“If there is one place we should begin, it is with a resolve to not conceal sins, to not seal ourselves off from people's suffering by burying it under a mountain of vacuous bullshit. Euphemisms are an attempt to find pleasant words for an ugly reality, and in doing so, they allow their users to avoid feeling guilty or uncomfortable. This is why they are particularly common in the business world, where executives do not want to admit that they are ruining a lot of people's lives through mass firings and so discuss restructuring, outsourcing, redundancy, and streamlining. An independent contractor is a worker who has no benefits or guaranteed hours, and increasing efficiency often means making people do more work in less time.” HumanityWorkSocialismBullshitSociologyEuphemisms Book:Why You Should Be a Socialist Source: Why You Should Be a Socialist
“If you want a vision of the bleak, bland capitalist future, go to Hudson Yards in New York City, the new, billion-dollar complex of gleaming skyscrapers. It's a lifeless shopping mall for luxury goods, intensely policed and surveilled, where every aspect of life is curated by a corporation... This is the city for the winners. The losers will be in homeless encampments outside the city gates. The left's city of the future looks very different. It is a Star Trek world, where we can travel through space together and meet aliens. It is public libraries and free colleges, where all can come and learn without worrying about money. It is Mardis Gras in New Orleans, where everyone expresses their individuality through art and costume without any regard for profit or commerce. It is camping trips and cookouts, book clubs and street cafes. It is the theory that life is meant to be enjoyed, and that nobody should lack the basic ingredients for a decent existence. It is, above all, the conviction that we're here to help each other through this thing, whatever it is.” HappinessJoyHumanityWorkDemocracySocialismDemocratic SocialismHuman Capital Book:Why You Should Be a Socialist Source: Why You Should Be a Socialist
“There's a left-wing slogan that says, 'If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.' Like all slogans, it has lost its meaning with overuse. But it expresses something profoundly important: It is only possible to be comfortable if we accept things as they are without questioning them. Once you start paying attention, once you start looking closely at the world, outrage is not just reasonable but inescapable.” CareHumanitySociologyLeftism Book:Why You Should Be a Socialist Source: Why You Should Be a Socialist
“A common, casual assumption is that if you give a basic income to people, they will become indolent and do nothing. In reality, people enjoy doing work when that work is satisfying. They don't hate being productive, they hate their jobs! Improve working conditions and make work a pleasure rather than a burden, and there's no reason why people won't engage in it. Very few people want to do nothing. They want to find meaning and feel accomplished and useful. Rosy views of human nature may be naive, but so are views that presume the natural state of humankind is slothful and selfish.” JobsHumanityMoneyDemocracyHuman RightsIncomeSocialism Book:Why You Should Be a Socialist Source: Why You Should Be a Socialist