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PaperclipPerfector  11hr ago (text post)   2066 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026

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My point is that "maybe the government will use this against me" is not a particularly good argument against public transport considering the many upsides. Especially considering that the corrupt measures taken were ultimately ineffectual.

You could just as easily turn it around: If everyone used public transport, there would have been no reason to delay it, as it would no longer be an effective way to profile people. So actually, you should enforce a ban on cars.

Also consider that private transportation only works as long as the roads are maintained and there is access to fuel. Similarly, private companies can be in charge of bus routes and trains. So I don't think your conclusion follows as naturally as you think.

For better or for worse "maybe the government will use this against me" permeates just about all aspects of modern life. That being said, I do think that private cars, as compared to public transport, give a considerable boost to a person's practical freedom.

That they do. But that is only because the government puts a lot of money into maintaining a huge and interconnected system of roads that are open to private citizens 24/7. An expense which is socialized through taxes instead of being applied to the individual car owner. Private cars promote freedom because the system is designed to accommodate them, while other public infrastructure (railways and busses) are deprioritized and left to decay.

You can still drive on shitty dirt roads. It’s unpleasant and hard on the car, but you can, millions of third worlders do it, and vehicles which can handle it on a budget are big business.

I’ll never forget the time I was driving out of state with my then girlfriend, and Christ was this one shitty ass road we had to go down. Road signs non-existent, and the paint job was ass. Didn’t realize I was going close to 70 on the shoulder of the highway for about 20 minutes and the road abruptly ended 2 miles out from my realizing what I was doing.

But that is only because the government puts a lot of money into maintaining a huge and interconnected system of roads that are open to private citizens 24/7. An expense which is socialized through taxes instead of being applied to the individual car owner.

To a large extent, I agree with this. (To some degree there are tolls, gas taxes, etc. which do apply specifically to motorists).

But I think your explanation touches on an important issue. Suppose the government suddenly stopped maintaining the roads. In that case, the roads (especially local roads) would still be largely usable for a few days or weeks, perhaps even months in some cases. Moreover, the job of overseeing the roads is spread out over lots of different government authorities and agencies.

By contrast, public transit is far more concentrated in terms of oversight and far more dependent on daily government inputs.

The result is that in practice it's much easier for a strike, work stoppage, bureaucratic fiat, executive dictate, etc. to block peoples' use of public transit than it is with the use of roads.

while other public infrastructure (railways and busses) are deprioritized and left to decay.

Where I live (Northeastern US) lots and lots of resources are put into railways, buses, etc. But it doesn't change the fact that when you have a car, you are far less subject to the whims of public institutions (and private institutions).

That's a great illustration of the difference I think.

  1. Want to block the roads? You can, but it's going to be expensive. You need to actively deploy resources to keep them blocked.

  2. Want to block public transit? It's free. Just tell the conductors not to show up.

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