I have a lot of Amazon gift cards that I want to use up
Only the truly desperate would work a factory job for $14 an hour. The going rate is double that.
"Work for half of the market rate to fuck over striking workers while braving insults and abuse!*"
* Abuse is not guaranteed to come from strikers. In the event strikers do or do not deliver, the abuse will be delivered by management
I'll give an anecdote that I experienced just now. I bought a computer component, but I had to dig through the "other buying options" to find it on Amazon. The default recommended listing had a price of $207, delivered to me by 2 October. The listing I eventually found was priced at $206, delivered by 28 September. So it cost less and would arrive sooner, the only difference is that it was a third-party seller and not Amazon.
Direct democracy works fabulously in small communes.
It indirectly comes from shareholders. Money gone to pay fines isn't distributed by dividends. Theoretically, this hurts shareholders by decreasing the value of a share, since the company is worth less money after paying the fine. However, assessing a fine that shareholders have to pay out of pocket would trample the concept of limited liability and cause financial panic. I remind you that it's not only rich people that are Amazon shareholders.
I understand the sentiment but this is a pretty uninformed take.
If you look back at the first comment I made on this thread, you'll see that this is exactly what I said. Liberal democracy has a historic tendency to turn into oligarchy.
I am a citizen of the People's Republic of China. I have lived in mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States.
Elections in China are, for the lack of a better word, completely fake. I've seen it myself. Very few people in China genuinely believe that voting is a way to get what they want. Candidates are vetted by the local Communist Party chapter and must generally agree with the party doctrine (or at least not oppose it) and be either a Communist Party member, affiliated with it (standing as an independent), or a member of one of the nine smaller parties. China is a one-party state. Dissent is limited to disagreeing on where the bus shelter should be built, not the fundamental direction of the country.
If you openly proclaim you oppose the direction of the country and the Government, fat chance you'll be allowed to even stand for election, let alone be elected.
I'm not saying that China's political system is bad, although it certainly has its flaws (not related to elections). China's system, by and large, works for its people. And Chinese people are perfectly happy with what they have and wouldn't ever trade it for an election-based system. But it isn't Western liberal democracy as Americans or Europeans would define it.
Do not use "Orientalism" as a moo word. You might not like what I'm saying, and that's fine. I am describing what my experiences are as a Chinese person.
No one realises they're the fool because they're too busy laughing at the "fool"!
(guess who said this!)
I am a Chinese person.
The traditional Western definition of a democracy is "a form of government where power is vested in the people and expressed through elections". By this definition, China is highly undemocratic because there aren't genuine competitive elections on any level.
The word "democracy" (民主) as used in Mainland China means "a system of government where leaders respond to the needs and demands of the people". This is slightly different in that a government doesn't need to be elected to be democratic, it just needs to be responsive to popular demand. China's government, especially at local levels, is very responsive to local demands, even more so than in the USA (have experienced both personally). So by this slightly different definition, China is democratic.
In Western political philosophy, China's definition is actually "benevolent government", not "democracy". You can argue that being democratic would actually just be meaningless under the Western definitions if the government isn't benevolent, and I would agree wholeheartedly. But unfortunately English sticks to the Western definitions which is why the statement "China is democratic" will raise eyebrows when said to a crowd of English speakers.
I am a Chinese person.
The traditional Western definition of a democracy is "a form of government where power is vested in the people and expressed through elections". By this definition, China is highly undemocratic because there aren't genuine competitive elections on any level.
The word "democracy" (民主) as used in Mainland China means "a system of government where leaders respond to the needs and demands of the people". This is slightly different in that a government doesn't need to be elected to be democratic, it just needs to be responsive to popular demand. China's government, especially at local levels, is very responsive to local demands, even more so than in the USA (have experienced both personally). So by this slightly different definition, China is democratic.
In Western political philosophy, China's definition is actually "benevolent government", not "democracy". You can argue that being democratic would actually just be meaningless under the Western definitions if the government isn't benevolent, and I would agree wholeheartedly. But unfortunately English sticks to the Western definitions which is why the statement "China is democratic" will raise eyebrows when said to a crowd of English speakers.
I think many major instances prohibit NSFW communities.