Most Americans have absolutely no idea what it is like to endure that sort of hardship. I mean, in the most extreme examples I know adults who act like they're going to starve because their peas were touching their potatoes.
Which is great! Despite the flaws of capitalism, it's literally the point! As supply chains were impacted, new businesses and solutions filled the void. Given the vast amount of competition in things like toilet paper, automotive, etc, "shortages" just meant not getting your favorite brand for a few weeks.
> I know adults who act like they're going to starve because their peas were touching their potatoes.
I would take this over the horror shows of communism any day.
It's never a knock to say "your country is so good you've never had the massive hardships we have had!"
My point was that people in the United States do not have experience dealing with even very minor hardships effectively. If they were presented with truly difficult physical situations similar to what people in many parts of the world deal with frequently, they would not be able to handle it effectively on a number of levels.
Again, yes! Due to our success! These aren't at all a knock on American's. It's what every generation of ours has fought for. An easier life for our children.
I am very very very grateful that my son does not have to deal with what people in other parts of the world deal with. I love that the idea of having no running water, defecating in the streets, surrounded by dead bodies is a completely foreign concept to him. That he wouldn't know how to deal with such a situation. And I hope his children have it even easier. That we're so wealthy we have UBI, and they can study art and music, and want for nothing.
It wasn't flag football or nerf that got us to the top.... We literally dominated everyone in everything, and continue to do so. Whether it be the military, sports (we just got done dominating the Olympics), tech, whatever.
It's absurd to think that given societal collapse, it would be the American's that struggle the most, and not, you know, the people that can't even make it when times are good...
You can knock us with a bunch of made up criticisms, like "emotional fortitude". But at the end of the day, every country still bends the knee to our "physical stamina". So that doesn't really say much about the rest of you surviving if conditions took a turn for the worse.
The “people who can’t make it while times are good” are already surviving under the difficult conditions we are discussing, so I’m not sure what you mean.
I do believe that emotional fortitude is a real thing that affects people’s ability to function under duress. And you’re correct, America currently maintains an incredibly expensive military dominance. I’m not sure how you think that addresses anything I said. My concerns are about the social fabric of the country not being particularly resilient and middle/upper class individuals being entirely inexperienced at dealing with actual physical hardships. That’s not something that a strong military or past success is going to fix for us.
The (very briefly touched upon) topic is what Americans would do if they had to endure conditions such as those experienced in the USSR, for any theoretical reason. Basically all I said is that many people would find it difficult, having never experienced that.
I'm not going to romanticize Communist shortages, but I think this sentence shows a fundamental misunderstanding of human nature, and highlights the primary problem with capitalism. The idea that if we have UBI, that we're suddenly going to be a nation of poets, artists and philosophers is a utopian fantasy in my opinion.
I know more than a couple trust fund kids. They literally do "want for nothing", and they are universally miserable. Anecdata, sure, but even when you look at trust fund kids that are happy, it's usually because they were instilled with a strong work ethic - they had to find how to struggle at something, even if it wasn't financial.
If you talk to what most people and find what really makes them happy (and their have been actual studies about this), it is human relationships, a sense of dignity, and pride in themselves that brings them happiness. More cheap consumer goods from China are unlikely to fill that void.