that credit card swipes so good 💳

The desire for money and assets has been the downfall of how many civilizations. History repeats and echos.

The reality.. the socialists have been playing the long game for nearly 100 years with the blessing of the elites.

From steinbeck’s wikiquote page: this is disputed … but the remark is very likely a paraphrase from Steinbeck's article "A Primer on the '30s." Esquire (June 1960), p. 85-93: "Except for the field organizers of strikes, who were pretty tough monkeys and devoted, most of the so-called Communists ...

Americans still have hope that there will one day be rich. But the youth are starting to lose that at the end of the long term debt cycle combined with social media larping / focusing on the anomalies. Btc will help

This is accurate. Whenever I visited the US it always amazed me how the waiter, doorman or garbage men took great pride in their work. Some even introducing themselves as artist, actor or entrepreneur doing a side job. Always loved that about the Americans.

I suspect we had better elites to emulate, in earlier times in this country. Many came to their position through hard work, and did not begrudge those ‘beneath’ them on the economic ladder. They shared the same culture, beliefs, and in many cases institutions. I think this started to chang...

Would he still say that in 2024?

Did Steinbeck ever see the rise of crony capitalism? I think everyone needs to pick themselves up by their bootstraps. And I also think that is not a free pass for the corporate overlords.

That is why the left is spreading victimhood ideology.