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It's fun to watch, though (and I know that Adam's a massive tool)

hugh wrote:If people weren't such selfish, horrible dicks then it wouldn't matter what system we had in place, socialism, capatalism, it would all be fine.

The problem is individuals with a lot of power who do very bad things. I don't know how you can really legislate for that. For me, the framework is becoming less and less relevant.

Not everyone are such selfish dicks though. Greek and Japanese people are really helpful and kind. The amount of free shit they give away is insane, my office practically has a constant supply of fancy biscuits and things that either the staff or students buy. Even the separate team in our office buy our team stuff! Shop keepers in the smaller shops give me free extras or money off all the time. My parents always get brought in by Greeks in the countryside, free olive oil from the home press etc...

Those societies are more equal though, the Spirit Level book was often derided for its simplicity, but you can actually really experience the phenomenon, even if you argue that it doesn't explain the cause.

didn't read the thread tbh, but thought this might put some new aspects to the discussion. please pardon my still poor english; hope you'll understand (I'm sure there's a much more accurate wikipedia article for those who don't).

however, the Collective-Action-Model proposes the following two concepts to explain when and why people take to the streets:

macro-social premises (structural aspects):

• general discontent regarding the overall living condition,
• ideological ground upon which discontent and demand for structural changes may be built,
• possibility of mobilisation (communication networks, accessibility of public places, and so forth)
• opportunity of the political situation (as in, regime is in a financial crisis yadda yadda)

micro-model of participation (dynamic aspects / how likely are people to participate in protests?):

• value: are the protester's goals worth fighting for?
• probability: is there an actual chance the protests will yield some success?
• number: how many people are involved? are my neighbours, my friends participating in the riots? or will I be just one guy in 10 getting my ass handed to me?
• costs: what are the costs of getting involved? do I risk physical or psychological impairment? will I have to face legal consequences?

of course, all these factors are interdependent.
e.g. when n rises, p rises aswell whilst c is likely to decline in value. etc.

rule of thumb: people will not rise against its elite (or government or dictator or church or...) aslong as they aren't heavily hindered in their customs. if you want to get into real trouble, just criminalise any religious activities in your country and wait until shit hits the fan.

Linkage? Info all over the place related to what you are apparently quoting

I study history & political science in the fifth semester and I had a course a while back on this topic.
can list you some literature if you want to, but I won't be home until tomorrow evening.

Cool whenever... I studied psychology so I know people can say 'Urgh, that's fucking obvious' because it's the confirmation bias in effect. They had probably never thought about it or done anything to do with it until making that conclusion, but will still write it off.

I'm asking for that reason due to myself feeling like that Reading the work on and how things got discounted, included etc will help sit my brain's arse down