I remember those commercials as a kid. Wasnt that the indian with the tear running down his cheek. I even fell for all lefts nonsense as a young kid and was quite the left winger at one time until I realized it had absolutely nothing to do with the enviroment they were trying to save. Instead it was a means to a end for political power and then I began my journey away from there destructive nature (pardon the pun) and into the only true from of government that has ever worked on this planet for all people. Capitalism.
Yeah, I guess I'm still pretty left wing. In fact, I've been left wing since my teen age. You could call me ultra-left-wing, b/c I'm an anarchist and think that no government is the best government. I'd favor local administrations. But I also realize that this is a dream that cannot currently be implemented b/c it requires a different kind of mindset. It is also incompatible with capitalism, b/c anarchy combined with capitalism might be the capitalist's ultimate dream, but it would endanger everyone in unpredictable ways. Also, I believe that further down the line, anarchy and getting rid of capitalism will be possible by the use of computer technology. But we're far away from that. I picture something akin to Iain M. Banks' Culture universe, where intelligent AI cares about production and keeps an eye on the people. But people would be free to do basically whatever they want.
I'm also a supporter of environmentalism, simply b/c I don't want to live in a polluted world. If you want an example of how bad that could be, read Peter F. Hamilton's
Pandora's Star and
Judas Unchained, which contains an alien named MorningLightMountain that pollutes its home planet to get maximum efficiency. This is what people would do with Earth if there weren't any rules.
Gas prices are only high because government chooses to make them high in your country. Nothing else. In Americas case its the left wing loons fighting tooth and nail not allowing new places to be drilled for oil and we have plenty. Fighting tooth and nail not allowing new production facilities in the last 25 or 35 years. And nut cases like Obama more then happy to further that cause and let hard working Americans pay those higher gas prices when it does not have to be that way. Americans may be a little slow to catch on but when gas prices climb to high and they start learning why its going to be like the salem witch burnings for wacko enviromentalists all over again.
You're right, our gas prices mostly come from energy tax, which was introduced by the Green Party foremost to force the car industry into producing more environment-friendly cars. But it also fills the government's cash box, which in turn is good for us all, b/c it helps the government finance things.
In the past years, I've noticed with horror, that many people here now are against the taxes ... but they're hurting themselves, should the taxes be removed one day, b/c it will stop the government from spending on essential things. But perhaps costs will be able to be reduced by computer technology.
I believe even communism (in the original sense, not as a dictatorship) could've worked pretty well if there had been computers.
Countries like China aren't really communist, for various reasons ... the GDR and the USSR weren't either. True communism is very similar to anarchy, except that all goods are shared. In anarchy, there can be private property. In the GDR and other similar socialist / pseudo communist countries, people expected even
women to be shared, as if they were things.
To me, the USA always looks like at the brink of another civil war ... Both Democrats and Republicans fight with clenched teeth ... if you would've had a "proper dictatorship" like we did, you'd appreciate political freedom more and not use it to verbally kill each other. Similar things happened in the Republic of Weimar, and I wished people would learn from the past, instead of repeating it.
