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Comment by bushbaba | Hacker News Reader

I doubt unemployment can even raise to 40% before the government and billionaire class is overthrown.

The French Revolution was not an isolated event

You have way higher unemployment among young people in many countries without any revolution. What are they gonna do? Randomly kill people who are ”kulaks” and that will solve their problems how? Are they gonna get to eat if they kill a guy running a saas company?

There have been instances of mass unemployment without mass violence, sure. But are you sure you want to see how it plays out in a country with >1.2 guns per capita?

There is a lot of guns in those countries as well. Americans just like to collect guns. They never ever used them for actually turning against the govt in large scale. MAGA didn’t turn against Biden with guns. Rest of country isn’t turning against Trump with guns now.

at least not yet

Not any time in history.

That doesn't mean it's not a real deterrent. In fact you can read all from politicians and judges across the red/blue spectrum about how they're being coerced and threatened by MAGA. I suspect those threats are a lot more alarming coming from a known well-armed population than from someone who would have to walk up to you and stab you.

What is the civil war?

What are the unemployed going to do? South Africa has over 30% unemployment rate, nothing changes, the unemployed sometimes rob/murder farmers, and the employed live in compounds with armed guards.

And then what?

Suddenly everyone gets paid for doing nothing of added value?

We ban AI and similar ultra-high leverage technologies?

Well somebody is still making things and presumably selling them. So you could tax them and redistribute the money

In this hypothetical, at that point, those people are going to be literal no exaggeration oligarchs (arguably they are now) - just saying they should give up what would amount to a large percentage of their wealth isn't going to go over well.

Won't go over well? I'm sure it will. Just not with them

If for that many people there truly is no way left to provide some economic value (that is rewarded enough to pay for shelter, bread and Netflix), that might mean the end of capitalism. Even living in a slum is not free

I'm not sure what would replace it. A welfare state doesn't work if the state doesn't have the money. State-run economies don't have the best track record either

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