Unfortunately I don’t think they’re coming to save us.
Edit: actually it looks like you might be suggesting something else. Just so I don’t accidentally make a strawman, could you elaborate on what you expect individuals in oppressive countries to do?
Organize and overthrow the oppressive government, which nowadays doesn’t require guillotines anymore (like France ca. XVIII century), it can be as boring as voting (Hungary 2026). Protest, strike and demand what is fair.
Or at least collectively bargain for better conditions. How do you think people got the 40h work week, 2 days weekend, universal healthcare (not in the US), mandatory paid leaves (not in the US), workers rights (you get the drill…).
The Taft-Hartley Act, and other laws like it, have dramatically weakened American unions far below what’s necessary to overthrow anything. If your strike is too successful, then the government will declare a compromise on your behalf and end it.
Joining a union is a good idea, and there’s no reason why we can’t come up with a clever program to avoid restrictions on unions too. I’m just explaining why Americans have not simply organized.
If just the people who voted democrat (so leaving out disillusioned republicans and those who didn’t vote) decided to strike, the government wouldn’t be able to force 80 million people to work.
Strikes and protests don’t follow the exact letter of the law. I’m not saying to riot and burn cities, just show the same interest as when the local sports team wins a competition. You do see hundreds of thousands of people on the streets for that.
Yeah, French people, Hungarians, poles, Czechs, east Germans… didn’t need fancy machanisms of coordination to take action
Unfortunately I don’t think they’re coming to save us.
Edit: actually it looks like you might be suggesting something else. Just so I don’t accidentally make a strawman, could you elaborate on what you expect individuals in oppressive countries to do?
Organize and overthrow the oppressive government, which nowadays doesn’t require guillotines anymore (like France ca. XVIII century), it can be as boring as voting (Hungary 2026). Protest, strike and demand what is fair.
Or at least collectively bargain for better conditions. How do you think people got the 40h work week, 2 days weekend, universal healthcare (not in the US), mandatory paid leaves (not in the US), workers rights (you get the drill…).
The Taft-Hartley Act, and other laws like it, have dramatically weakened American unions far below what’s necessary to overthrow anything. If your strike is too successful, then the government will declare a compromise on your behalf and end it.
Joining a union is a good idea, and there’s no reason why we can’t come up with a clever program to avoid restrictions on unions too. I’m just explaining why Americans have not simply organized.
If just the people who voted democrat (so leaving out disillusioned republicans and those who didn’t vote) decided to strike, the government wouldn’t be able to force 80 million people to work.
Strikes and protests don’t follow the exact letter of the law. I’m not saying to riot and burn cities, just show the same interest as when the local sports team wins a competition. You do see hundreds of thousands of people on the streets for that.