is to focus my arguments and make them relatable. Now I'm sure there's folks in this thread who will tell me I've failed, but my goal wasn't to convert every asshole with a red title.
So we all know Zeitgueist as a Socialist hero, right? He always is going on and on about Marxism and working conditions and whatnot:
One can easily argue against austerity from a capitalist perspective. Most of the issues facing various countries are a manufactured crisis created by out of control banking industries, many of which are far too big at this point to fail. Banks have coerced or lied to gullible local governments in order for them to take on tons of debt, and then called in that debt, following that up by saying these countries have a debt crisis. The money being lent by the central banks ends up being a disguised bailout, as the cash goes back to those banks who lent it, via the Greek(or whoever) middle man. This in turn props up the more powerful members of the EU, like France and Germany, who can claim their finances are better in order(thanks to these bailouts).
Austerity makes little sense because massive cuts in government spending will shrink the economy, making it LESS likely that the nations will be able to pay their bills in the future. This austerity ideology is based on the idea that debt hurts the economy, a concept which pretty much everyone knew was bullshit, but used to have a sketchy Harvard paper to serve as a fig leaf.
From a marxist standpoint, it's also a pretty simple explanation. Capital must grow to survive, and must have an exploited class. Out of control banks have grown powerful and are now directly creating an underclass in Greece. The unemployment, which capitalism needs to sustain itself, will drive down wages and destroy any kind of bargaining power for labor. Additionally, the state will be forced to privatize things they normally would not, at firesale prices, providing fertile soil for capital.
And he spends a lot of time reading about it
Any comprehensive sources and books about the history and structure of the Soviet Union? I feel like as a developing Marxist (or at least a socialist) I must know about what the hell happened there. I know Richard Wolff had a book on it, but other sources would be helpful as well.
Speaking of which, what does everybody here think of Richard Wolff?
From the book thread:
Soviet history
Richard Stites, Revolutionary Dreams (The absolute best book on the culture of the early Soviet Union in existence) and Serfdom, Society and the Arts in Imperial Russia
Moshe Lewin, The Soviet Century and Lenin's Last Struggle
Neil Harding, Leninism
Kevin McDermott, Stalin: Revolutionary in an Era of War (Best 'neutral' book on Stalin that I know, represents the consensus well and makes no errors)
Oleg Khlevniuk, The History of the Gulag
Rex Wade, The Russian Revolution
Getty & Naumov, The Road to Terror
Martin Malia, Alexander Herzen and the Birth of Russian Socialism, 1812-1855
Alexei Yurchak, Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation
No, and we have several examples of countries providing goods without capitalism. Like I said, medicine has advanced, farming has advanced, science has advanced, and laying that at the feed of capitalism is a naive and incorrect argument.
Even within capitalism, many of the things that have measurably increased lifespans have little to do with 'capitalism' in any meaningful way.
Sure modern times are better than other times in measurable ways.
The problem is when you try to say capitalism has done this.
Boy, he sure hates Capitalism!

It has been for the entirety of modern capitalism. Most western democracies have only had prosperity for certain parts of their populations, and the ones who most take care of their citizenry(social democracies) do this through exploitation of the global south. Not to mention being based on previous colonial empires that did this even more directly.
And even those states built on exploitation are having their prosperity dismantled.
:godwin:
Hitler was a fascist, which makes him by definition capitalist.
:godwin:
What does he do again?
To support that, I make well above minimum in a white collar office job, and I laughed at my boss for suggesting I look at work emails during my time off.
Well remember when we said he was a "Structural Engineer?" Well, he is. But the "structures" he engineers aren't load bearing.
They are the cardboard and plastic packages dreamed up by designers to market and sell children's toys. You see, according to his Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=156286456&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=8CT6&locale=en_US&srchid=2049133081376671390434&srchindex=5&srchtotal=23&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A2049133081376671390434%2CVSRPtargetId%3A156286456%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimaryhe's a "Senior Structural Engineer for Spinmaster, Inc"
http://www.spinmaster.com/What is Spinmaster? Well, they are "A multi-category children's entertainment company since 1994, Spin Master designs, develops, manufactures and markets consumer products for children around the world and is recognized as one of the 5th largest and the fastest growing toy companies in North America." They package and sell dolls, action figures, cars, etc.
Zeitgueit's job is basically to structure the plastic and cardboard of toys. In fact, he went to RIT in Rochester to get a Bachelors of Science in something called "Packaging Science" because he had a burning desire to work for major companies like Mattel and help make packaging for toys. Check out his webpage:
http://re.vu/pjmurray and you can see some of the packages he designed.
He's helped make toy packages for children:


as well as manchildren:


even something OSI might like!

Now, this doesn't mean he comes up with the colors or layout. He's the one who makes sure that the cardboard is the right shape to accommodate someone else's design, to make sure the plastic is thick enough, that the packaging won't break in shipment, will hang on a peg, will open easy for kids and look good in a nerd's collection. WHAT A VITAL AND IMPORTANT JOB TO HELP ADVANCE THE HUMAN CONDITION AND END SUFFERING!
Now, let's think about this for a second. Who makes those toys and packages? Union workers who have rights and have been collectivized, with health care, 4 weeks of vacation, and high hourly wages? Or people working for 38 cents an hour in China?

You know what else could employ 100's of millions? Those workers not working for shit wages because the foreign factory drove all the local places out of business. Or maybe safer jobs in factories that don't fall down for a comfortable wage, instead of a shitty one in company housing.
Man I bet those folks in Bangladesh were happy to have the option to die in a factory collapse. Good thing Capitalism doesn't destroy people, just lifts them up.

Nice disconnect, brah.
Not to mention that these exciting packages entice children and make them want these toys, forcing the parents to buy them and perpetuating the world of marketing, advertising, and toy production.

: "Good job."
Shoot, he's even been nominated for awards for being such a great capitalist!
http://www.gdusa.com/contests/aida12/types/winner.php?f=mattelClient: Disney Consumer Products
Title: Cars Lightning McQueen Alive
Art Director: Jamie Dunn
Copywriter: Kathleen Pang
Creative Pilot: Mike Lehigh
Structural Engineer: Patrick Murray
Client: Disney Consumer Products
Title: Toy Story D23
Art Director: Jamie de Anda
Designer: Alan Fisher
Copywriter: Kathleen Pang
Structural Engineer: Patrick Murray
http://www.gdusa.com/contests/agda11/types/se.php?x=PKG1420-PKG1421-PKG1422-PKG1423-PKG1424-PKG1425-PKG2681-PKG2682-PKG2683-PKG2684-PKG2685-PKG2686Title: Prehistoric Pets Package
Art Director: Jason Langston
Copywriter: Matt Emert
Structural Engineer: Patrick Murray

He used to work for Mattel, as a "Packaging Engineer" and made between $50-$60k til he got a new job as the "Senior Structural Engineer" for Spinmaster. That was probably good for a $20-$30k raise. So what does he spend that on? He certainly believes in helping the poor, I bet he supports poor neighborhoods by living in one, right?
"Bad" neighborhoods are directly the result of racism and capitalist oppression.
Hmm...is that why he moved from Long Beach
The 2010 United States Census[23] reported that Long Beach had a population of 462,257.[24] The population density was 9,191.3 people per square mile (3,548.8/km²). The racial makeup of Long Beach was 213,066 (46.1%) White, 62,603 (13.5%) Black or African American (U.S. Census), 3,458 (0.7%) Native American, 59,496 (12.9%) Asian (4.5% Filipino, 0.9% Vietnamese, 0.6% Chinese, 0.6% Japanese, 0.4% Indian, 0.4% Korean, and 5.2% Other Asian), 5,253 (1.1%) Pacific Islander (0.8% Samoan, 0.1% Guamanian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian, 0.1% Other Pacific Islander), 93,930 (20.3%) from other races, and 24,451 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 188,412 persons (40.8%). 32.9% of the city's population was of Mexican heritage.[25] Non-Hispanic Whites were 29.4% of the population in 2010,[24] down from 86.2% in 1970.
to Redondo Beach, which is 75% White, 3% Black?

"I am White Flight"


But I'm sure he donates all his fantastic salary to great causes and wouldn't spend money on fancy restaurants. He probably eats at a soup kitchen, right?
Well like I said, Long Beach isn't great but one place I can give you is the Long Beach Thai Restaurant at the corner of 10th and Redondo. It's tucked away facing the McDonald's drive through, and it's the place where the tables are packed with Thai immigrants. It gets props from my thai friends and foodies alike, though it doesn't look like much from the outside(or inside).
Most of the "high-end" restaurants in downtown you should stay away from because they're not worth it. L'Opera is OK, but you can do better for the money, as well as 555 East. Parker's Lighthouse is OK as well, but mostly cool because they have a pack of cats that roams the perimeter of the restaurant. As far as pubs though, a lot of folks swear by Congregation.
If you're looking for a brunch place, there's way more choice in LB than WLA, especially in the Belmont Heights/Shore area. I'd give my vote to The Potholder. Standard brunch diner fair, but done pretty well and you get a huge selection and huge portions for your money. I haven't been to the downtown location, just the Belmont Shore one. I'd say do not go to Starlings Diner, which is hipster as hell, overpriced, and essentially exactly the place they were making fun of on the brunch episode of Portlandia. Including the massive line.
On 2nd Street, a lot of places have turned over in the past year and I don't know that I can give you something up to date on them. If you like french, La Creperie is still pretty good, even after the change in ownership, and while it tries a bit hard to be ~french~ it's one of my favorite places.
I think LB is gradually becoming a trendier place to eat, and in 5 years the list will be much longer. However right now, it's essentially like the club scene in Long Beach: If you were going to make something really neat, there's not a whole lot of reason you wouldn't just build your place in LA.

Oh, and I guess if you invest your fiancee's money in stocks and shit you're not an evil capitalist. I mean, it's not your money, right?
Are Fidelity and Vanguard essentially interchangeable for someone looking to park their money for a while? You can click my post history in the thread for details, but I'm essentially looking to put my fiancees money into a low risk mid-term bond fund to beat inflation(if possible) for a few years, and she already has a retirement account through Fidelity.
So after going on and on with long winded arguments about Marxism and the Revolution, inequality, working conditions, prisons, race, etc...whelp, it turns out
he's a massive fucking hypocrite who makes stupid money working for billion dollar companies. Remember that next time he's lecturing you about priviliege and the evils of capitalism.

Next, how does a Feminist Crusader find love in LA? And what kind of love is he looking for? Parents, you might want to send the kids to the other room for this part of our program!
Check your premise. I can stop reading your post right here, because this is a massively debatable opinion that you're trying to pass as fact.
