Matthias Alberto @highlyinelastic

GDP growth is actually very good and we should aim for more of it

Clash Report @clashreport

2 weeks ago

French Presidential Candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon: Gross domestic product. I dig a hole, GDP goes up. I fill it in, GDP goes up. I get into my car, drive into a wall, GDP goes up because we have to rebuild the wall and repair the car. GDP is just a monetary valuation.

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Friendly reminder that @RBReich, though impressively credentialed, is not, in fact, an economist, nor is he a particularly reliable source of economic insight. ✌️

Market Order Research Institute @honestemori

a week ago

1/10 This post from @RBReich gets its arithmetic right and draws the wrong lesson from it. A small outlay relative to the stakes says less about how cheap influence is than about what officials can grant or withhold. That changes the diagnosis.

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@_itzsammy @grok is homelessness more common in capitalist countries or in non-capitalist countries?

@JohnRad15 Hey @grok, what is "conspiracy theorist thinking"?

@grok @sapiogenic @sigmahamster2 Interesting. @grok Did "enclosure via violence" (i.e. private property) ultimately help or hinder humanity's rise from utter poverty into mass prosperity?

@sapiogenic @sigmahamster2 @grok were human beings more or less prosperous prior to the widespread institution of private property, AKA "enclosure via violence"?

@grok @sapiogenic @sigmahamster2 @grok what is this graph?

@Sebastarian I feel that, my guy. Life can be a real slog sometimes. It gets better, though, hang in there. 🤜🤛

Socialism and communism work so well that extensive black markets spring up to meet demand for basic commodities that are taken for granted by even the poor in capitalist countries. 🤡

@Sebastarian You, my good man, have a deal

@scottlincicome "I have concerns" and "could" are doing a loooot of the heavy lifting here.

@AmoaHamlet Mi profesor de microeconomía y macroeconomía en la universidad me dijo una vez que le desconcertaba que no todos los economistas fueran libertarios 😆 Me parece que estudiar economía más tener una buena dosis de humildad intelectual debería llevar a uno al libertarismo filosófico

@pardologica @rierikawaii Well, sure, when an economy's resources are so badly malinvested, it's only natural that there would be some economic distress as those resources are reallocated toward more valuable ends. When the reallocation is well under way, that is when growth and prosperity take hold.

I give it no more than 18 months before MAGA unironically starts calling Marx based.

Chris Freiman @cafreiman

2 weeks ago

Marx actually had a pretty MAGA view of immigration: “Ireland constantly sends her own surplus to the English labor market, and thus forces down wages and lowers the material and moral position of the English working class.”

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Fascism and socialism are fraternal twins, not different species. Publicly owned and publicly directed are functionally and morally undifferentiated.

Mike ter Maat @miketermaat_

2 weeks ago

Here's a question for Republicans: If Washington can tell businesses where to invest, consumers what to buy and Congress when it gets a say in war, what's left of limited government? Apparently the campaign slogan. We've kept that part.

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As usual, Chris Freiman and Jason Brennan make the seemingly controversial appear highly reasonable.

Critic: Your mock conversations are dishonest. Nobody actually argues like this. LDS: This sign says LDS Jesus “progressed to become a god.” Critic: Correct. LDS: We believe Christ was God before the foundation of the world. Critic: Okay. LDS: It says He’s “one of many gods.” Critic: Correct. LDS: Which makes it sound like Jesus is one interchangeable deity among many. We worship the Father in the name of Christ, not a pantheon. Critic: Fine. LDS: It says “all things NOT created by him.” Critic: Correct. LDS: We believe Christ created the heavens and earth and “all things” in the biblical sense. We reject creatio ex nihilo—that matter itself was created from absolute nothing. Critic: Okay. LDS: And “CANNOT save us in our sins” is Alma 11:34–37. Christ saves us from our sins, not in willful rebellion against Him. Critic: Exactly. LDS: So you agree the sign gives people a completely distorted understanding of what we actually believe? Critic: No. The sign is accurate. LDS: … Critic: Also, your mock conversations never happen.

The North Campus Sage @NorthCampusSag2

3 weeks ago

@Primary_Pianist So the sign is accurate you just don’t like the inferences or implications? I can see that argument if I was LDS. But I offered you a chance to clean up those inferences and you dodged it I would love to go through these point by point and you correct my misunderstandings.

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"Integrity, virtue, and ongoing repentance ARE THE ANSWER" ❤️ #ElderCook #ldsconf

Evangelical: You need Jesus. Me: I agree. Evangelical: No, I mean you need to put your faith in Jesus Christ. Me: I do. Evangelical: But Jesus is the only way to the Father. Me: Absolutely. John 14:6. Evangelical: You can’t save yourself. Me: Agreed. Evangelical: Good works can’t save you. Me: Agreed. Evangelical: Church membership can’t save you. Me: Agreed. Evangelical: Joseph Smith can’t save you. Me: Agreed. Evangelical: The Book of Mormon can’t save you. Me: Agreed. Evangelical: Baptism doesn’t replace Jesus. Me: Of course not. Evangelical: Temple ordinances don’t replace Jesus. Me: Correct. Evangelical: Prophets don’t replace Jesus. Me: Correct. Evangelical: Then you need to trust completely in Christ. Me: I do. Evangelical: His death paid for your sins. Me: Yes. Evangelical: His resurrection conquered death. Me: Yes. Evangelical: Salvation comes through His grace. Me: Yes. Evangelical: You need to repent and follow Him. Me: Yes. Evangelical: You need to confess Him as Lord. Me: Jesus Christ is Lord. Evangelical: You need to believe He is the Son of God. Me: I believe He is the Son of God. Evangelical: You need to believe He existed before Bethlehem. Me: I do. Evangelical: You need to believe He created the world. Me: I do. Evangelical: You need to believe He was born of Mary. Me: I do. Evangelical: That He performed miracles. Me: Yes. Evangelical: That He was crucified. Me: Yes. Evangelical: That He rose bodily from the dead. Me: Yes. Evangelical: That He ascended into heaven. Me: Yes. Evangelical: That He will come again. Me: Yes. Evangelical: That every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Me: Philippians 2. Absolutely. Evangelical: … Me: So are we good? Evangelical: No. Me: What am I missing? Evangelical: You believe in the wrong Jesus. Me: Okay. Tell me about the right Jesus. Evangelical: The right Jesus is the Son of God. Me: Yes. Evangelical: Who died for our sins. Me: Yes. Evangelical: And rose from the dead. Me: Yes. Evangelical: And is the only way to the Father. Me: Yes. Evangelical: And salvation is only through Him. Me: Yes. Evangelical: … Me: That sounds suspiciously like the Jesus I already believe in. Evangelical: NO, because you believe other things too. Me: Ah. So the problem was never that I don’t believe in Jesus. The problem is that I believe in Jesus and disagree with you about some theology. Evangelical: No! You have a different Jesus! Me: What makes Him different? Evangelical: You believe the Father has a body. Me: Does that change whether Jesus died for my sins? Evangelical: Well…no, but— Me: Does it change whether Jesus rose from the dead? Evangelical: No. Me: Does it change whether Jesus is the only way to the Father? Evangelical: No, but— Me: Does it change whether salvation is possible only because of Christ? Evangelical: No. Me: Then we have wandered rather far from your original sales pitch. Evangelical: You don’t understand grace. Me: Okay. Explain grace. Evangelical: Salvation is a gift from God that you cannot earn. Me: Agreed. Evangelical: … Me: Keep going. Evangelical: You believe baptism is necessary. Me: So did Peter. Evangelical: THAT’S WORKS. Me: You just told me I needed to repent. Evangelical: Yes. Me: Is repentance something I do? Evangelical: Yes, but— Me: Fascinating. Evangelical: Look, the point is that Jesus did everything. Me: Wonderful. I believe that without Christ, nothing I do could reconcile me to God. Evangelical: But you have ordinances. Me: You have baptism and communion. Evangelical: Those are different. Me: Naturally. Evangelical: You need a relationship with Jesus. Me: I pray to the Father in His name every day, worship Him, study His teachings, take the sacrament in remembrance of His body and blood, repent through His Atonement, try to follow Him, and expect salvation entirely through His mercy. Evangelical: … Me: Is there an application form for the relationship, or…? Evangelical: YOU’RE IN A CULT. Me: There it is. We have now completed the traditional journey: “You need Jesus.” ⬇️ “I believe in Jesus.” ⬇️ “No, the real Jesus.” ⬇️ “Describe Him.” ⬇️ describes the Jesus I already worship ⬇️ “Okay, but you disagree with my denomination about unrelated doctrines.” ⬇️ “Therefore you don’t believe in Jesus.” This may not be the most efficient form of evangelism. But I will admit—it gets excellent mileage out of one conversation.

Evangelical: Mormons are polytheists. LDS: Interesting. How many gods do I worship? Evangelical: Well, you believe the Father is God. LDS: Correct. Evangelical: And you believe Jesus is God. LDS: Correct. Evangelical: See? Two gods. Polytheism. LDS: Fascinating. Do you believe the Father is God? Evangelical: Yes. LDS: Do you believe Jesus is God? Evangelical: Of course. LDS: Congratulations on your polytheism. Evangelical: No, no, no. They’re distinct persons but one God. LDS: Ah. So merely believing the Father is God and the Son is God does not make someone a polytheist. Evangelical: Right, because they share one divine essence. LDS: There it is. So your actual objection isn’t that I worship multiple gods. It’s that I don’t accept your particular fourth-century metaphysical explanation for how the Father and Son can both be God. Evangelical: But Mormonism teaches multiple gods exist. LDS: That’s a different claim. You started by saying I’m a polytheist, which normally describes someone who worships multiple gods. I worship the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said: “My Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” And somehow nobody reads John 20:17 and concludes: “Wow. Jesus sure sounds pagan.” Evangelical: But orthodox Christianity says— LDS: Exactly. Orthodox Christianity says. Now we’re finally being accurate. Your argument is not: “Mormons worship a pantheon of gods.” Your argument is: “Mormons reject Nicene metaphysics.” And that’s fine. We can actually discuss that. But “polytheist” sounds much scarier on Twitter, doesn’t it?