I am 32. I was doing better than me 5 years ago. I let my life spiral out of control due to substance abuse. I burned every bridge and have no safety net.

But yeah, maybe you were doing better at age 30. You don't seem to be doing much better now. I suppose none of us are perfect.

You can mock my stance so you like, but what's your alternative? Just give up on life?

Well, one thing I've learned from all these pages is that jwb must have been an attentive lurker for a long long time!
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It's a bit unfair to take a position of "You like anarchy? Go be an anarchist" imo. It sounds uncomfortably like Trump's "If you don't like it, leave," which even by Trump standards is an offensive and hypocritical slogan.

I was puzzled at how people were talking about anarchy and communism, and even coming up with the term anarcho communism. Aren't those two ideas mutually exclusive? Anarchy is about having no rules, living on a commune is full of rules from day one I imagine.

A friend of mine did actually walk the walk by volunteering on a kibbutz in Israel for six months: still an option for anyone afaik, incl non-Jews:- https://kibbutzvolunteers.org.il/

He came back with stories of lots hard work and regulations, but he had first-hand experience of what is prob the world's most successful experiment in voluntary communism. Thousands of people have lived on kibbutzes, which have been around for 70 years or so. Meanwhile, I stayed at home, thank you very much, and made do with reading Jerry Richard's book, which paints an intriguing but rather sad picture of short-lived American communes - but yeah, it's a great read if you're curious about wacky idealists who walked the walk and ended up floundering in the mud of reality:-

I knew Batlord before I was banned.

And I'm not telling them to leave. I just asked why you wouldn't want to join one. The communes are in the United States btw, but nice try

@ OH there's absolutely nothing you can say that will bring me down or hurt my feelings. You don't think I'm already aware of my flaws? Living through it was worse than any snide remark you can make
Keep trying though.I love attention.

And honestly the reason I asked the commune wisdom is cause I don't really think OH believes in his Utopia. I think he just wants to watch things burn.

No. In fact, at the core they’re really synonyms. To be pulled off successfully cooperation and community support have to be the cornerstone and the cultural norm of the populace leading to the same space in both cases.

I get that it sounds idealistic but since competition and hierarchy have proven to be not only unsustainable but also an assured path to extinction, well a 1% chance is better than none.

And even though communism has the viscious track record of Stalin and Mao and others it’s still worth going back to the drawing board.

Maybe with computers and automation and democratizing forms of mass communication and shifts in our values it has a better chance of working out.

Automation plus UBI could be a gigantic step into a post-capitalist framework.

I actually agree with that for the most part

I just don't believe the state is going anywhere

Is that because I’ve actually said that thousands of times?

Actually, I don’t. I think you’re almost a cliche of the lack of self-awareness that accompanies early recovery.

It probably isn’t.