Rage boils over at Amazon sites over coronavirus risks | Hacker News Reader

Rage boils over at Amazon sites over coronavirus risks

politico.eu

36 pointschewz14 comments

> “Amazon employees have no options whatsoever. They do this or they go work elsewhere,” [British union officer] said.

An excellent description of reality. I take it the subtext here is that other people are getting laid off or lower hours and get the European equivalent of unemployment insurance, but they won't if they just quit?

A proper read of this story is it's good news. Work keeps getting done, because people need money. Instead of the world falling apart. To be fair, a Communist system would also force these people to go to work, they just wouldn't be allowed to complain about it.

What part of stay home does Amazon not understand? People should stay home; the economy's crashed anyway, what does it matter if your stupid boss at your greedy company fires you?

Hello America

Welcome to learning that maybe you should set aside the world police (literal with military and figuratively with your gospel of exceptionalism) thing once in a while and pay attention in more than just hipster nihilist tourist kind of way.

OK.

Let's say we set aside world police and exceptionalism and nihilistic tourism. What should America be learning from this?

That capitalism, in its current state, is a broken system? As cliche as it sounds, there's no other way to describe it when you have frontline workers risking their life—and their family's lives—to make a man whose net worth is $100+ billion even richer. This is not a progressive society. No one wants to see it (besides the super wealthy). We've regressed back to the master and slave social classes we used to read about in history books.

Describe the alternative to this system. Its not enough to be against something. If you can't offer an alternative then you might as well be screaming into a well.

Universal healthcare and education at all levels. Strong worker protections, good safety nets. Return to mid 1900s tax rates on the rich, fund the IRS to make sure corporations and ultra wealthy pay their taxes.

We have multiple successful models to look at where capitalism is reigned in by all the above.

Neither of which would solve this pandemic. Someone has to man the line or else everyone dies. Should we get rid of the military because it results in someone dying to help the greater good of a larger sum? Life is full of suffering

How does this advice apply to the current situation? None of these suggestions ensures crops are planted, freight is moved, or sick patients are cared for.

One of the odd things I've noticed is that a vast number of people sees this pandemic as confirming whatever it is they happened to believe before it. This applies equally to scientism, distributism, anti-globalism, punk, various forms of liberalism, some pro-capitalist perspectives, and Marxism. It's enough to lead me to entertain some doubts about the essential truths of any of those perspectives being illuminated incontrovertibly.

Based on this article, what should America be learning? I apologize if this seems unkind and uncharitable, I'd like to try to stay at least a little bit on the topic at hand.

Thank you so much. This summarizes something I’ve been meaning to try to cohesively be able to convey.

If no one will work in distribution systems, how are food and essential goods going to get delivered to people huddled in their houses?

This has nothing to do with economic systems or even Jeff Bezos.

The article is about Europe.

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