wsj.com
www.wsj.com

A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive government campaign to detain and demonize dissenters

This post uses a gift link with a view count limit. If it runs out, there is a second one and somewhat unreliable archived copy which has the text but not the visuals.

Many Americans can use their library card to generate additional gift links

  • northface@lemmy.ml
    41·
    3 days ago

    You make it sound like creative tax planning, union busting, gig economy and other forms of exploitation of workers don’t exist in Scandinavia… And I’m just naming a few of the many problems with “ethical capitalism”, as you call it.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.world
      23·
      3 days ago

      Nope union busting does not exist, and the gig economy is tiny, and the little there is, is based on fair pay.
      Obviously there is creative tax planning, that’s kind of a game of whack a mole. Difference here is that we try to have fair tax regulation, contrary to USA that favor the rich, so much so they don’t even have to be creative.

      There is actually a difference between a democracy that works for the people, and one that works for the rich.

      • northface@lemmy.ml
        3·
        3 days ago

        People are being threatened and/or fired for organizing workers at their workplace. I don’t know what your definition of union busting is, but it happens over and over in Sweden.

        Example:

        https://www.arbetaren.se/2024/10/14/varslades-fran-zalandoshylager-nar-arbetsshykoparen-fick-veta-hans-roll-i-facket/

        Another example, from Finland:

        https://yle.fi/a/7-10077702

        Strikebreaking is still a thing, and while very much illegal in its traditional form employers have figured out new ways to legally do it by importing labour from other countries:

        https://www.transportarbetaren.se/strejkbryteriet-ar-tillbaka/

        And regarding the general exploitation of workers, especially low-paying precarious jobs that require hard labour:

        https://www.dagensmedicin.se/arbetsliv/arbetsmiljo/fack-stammer-apotea-for-manga-overtidstimmar/

        I don’t know which country you are from, but it doesn’t really matter is I am quite sure these things happen there as well.

        Capitalism is an antithesis to ethics; you can’t have a capitalist economy without exploiting your workers, and while you can have more or less “nice” employers the absolute majority of them will find ways to fuck you over when push comes to shove.

        Companies exist to make as much profit as possible, and they lose their power if their workers start organizing. That’s why they will find every way to (legally or not) stop that from happening (as seen in the examples I have linked to above).

        • Buffalox@lemmy.world
          12·
          3 days ago

          Technically Finland is not Scandinavian. IDK Swedish law, but here in Denmark it’s illegal to fire people for unionizing. I would expect both Sweden and Finland to have similar worker protections.
          There are always people that act outside the law, and I suspect your examples aren’t much better than complaining about the unsafe work environment for bank robbers.
          I don’t care to read your anecdotes, just to tear them apart. Yes Tesla is not unionized in Sweden, but they are an exception, and it is costing them dearly. But every worker at Tesla can go somewhere else that is unionized, and that makes it impossible for Tesla to exploit workers, they probably have to offer better conditions to keep their workers from going elsewhere. Including paying fair wages, having good work conditions, and offering 5 weeks holiday, and paid leave when having a child. All things that are not normal in USA, because unions are not protected by law.
          Again conditions in Scandinavian countries are better than any country that calls itself non capitalist.
          So you are trying to argue that the countries that are the best to live in for both the poor and average people, do not have a good system. But some system that only exist in fantasy should be better.
          You are delusional

          • northface@lemmy.ml
            2·
            2 days ago

            My only points are the following:

            • The fact that one country has better working conditions compared to others doesn’t mean its legal system successfully prevents companies from exploiting their workers and thwarting attempts of unionizing and executing strikes.
            • Arguing that things are worse in other countries is pure whataboutism, as your original comment claimed that Scandinavia had reached some utopian idea of “ethical capitalism” by legislation - which I have tried to show is false (by providing credible sources with examples), as companies are fully able to be unethical to their workers within the legal system
            • While it may be illegal to fire people for unionizing, it still happens because companies can make up a lot of plausible reasons instead of the actual one, requiring you to have forethought and record every single conversation with managers covertly (which was done in one of the examples I gave you). Some are even willing to pay the fines for breaking this law from time to time in order to scare workers with precarious/temporary employment that don’t want to risk their job. It’s a calculated risk and cost for some businesses that don’t care an inch for their workers.
            • “Just get another job” as an argument is not the silver bullet you think it is. This requires a lot of privileges; including economy, mobility, possibly having to move (including uprooting your family), maybe having to study or gain new skills by other means to even find a job in your area. Thinking this is an easy task tells me something about your own privileges in life.

            The fact that you won’t even consider to verify the sources of my claims proves me one thing - you’re the delusional one in this conversation, and you seem to be willing to stray from the discussion by also attacking me personally instead.

            What do you have to gain by denying this is happening? You may have had luck in your life and never had to experience these things yourself, but I have and many others with me have as well. Society can be pretty messed up when you actually take a look at how things work in practice, not stopping at how it should work.