David NjokuMar 9

Random thought.

If public libraries didn't already exist, capitalism wouldn't let you invent it. Can you imagine how many billions Jeff Bezos would plough into fighting the idea, destroying any politician who dared to back it?

Support your local library.

Show threadPaul MartinMar 9
@[email protected] Many libraries were originally sponsored by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie.
Show threadJuggling With EggsMar 9

@nowster @davidnjoku

‘Andrew Carnegie supported libraries because he believed access to knowledge was essential for self-improvement, merit-based success, and community advancement. As a formerly poor immigrant, he credited his own success to having free access to books, calling libraries "ladders upon which the aspiring may climb"’ Wikipedia

These ideas really didn’t used to be controversial or identifiable with a particular side of the political spectrum.

Show threadrandom_regret
@JugglingWithEggs @nowster @davidnjoku Also the working class movement was strong enough to make conservatives and capitalists shit their pants that the poor would do a revolution any second. That's also how you get reactionaries like Bismarck basically inventing the welfare state. Philantropy used to be not just a way to save taxes, it was a life insurance for the wealthy.
Mar 20 at 4:53pmWeb