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Capitalism efficient? We can do so much better | Richard Wolff | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
Throughout capitalism’s history, major decisions were justified by claims and promises that capitalism failed to realize. When new machinery automated production – saved on labor costs – the gains went chiefly to profits, while the workers, their families, and their communities suffered “technological” unemployment. When capitalists settled into communities “bringing jobs”, there followed years of threatening those communities that they would leave if not given tax breaks, subsidies, loans, etc – no matter their costs to the local population. When capitalists dumped toxic wastes into the air, water, and soil – often for generations – massive clean-up costs later were socialized, made everyone’s responsibility, while the profits from dumping stayed largely in private hands.
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BBC News – A Point of View: Crowd-sourcing comets
Astronomers in the 17th Century understood the value of sharing information in order to plot the path of comets. Now modern science is using the internet to follow their example, says historian Lisa Jardine.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.