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Anyone has the ability to flourish if they work hard enough for it, right? Regardless of where they come from or what family they are born into, if people just pick themselves up by their bootstraps — the sky is the limit. Or at least that’s what they tell us. Because while capitalism has fuelled economic growth and increased our standard of living, people are hesitant to back a system that now seems to offer little other than uncertainty and crisis.

So it’s no surprise that so many are dissatisfied with how unjust the system we’re living in actually is. And two corners on the internet capture these feelings, the 'Capitalism In Decay' subreddit and the capitalism criticizing page on Facebook. People over there are holding up a mirror to society and showing off examples of how upside-down our world can seem, one image at a time.

We’ve gone through these two communities and handpicked a selection of accurate and insightful posts that might shake you up, make you laugh and cry at the same time, or at least give a few thought-provoking ideas to consider. So continue scrolling and share your thoughts with us in the comments! And if you’re interested in even more anti-capitalist content, be sure to check out our previous publication right here.

#1

Won’t Someone Think About Those Poor Billionaires

Won’t Someone Think About Those Poor Billionaires

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MissPrideGirl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this is why we should tax the rich. All that money should go to people who actually need it. Not people who waste their money sending dildo-shaped rockets into space.

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#2

This Country Really Hates Poor People

This Country Really Hates Poor People

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#3

Pain Is Currency

Pain Is Currency

harikondabolu Report

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Julie C Rose
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also public healthcare doesn’t “destroy” the health insurance industry; it just creates competition for it…which is supposed to be a characteristic of a free market?

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As Dr. Ron Roberts, a chartered psychologist, lecturer at Kingston University, and author of several books such as Mental Health in Crisis and Psychology and Capitalism: The Manipulation of Mind, pointed out, capitalism is about creating endless wants and needs.

"[It is about] creating the idea that there is something inherently deficient in us — and that when we cannot cope, it is because of individual weakness, defect or fragility, rather than the exploitative nature of the system," the psychologist told Bored Panda. "This is reflected in the mental health system which identifies any difficulties in coping as illness or disorder. No matter how inhuman the system, we are supposed to manage without problems."

#5

It’s Too Expensive, There’s Absolutely No Way It Can Work... /S

It’s Too Expensive, There’s Absolutely No Way It Can Work... /S

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Ivana Bašić
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sweetie, are you counting the US as a developed country? Because other than speaking English and having smartphones, it has all the characteristics of a third world one.

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#6

Louder For The Ceos At The Top

Louder For The Ceos At The Top

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Julie C Rose
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Orrrr we need a better economy AND drugs that don’t cause fatigue for those of us whose mental health issues were caused by things that won’t go away in a non-capitalist society.

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In theory, capitalism as a system may sound simple. It is rewarding effort, growth, and innovation, all while fueling the economic growth of human civilization. This system encourages the free market and provides opportunities for everyone willing to put in the work. But as great as it sounds on paper, the reality is much more complicated than that.

Capitalism has a bad reputation for causing inequality and alienation. Many workers see it as corrupt, unethical, uncaring, and often in line with what’s in the minds of the people in power. The capitalist society is maximizing profits like there’s no tomorrow, and it’s beginning to look like it’s going too far. After all, things have been getting pretty dystopian, from overworked employees that are having enough of being exploited to the middle class shrinking at alarming rates, and to the soaring inflation that makes it feel almost impossible to afford to be a person anymore.

#7

Murica. The End

Murica. The End

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Lady Goldberry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My partner just had surgery yesterday to remove a cancerous tumour from his tongue. From the 1st GP appointment to today, it has been around 8 weeks, with MRI's and whatnot between. He's 45, had cancer twice and will be able to go on with his life as he should be...cannot begin to describe my gratitude for the NHS right now. Oh, and we've been paying into this system our whole lives. Those of you who think universal healthcare is something to be sneered at are dead wrong.

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#8

Remember The Panama Papers

Remember The Panama Papers

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James D
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The journalist who released them was killed, does that count?

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What we see now often gets labeled as late-stage capitalism, a popular catch-all phrase that refers to the inequalities and injustices of the contemporary economy. As Kimberly Amadeo, the president of World Money Watch explained, it highlights the unrealistic views of the wealthiest 1% and describes how the middle class is largely unaware of the struggles of the poor. "It's the sense that monopolies, and the oligarchs that run them, have rigged the system in their favor," she wrote. "Many feel that capitalism's winners may even favor inequality. With it, they have fewer competitive threats. They 'rig the system' by creating barriers to entry."

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This phrase expresses people’s frustrations with the modern capitalist society, something that has been years in the making. In the hunt for never-ending profit, capitalism as a whole has disappointed people and even started failing them. Many are questioning our world and why it allows a select few to thrive while the rest of society has a hard time trying to make ends meet.

#11

Context Of Agenda!

Context Of Agenda!

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#12

It's Ok To Hate This Dominant Economic State Of The World

It's Ok To Hate This Dominant Economic State Of The World

JasonHalle Report

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VodkaInMySweetTea
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's because in America your value is equated with your ability to produce. If you are seen as not being able to produce much of anything to contribute to society at large, then your life doesn't have value. Banks = loans, farmers = food, billionaires = jobs. The sick? vets? children? elderly? Very low production value. No reason to invest in them. It's f****d up.

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According to Denise Stanley, a professor of economics at California State University-Fullerton, capitalism may have lifted millions of people out of absolute poverty, but inequality can be corrosive within a society. "Absolute poverty is basically folks are able to get… $4 per day per person. It’s a threshold measure," she explained.

The economy is growing, but income inequality can make people feel insecure as their relative status in the economy declines. Behavioral economists have shown that "our status compared to other people, our happiness, is derived more by relative measures and distribution than by absolute measures. If that’s true then capitalism has a problem," Stanley said.

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#13

Never Equate The Two

Never Equate The Two

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Julie C Rose
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone who hangs out in lefty spaces, left wing rage is often misdirected at people who make minor mistakes or write a fanfic that someone doesn’t like, because that’s easier and more cathartic than any real activism.

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#14

Capitalism Kills

Capitalism Kills

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#15

Based Charlie Kirk

Based Charlie Kirk

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RP
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let alone the pittance that American universities pay the majority of their academic teaching staff who are also on short-term contracts

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"Capitalism is inherently exploitative," Dr. Roberts told us. "What we have now is a form of capitalism in which the social constraints on its operation given by the power of organized labor are perhaps at their weakest for some considerable time. The system always seeking new expanding markets now seeks to commoditize all aspects of human behavior and feeling."

"Capitalism has always been at odds with many human values — as its overriding purpose is to produce profit, not human well-being. Treating human beings as commodities effectively turns them into things, sources of profit. As the psychoanalyst Erich Fromm remarked, it turns human life away from the enjoyment of being into seeking relationships based on possessing or 'having.'"

#17

Silence Of The Lambs

Silence Of The Lambs

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#18

Slavery Didn't End. It Evolved

Slavery Didn't End. It Evolved

Capitalism Kills Report

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MissPrideGirl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“Little to no pay at all” is just a fancy way of saying slavery.

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Financial expert Sam Dogen told us in an earlier interview that there is no perfect economic system. "However, capitalism is the best system we've got that advances technology, increases productivity and efficiency, and gives people a chance to improve their financial situation. Capitalism provides people the most hope to get ahead based on hard work. Therefore, I believe capitalism will remain the system going forward," he explained.

However, the system's shortcomings have become extremely apparent, especially in the past few years. "The biggest flaw to capitalism is nepotism and family dynasties," Dogen told us. "This happens when the extraordinarily wealthy hoard their wealth and provide favors to their friends and children. This helps ensure the rich get richer and the powerful stay powerful. Nepotism doesn't mean the rest of us can't get ahead as well. It just means that certain people will have a much easier time getting ahead than others."

#19

Decaying Capitalism Spares No One

Decaying Capitalism Spares No One

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#20

But We Are Getting Better Every Day Apparently!

But We Are Getting Better Every Day Apparently!

BelleAriel Report

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Lady Goldberry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're just laughing at us all. But you know, the ordinary folk aren't supposed to know how much the overlords fear them...

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Dr. Roberts added that when it comes to pointing out capitalism’s weaknesses, the list can get disturbingly long: "The idea of perpetual growth, individualism, the fundamentally amoral nature of the economic system…" However, it isn’t helpful to see things in terms of binary opposites, the psychologist argued. "The systems in which we live need to change and are doing — but they need to be pushed in a more pro-human, pro-environmental direction."

#22

Based Shaun

Based Shaun

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#23

I See A Pattern

I See A Pattern

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Jiska Veldhuizen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I will never understand how a healthcare insurance is tied to having a job, wouldn't you need insurance even more when you are sick and can't work?

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#24

Capitalism At Its Finest

Capitalism At Its Finest

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Unsure how to deal with their bottled-up feelings, thousands of people are voicing their concerns online in a bid to find ease knowing some like-minded people agree that capitalism seems to be in conflict with human values. But as Dr. Roberts noted, looking for comfort is not the answer.

"We must seek to live better lives whether they are comfortable or not and extend warmth, support and friendship to as many people as we can," he told us. "We must learn to deal with our emotional responses to the unfolding chaos and turmoil around us — not by suppressing them but by sharing them, feeling them and continuing to think about what to do while we feel them," he concluded.

#25

Because Who Needs Jobs Anyway

Because Who Needs Jobs Anyway

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Katarzyna Gratka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The rich would probably want the poor to disappear from their sight and stop causing problems.

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#26

PSA: Capitalism Is Bad For Your Health

PSA: Capitalism Is Bad For Your Health

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BadCat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't really get enticed with ads much. They can be interesting but just because there's something profound in the message about cats, I'm not about to buy that brand's cat food.

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#28

It's All Class War

It's All Class War

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Random Anon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In reality, the politicians with the biggest coffers can run their campaigns and shove propaganda down peoples' throats and get votes. So cynically speaking, it's just folks with common sense vs. the zombies with some gray matter short up top.

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#29

But They Take The Risks

But They Take The Risks

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Random Anon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here's the thing. For limited liability companies, you just fold. Unless creditors can prove some shady shenanigans going on, siphoning money off to phoney vendors for example, the owners have next-to-no fall-out. You pay your accountants to make sure of that. At worst, they go bankrupt but rarely see jail time.

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#30

"Starvation Exists Because It Isn't Profitable To Solve"

"Starvation Exists Because It Isn't Profitable To Solve"

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Michael Se
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Is food a right?" asks a person who gets half the year as paid vacation.

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#31

Wtf

Wtf

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Got Myself 4 Pandas
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd rather walk than sit on that thing, it'd be less painful! Have to work on my swimming though if I want to leave the UK

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#33

Capitalism-In-Decay-Posts

Capitalism-In-Decay-Posts

Capitalism Kills Report

#34

Capitalism As Religion, Walter Benjamin (1921)

Capitalism As Religion, Walter Benjamin (1921)

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Random Anon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup play into the tribal minds of most people. As long as the tribe wills it, they will jump off a cliff. This has rung true for both politics and marketing.

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#35

A Landlord Contemplating To Shut Off The Water To Tenants Who Can't Pay Their Rent Due To The Quarantine

A Landlord Contemplating To Shut Off The Water To Tenants Who Can't Pay Their Rent Due To The Quarantine

MayonaiseRemover Report

#36

Capitalism A System Of Continues Failure

Capitalism A System Of Continues Failure

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#37

You’re Poor Cause You’re Lazy

You’re Poor Cause You’re Lazy

BelleAriel Report

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censor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in south africa your parents have to sign for your loans until you are 21. also you are allowed to drink, drive and smoke at 18.

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#39

Because Capitalism.....

Because Capitalism.....

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#40

“You Made This?”

“You Made This?”

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#41

Thank You Bezos, Really Cool!

Thank You Bezos, Really Cool!

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#43

And It’s Only Going To Get Worse

And It’s Only Going To Get Worse

thatkeltonguy Report

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Random Anon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just like the Roman empire, most of the people are slaves working for the handful of "citizens" living the American dream. That's how an empire works.

#44

An Apple A Day...

An Apple A Day...

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Katarzyna Gratka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Out of curiosity, how does this system work? Because the doctor should only check the patient's history, selecting the medications himself. I understood the article so that the system tells the doctor what to give to the patient, hence my question.

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#45

War & Pistachios

War & Pistachios

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censor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

guys, britain and netherlands fought wars for centuries over spices, this is nothing new

#46

Touché

Touché

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#47

How Capitalism Has Created The Highest Standard Of Living Ever Known On The Earth???

How Capitalism Has Created The Highest Standard Of Living Ever Known On The Earth???

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Eduard Korhonen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then America got independence and spent 245 years doing the same

#48

Uber Deconstructed!

Uber Deconstructed!

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#49

Capitalism-In-Decay-Posts

Capitalism-In-Decay-Posts

Capitalism Kills Report

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Random Anon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So is a society putting a premium on the superficial, rewarding vanity and grossly enriching the greedy.

#50

“They Got Money For The Wars But Can’t Feed The Poor.” -Tupac Shakur, 1993

“They Got Money For The Wars But Can’t Feed The Poor.” -Tupac Shakur, 1993

thatkeltonguy Report

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Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The USA in a nutshell. We can't fix our bridges and roads, boost rapid transit, improve our power grid, or pay teachers decent wages and give them the materials they need - but can we fight wars!

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#52

Shame On Them!

Shame On Them!

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#53

The Archangel Uncle Sam

The Archangel Uncle Sam

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#54

A Landlord Evicting A Paramedic In The Middle Of The Coronavirus Epidemic, Just Because He Works At The Nhs

A Landlord Evicting A Paramedic In The Middle Of The Coronavirus Epidemic, Just Because He Works At The Nhs

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#55

From The Lips Of An Angel

From The Lips Of An Angel

Capitalism Kills Report

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#56

Don’t Rush Them, Give Them Time :)

Don’t Rush Them, Give Them Time :)

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Untethered Universe
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can you show me one country where left wing communism has worked? Not that I like libertarianism, but the cure isn't any better.

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#57

Bosses Are Not Your Friend

Bosses Are Not Your Friend

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Katarzyna Gratka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Truth. However, it does not always have to be this way, as not every employer wants to use an employee. It all depends on the people.

#58

Capitalism, Uhhhh, Finds A Way.

Capitalism, Uhhhh, Finds A Way.

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Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, and the moon is made of green cheese, handling toads causes warts, there was a shooter on the grassy knoll, Ronald Reagan was the first choice for the lead in "Casablanca," and the typical person swallows 8 spiders every year.

#59

A Landlord Figures They Will Have To Evict Their Tenants "Like Cockroaches" During The Quarantine-Related Eviction Moratorium

A Landlord Figures They Will Have To Evict Their Tenants "Like Cockroaches" During The Quarantine-Related Eviction Moratorium

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Roxy Eastland
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some tenants absolutely do destroy properties, through. I'm wondering what position this landlord was actually in.

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#60

Me When I Graduate ;)

Me When I Graduate ;)

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Eduard Korhonen
Community Member
1 year ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

*our If you're going to try making a point, at least learn to spell it

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#62

We Should Accept Our Current Economic System Is [messed] When Even The Idea Of Us Going To War Makes The Stock Market Go Up

We Should Accept Our Current Economic System Is [messed] When Even The Idea Of Us Going To War Makes The Stock Market Go Up

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#63

Green Imperialism

Green Imperialism

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censorshipsucks5 avatar
censor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

what, you are going to what, bomb the excess CO2? use a tactical strike against CFCs? what?

#64

The Climate Is In Crisis And Biden Is In Debt To Fossil Fuel Industries; He Won’t Save Us Like Bernie Will

The Climate Is In Crisis And Biden Is In Debt To Fossil Fuel Industries; He Won’t Save Us Like Bernie Will

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#65

Capitalism-In-Decay-Posts

Capitalism-In-Decay-Posts

Capitalism Kills Report

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Susie Elle
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I gather from this and other posts that Biden has been a massive disappointment up until now? (sorry I'm behind on information regarding this)

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