Social cohesion lowest on record as Australia reels from cost of living, inequality concerns and voice debate

https://feddit.de/post/5670150

Social cohesion lowest on record as Australia reels from cost of living, inequality concerns and voice debate - Feddit

Relentless cost-of-living pressure, rising interest rates, uncertainty about the direction of the economy and growing concern about inequality has undermined Australia’s sense of social cohesion, according to authoritative new research. After a polarising voice referendum campaign and amid rising community tensions over the war in the Middle East, the latest Mapping Social Cohesion Report puts the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion at its lowest ebb since the survey began 16 years ago. The social cohesion index provides a barometer of social wellbeing, measuring belonging, worth, participation, acceptance and rejection, social inclusion and justice. The measure declined by four points over the past 12 months, hitting the lowest result on record. Since November 2020 – the peak of social cohesion recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic – the index has plummeted 13 points.

This pretty much tracks with my experience over the last few years. People just seem to be more tense and inconsiderate on average. And it feels like this started to get worse just after the first round of lockdowns.

Meanwhile the biggest companies, and their owners, are raking in record profits, globally.

This isn't a coincidence, it's by design - the working class gets squeezed so the capitalists can live it up with more money than anyone could spend in a thousand lifetimes. This was always the case in capitalism (and feudalism before it) of course, the pandemic was just an accelerator, they saw how much shit we would take then, and haven't stopped pushing since (like with the wars, that of course aren't some unfortunate biological mutation, but a choice made by some very wealthy and powerful people to try and increase their wealth and power). And the more they squeeze, the more desperate people get, which means we're easier to manipulate, exploit, and divide.

If it wasn't so evil, you might admire how well it works (for them, of course) - individualism and consumerism have been so deeply ingrained (along with the "basics" capitalism was built on - racism, sexism, ableism, cis-heteronormativity, and so on), and socialism and communism (never mind anarchism) framed as the true evils of the world, and just like that you keep the working class so divided and distracted and focused on getting themselves out of the bucket you've put them in, that they don't even realise that if they work together they can tip the bucket over and all be free..

Crab mentality - Wikipedia

Capitalism has it’s issues no doubt, but communism is not the answer either and its own litany of sins, including massacres and even genocide (i.e. Ukraine). All systems must be looked at with a critical eye and a realistic appreciation of human nature. To do otherwise is perilous.
Yes, It Was An 'Evil Empire'

Reason's December special issue marks the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This story is part of…

Reason.com

Literally nobody in this thread mentioned communism until you did.

It’s not one or the other. There are plenty of options in between.