Reminds me of Reddit in 2008 when I joined. Legitimate communities forming and finding their way. Wasn't super intuitive how to use or what to do, but something special.
Reddit has since just transformed into something almost unrecognizable, but its tough to beat the size and reach it's built.
On thing Lemmy is going to have to worry about is bots. I'm hoping the decentralization is a good solution to both monetization and bots. We shall see.
You've hit the nail on the head. The government has set up a perfect storm of crippling student loans. I'm with you up until the free education part, but I see where you're coming from.
The reason we got into this mess is because previously, you needed some form of wealth to attend college. The government didn't like the class divide, and backed federal loans so that anyone could get a loan. Then to address the concern of a student, with no assets, just immediately declaring bankruptcy after his degree, they made it impossible.
Free education would address this, but I'm not so sure that would do more than just adjust the problem. We have free education up through high school, and generally poor neighborhoods have shit education and can't afford private or to move. I don't see how that problem doesn't just expand to colleges.
We already have an issue getting good quality teachers and paying them, that problem will only explode when we take on professor salaries.
I'm a conservative libertarian, so I'd rather see the government get their hands out of it all, or let the local governments deal with it. I know that's not ideal, but I'd rather see the problems reset and then look for solutions. We have such a large stack of band aids right now, its tough to say what will happen when we start removing them, or adding different ones.
All forms of power are self destructive. Greedy humans will want more of <insert means of power> and will exploit others to get it.
Capitalism isn't immune to that, but does provide a bit of a wildcard that other forms of government don't have. Mark Zuckerberg controls, frankly, more of the world than anyone should be comfortable with, and the reason it's him and not someone else is mostly dumb luck. If he plays his cards right, he can build a Zuckerberg dynasty, and his descendants will have power by birth, but him being in power is capitalism. Some random person can obtain mass power.
All other feasible economic systems centralize power by design, and centralized power is, historically, rife with corruption and dynasties. Hell, the US presidency alone is usually a race between two people that the majority isn't happy with. Our election system is one of the fairest (far from perfect) and we still have crap options. You can pick your favorite color, so long as it's black or white.
I'm all for exposing and discussing the issues with capitalism, but it's still better than most other systems. The general check to capitalism is government regulations, which works on paper, but not in reality. Our current government system is pay to play, so if you have enough money, the regulations don't effect you, they affect your competition, its the worst form of free market. Get money out of politics and maybe regulations will work. Until then, they mostly make it worse.
If we wanted to explore other options, like socialism, it still boils down to corruption in the government. If its not money, it's something else. At the end of the day, leaders need support to get elected, and they will pimp themselves out for that support. If we look at an extreme example of "All jobs pay the same", within a decade, all desirable jobs, such as hiring managers, will be held by children of politicians and allies. Corruption won't go away just because money does, but money gives an ordinary person a chance at obtaining power.
Meditation.
It's been shown to be a very effective remedy for depression. It's also a useful tool for getting in control of your mind. If you meditate regularly, you'll find more enjoyment in the things you're already doing.
Also, since it's just you and your thoughts, you may discover something you're interested in and find a hobby that way.