gonna be posting a bunch of quotes in this thread that I want to preserve. you are welcome to post critiques of a given pasta, just remember I don't 100% agree with all of these (only most) but consider them information worth saving. proposed edits will be considered

CONTENT WARNING: there's going to be mentions of imperial atrocities in here, including SA and torture.

  • emizeko [they/them]
    ·
    2 months ago

    Liberal conception of "human rights" is just so stupid.

    You have the "right" to own things, but you don't have the right to the means to actually own things, so in practice you might own nothing, but who cares? This piece of paper says it's your "right" to do so!

    You have the "right" to free speech, but you don't have the right to an actual platform, i.e. the right for your speech to actually be heard. If the system doesn't like what you say, they can just kick you from all platforms. You have the "right" to shout as loud as you want as long as it's in a place no one can hear you, so you don't actually have the right for your speech to actually mean anything.

    That's how all liberal "rights" are. They're in practice useless, because you have the right to something in principle, but don't have the right to actually use that right, you just have the right in some vague, ethereal, almost magical sense, disconnected from reality, and many indeed view it as magic, saying these "rights" are handed down by God almighty and not social constructions.

    Because you can't actually use these "rights" in practice, then in the real world, they only serve as justification for restricting people's freedoms. Why does this corporate giant get to censor dissenters? Because they have the "right" to do what they want with their platform! Why do billionaires get the "right" to control hoards of wealth and other people's labor? Because they have the "right" to do so! Why does this landlord get to tell me how I should live when I'm the one taking care of the actual apartment and living here? Because they have the "right"!

    It's a funny thing, because it is very reminiscent of divine right of kings. Since many people genuinely believe these rights come from God almighty, then suddenly, Jeff Bezos's rule becomes sanctioned by God almighty. It's not much different than saying, the king has the authority to control the nation's wealth and its people, because the "right" was given to them from on high!

    from https://np.reddit.com/r/CommunismMemes/comments/v5np64/liberals_and_libertarians_say_we_will_starve_yet/ibbdjhq/