*Cyberpunk Dystopia Intensifies*

Late last year, water futures became a thing. Basically, we're fucking up the planet bad enough that water scarcity is practically guaranteed. But instead of, say, fixing the issue, we are going to simply treat it like a scarce commodity and start trading it like oil. Because ONE of those is expensive but helps everyone and the other is profitable and helps rich people while forcing everyone else to try surviving on literal dregs.

In equally horrifying news, a Nevada bill would allow companies to create their own governments. Now, I don't know how many historians we have around here. I'm not counted in their ranks but even my limited and self centered concept of the past is screaming "Been there, done that! Bad idea! BAD IDEA!!!"

Comments

[Lofty Withers]

The nevada bill has convinced me that Neal Stephenson is a time traveler.

[Latrans]

5449084
I think you will find that the system (in the US at least) actively selects for people either easily swayed by or already friendly to corporate interest. This take two primary forms. First is within the party: "if we, the party, support corporate friendly candidates while suppressing unfriendly candidates, we will get more political donations". Second is public awareness: "if we, the corporations, saturate media with friendly candidates, they will gain support from simple name recognition and lack of awareness of alternatives".

The first is legal because the company is (on paper) giving to support a party (rather than an individual) so it's not considered bribery. The second is mostly done through SuperPACs which have the dual purpose of pooling money for more more efficient spending on propaganda as well as acting as a money launderers so that just how much any one interest spends and on what is impossible to find out. I have a lot of hate for Political Action Committees.

Forces like this are why Bernie Sanders never achieved more than being a senator despite massive public support and was especially egregious during the run-up to the 2016 election when his political party actively sabotaged his campaign in favor of Hillary Clinton.

Yes, the US political landscape is absolutely BUCKED.

[Super Trampoline]

5449112
Communist Revolution when?