My boomer parents are so worried about me investing in weird and risky stocks, like my retirement matters when the entire financial system is going to be ash in less than a decade. "I better max my 401k so that I can watch is not exist soon. "
this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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It doesn't feel much better in the East. This is global, the rot just smells more in the West.
I'm curious now where you most have in mind in the East. Or if you just mean the general issue of global capital and imperialism strangling a lot of the world.
I mean the general failure of capitalist idealogues, and imperialists destroying their own countries. I'm not great with detailed evidence, but Chinese abandonment of their working class, focusing on export production instead of domestic support - rich get richer and corruption grows. Indian divisive and racist politics, Russian imperialist destruction of their domestic economy to chase the dream of a king, South Korean cultism.
The world is a funky place with people really not feeling like they belong.
Not even gonna start on the mess that is the middle east, as that has been burning for a hundred years.
I see. My understanding differs some, at least on some of these. As far as I know:
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China is on a clear upswing in a socialist direction and the way they went global with the "reform and opening up " was to help build their productive forces quickly (not any kind of abandonment of principles derived from marxism). And they are now building mutually-beneficial ties in other countries, such as through Belt and Road, which also makes it harder for the western empire to isolate and encircle them.
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Russia is capitalist as far as I know, but not imperialist. See argument on that here: https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Imperialism
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South Korea, aka: Occupied Korea is sure something. I suggest listening to the Blowback podcast series of Episodes on Korea if you want historical context. It really puts into perspective how much of a brutal proxy state for the US "South Korea" is and how much Koreans have endured both from US occupation and Japanese occupation prior to that.
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India I'm pretty ignorant on, but my impression is probably about the same as yours, that they are far from in good shape.
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Middle East territories/regions/countries: Well let's just say, the US-backed settler state "israel" there certainly does a lot of damage.
Not sure how you can say that Russia isn't empirialist with Putin invading a neighbour in order to gain control. Putin, Trump and Xi talk frequently about "our vassals and your vassals"
I don't know where you're getting the idea that they're calling people vassals, but this thread has some great resources on the Russia-Ukraine conflict: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/7357678
It helps put into perspective where it comes from and, importantly, how embedded western imperialist interests have been in it from the start. The western-driven narrative loves to portray it as some kind of unprovoked conquest project on the part of Putin personally, but that's just the west evading all responsibility for their actions and calling another country's leader cartoonishly evil as usual, very par for the course with how it functions; the west is obsessed with simplifying things to a binary of good and evil, with the west (of course) being the good.
Stories from Grandma for the history, State Russian TV for the recent stuff. Russians and Americans are both trying to acquire territory, to reclaim their fantasy Golden Eras.
I see. Well I don't know what to say beyond what I already shared. My sources and understanding of it do not line up with that.
Actual experience is like that.
O just read that China, Japan and SK will cooperate on anti-American economic action. I am azed to see those three cooperate.
I admit that opinion is more rhetorical and anecdotal than informed - bit don't kide yourself into thinking that the East isn't also in crisis.
I love going to therapy each week and talking about my problems like where I live, the US, is a stable, sustainable system that I just need to find my place in. I just keep trying to work at things I can work on cause what else can ya do. I figure there are always going to be people who are in big denial about these things and to be fair to them, panicking doesn't help and maybe it's possible the disruption wouldn't be too bad before the west is able to grapple with problems and transition to something else. But also, like, I think it can be genuinely paralyzing for the average person to think about, when considering the lack of community ties and support that is common here; or they go for some individualistic "prepper" mindset as a response to the fears. And people can end up hating their neighbor over something as asinine as who they voted for in an elected largely controlled by capitalists (like without even knowing what the person truly believes), so that makes it even harder to have community.
Edit: wording
It's like that comic "best I can do is drugs to trick your mind into thinking it's alright"
It really does feel like that sometimes, even though I'm not doing a psychiatrist thing with meds. Psychological mental gymnastics equivalent or something like that.
Our cat is looking out the window at nature, too. He doesn’t follow the news, I don’t have the heart to break it to him.
but I still need to go to work to keep the make believe that is our society going
The absurdity of it all is this. I hear people at work talking about the future and things like nothing is happening in the broader world. If I bring it up I look like a crazy person though.
We've been individualized and unorganized by capitalism for so long and there is no outlet for unorganized people to do anything in response to the collapse. I feel like people are either in denial or just too afraid too admit it.
This is the hardest part of my work day. Showing up against my will, to sit in a cesspool and listen to the most detached people in the world talk about their 5 year plans.
"Make sure to max your 401k bro. It totally isn't going to be completely worthless in 3 or 4 years when all of the financial system crumbles and we are either dead or slaves being beat to death by our militarized police."
Exactly dude… everyone seems to think this is just minor hiccup and that we will be back to “normal” as soon as Obama comes back to save us in 2028.
I’m so fucking tired…
Yeah, I'm in amerikka rn and honestly it's just wierd and really anxiety inducing.
I just really don't want to die. I really just wanted a good job and people who care about me, and now I've got to worry about all of this.
Prices are rising and it feels like something big is coming but I've got to just keep going to classes as usual. I was talking to my advisor a few weeks ago about my plan for the rest of my degree which won't be done until 2027/28.
I guess I never really considered what life during wartime actually looks like. Is there even a point worrying? What if the conflict goes nuclear and there's no hope of recovery? I just don't want to have wasted my life
I personally believe that people are way over predicting how fast things will progress. We’ve been on this path for a very long time and historically it is incredibly slow in progression. I just don’t think we are going to see mass change say anything even within 10 years. Fundamentally Trump’s policies just truly aren’t that different from what came before. That’s not to say the collapse isn’t happening, because it is, I just feel like there are many overzealous estimates as to when we will see the final end days of capitalism and the current order.
The world wars only lasted 4-6 or so years, you might live some of your life in wartime, but most of it will be spent afterwards, after the fascists have lost once again. Things seemed pretty bleak during ww2, but things got better afterwards. Plan for the part afterwards.
Idk about you but for me a lot of the stress was because i didn't know what i would do. So i figured it out.
If i woke up tomorrow and WW3 had started, supply chains had collapsed, etc. I'd grab my handheld radio, 20$ Baofeng UV-5RM, listen to a few emergency info channels, and figure out whats going on around me best i can. Then I'd grab my backpack i keep with some basic supplies in it. Change of clothes, water filter, first aid kit, knife, etc. Throw some food in there, and go.
I have Organic Maps downloaded with maps for my area within a few hundred miles, and ive studied up on the local geography enough to know how to get away from people. I'd get out into the woods, and setup a little camp. i have a ultralight hammock that can be slung between two trees, and a rain cover for it to sleep in. With the food id bring and water filters i could stay out there probably a week or 2 without needing to leave. I'd listen to the radio(have a solar charger to keep it powered), keep myself informed on whats going on, and wait out the initial panic. Once things settled down a bit I'd go look for a more permanent place to setup. Maybe an abandoned house or something.
It might not be much, and isnt by any means guaranteed to keep me alive. It does make things easier though. I won't be taken by surprise if something does happen, and i can stop stressing so much about it now. A lot of the prep i did was free, and the rest is very affordable. I'm broke af and managed to do it. Altho with tariffs some things will be not so cheap soon. Even just having a plan brings a ton of peace of mind tho.
As for wasting your life, don't waste it then. Do things that make you happy. Go outside, and look at the sky. Pet a cat. Whatever. The world could end tomorrow or we could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Plan for the future sure, but don't live for the future. Enjoy life now.
shit, you still have bees? i'm jealous
I'm agressively spreading native flower seeds throughout the city in the hope to keep them around. Not going out without a fight.
extremely based. today might be the day i take inspiration and start doing the same.
Same. I think I'm going to ask my local florist what the necessary steps are, they are in the eco scene.
I'm not so sure you can call a regime based on epxloitation of the majority of the world a "society", that's at most just a well disguised machine of exploitation, or much less that we are experiencing a societal collapse, as the actual society is now getting more room to grow from the deepening contradictions of capitalism.
I agree, keep seeing a lot of concerning things in the news. I read something about the Danish military buying a lot of missiles from France. And Denmark already has a pretty military for a country of their size... I feel like people aren't making enough of a fuss about these developments
They can’t make a fuss about things that they don’t know about or refuse to acknowledge.
Most of the people around me just don’t yet believe that the decline is happening as rapidly as it is. Outside of egg prices and now the cost of the new Nintendo games, most people are completely ignorant.
Well there is at least a slight change the Danish missiles will be pointing towards the Burger Regime.
I ain’t planning on participating in any type of world war if I can avoid it, but I will absolutely go to war against a US invasion.