Okay, we know that the US can’t be trusted because it’s political compass wil lalways be changing. So what now? We need to organize, but how? Volt Europa is pretty weak and several people I have met have expressed dislike for them, the EU is gonna be reactive instead of proactive towards threats as always, Elon is trying to buy out more parties in EU…

How to proceed? Anything to do that doesn’t seem hopeless, like voting for paneuropean parties, or leaving US based platforms for EU based, less developed platforms (like Peertube instead of Youtube, or Matrix instead of Whatsapp?

I wish EU was stronger and both the EU and its citizens (and netizens) les reliant on external services (like youtube, reddit, whatsapp, discord, etc.), and I want to do something about it, but I feel completely lost and hopeless.

  • IllecorsEnglish
    8•22 hours ago

    I’ve been pondering something along these lines for a while now.

    I think balance in all things applies tremendously well here. US has employer > employee, EU has employee > employer. One allows a company to be incredibly competitive, while another makes life more comfortable for people.

    I think it comes back in a couple of ways - US companies don’t have to deal with employee burnout; just swap for another and keep going.

    I suspect it affects the mental state of the society as a whole - one forces to be competitive, while another takes care of you so you don’t have to.

    This also appears to apply on a smaller western vs eastern europe scale.

    I guess the havenots will always be more determined to move forward than the haves.

    It’s not all bad, though. Siberian scum is doing its best to wake Europe up from the comfortable slumber while open software alternatives work globally.

    I believe personal action works best here. Try hosting your own stuff. Some things will stick, most won’t - just don’t get discouraged!

    I’m always here if you need a hand with setting things up.

    • @[email protected]English
      5•12 hours ago

      You missed one other option that has also been gaining traction in Europe:

      employee = employer

      A co-op kinda gets the benefits of both, with the downside being growth can be a little slower due to how it’s organized and bureaucracy, but this could be fixed too with legislation.

      • IllecorsEnglish
        2•10 hours ago

        We’ll see. I’m currently working for a company that went from limited -> employee owned - nothing has changed. Maybe it would be different if there was no legacy of a limited company, but so far I’m still sceptical.