People disagree about politics. What would they argue about on the Internet if not the political and economic state of the world? That sometimes seeps into meatspace, too. In the U.S., for example, 45% of Americans say they talk about politics with most of their social networks.
A big debate people have around politics is often how much government should be involved in people's lives. Statists would say that a lot, while anti-statists believe that no government – left, right, or centrist – should be in charge.
The subreddit "[Stuff] Statists Say" is dedicated to roasting governmantalists for their political takes. And here we present to you the top posts these internet anarchists have shared over the years.
More info: Reddit
#1 FBI Break Into Man's Home Over Lawful Purchases And Statists Cheer
Anon:
Just have government break into everyone's house and steal s**t, totally cool.
SusanRosenberg:
This is the exact thing that makes me worried about my farm being registered with the USDA.
Image credits: the9trances
#2 I See The Leftists Are Still Confusing Net Worth With Cash
guitargodgt:
Posts like that are the explanation for why 20% of the US population has nothing in retirement and no savings account and 58% have less than $1k saved.
Daily_the_Project21:
Doesn't that just create an incentive to not make more than $999 million? Wouldn't Bezos just sell all his shares, cause the stock to go crashing causing a ripple effect of panic selling, f**k the whole market and economy, and then retire somewhere where none of this matters to him? That's what I'd do.
Image credits: NtsParadize
#3 Come Again?
asbandit65:
“Civil liberties lobby” that’s a ridiculous way of saying people who value individual liberties.
Image credits: Itz_Mushi
The world was probably never this divided over politics in recent decades. And nowhere is that divide as stark as in the United States. As a 2024 Gallup poll shows, the percentage of moderate voters in America has reached historical lows. Only 34% of Americans describe themselves as moderates, while 37% say they're Republicans and only 25% identify as liberals.
Although those who say they are liberal or very liberal are in the minority, it's still the highest percentage in a long time. In 1992, only 17% of Americans said they were liberals. The percentage of Americans identifying as conservatives has been steady since 1992, when it was 36%.
Still, both conservatives' and liberals' ideologies are at their most extreme in 30 years. 24% of Republicans claim they are 'very conservative,' and 18% of Democrats say they are 'very liberal.'
#4 Rich People Can "Own" People By Paying Them A Lot Of Money
Darth_Parth:
Bruh if you offer someone $1M to clean your house, you're the one getting owned.
Ed_Radley:
It's all relative. If their time is valuable enough to them that they can't even be bothered to pick up after themselves because of the lost value, buy all means pay somebody that $1 million and let the value generation commence.
Image credits: reddit.com
#5 He Should Be Forced To Give Away More!
Anon:
If I was a billionaire, I wouldn't donate s**t to anybody. I would still be hated the exact same but have an extra $100 million in wealth.
Anon (OP):
If I were a billionaire I would donate because I want to. It's not morally Okay to force someone to distribute their wealth on the other hand. There is a difference between donation and forced distribution and that difference is consent.
Image credits: reddit.com
#6 Mods Aren't Part Of The 14%
byzantinian:
Thread
Survey Results
Survey Data
Anon:
Holy s**t they're actually insane.
"14.2% of people believe free speech should all be protected. Why is that?"
"My guess is that a lot of people haven't really put that much thought into it beyond that it allows f*scists a platform."
What.
Image credits: Justbackwards
This extreme divide bleeds out into people's relationships. Some even go as far as to cut contact with relatives or friends who are on the different side of the political ideology spectrum. A 2020 Pew survey showed that Americans had very few friends who supported another presidential candidate.
Republicans and Democrats are really at each other's throats by making assumptions as well. A 2020 study showed that 8 in 10 Republicans believe that the Democratic Party has been taken over by socialists. In turn, 8 in 10 Democrats believe that the Republican Party has been seized by racists.
#7 We Gave You Chance, Now It's $50!
triflingo:
Are people really that f**king dumb?
tosseriffic:
Ironically, life is more tolerable when you keep it in the front of your mind at all times that most people are complete f**king morons. Legitimately half of the people you meet have sub 100 IQ, and one in six has an IQ below 85.
Image credits: SamLovesNotion
#8 Government Enforced Monopoly? Must Be Capitalism
Saivlin:
IP laws aren't a free market. They are, by definition, a government granted monopoly. While there is ample debate about whether and to what extent IP law and/or its individual components (eg, patent, copyright, trade mark, trade secret) helps or hinders the economy as a whole, it's still a government granted monopoly.
nosmokingbandit:
Any jerk can file a suit against any other jerk for literally any reason. The ability to sue means nothing. We should save our outrage until the ruling.
Image credits: McDooglehimer
#9 Homeowners Hold Housing Hostage, Keeping It Away From People Who Can Live In The House
ImmySnommis:
Construction workers do not "provide" housing.
Miners and loggers provide housing. Construction workers, in fact, do the opposite of providing housing. They take the material created to build housing, hold them hostage for payment of labor, and refuse to work without pay.
Just about as dumb.
MichaelFowlie:
That’s like saying supermarkets don’t “provide” food.
Image credits: GoldAndBlackRule
But experts say that people are most often wrong and tend to see the members of the opposite party as more extreme than they actually are. "We're flattening people out in terms of our view of them," Tania Israel, author of Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, Skills and Strategies for Conversations That Work, told NPR. "And we're not really seeing the full complexity of people on the other side."
#10 It's Not Like The Advent Of Streaming Services Had Anything To Do With It
PleaseDoNotClickThis:
I didn't get shot when I stopped funding Blockbuster.
Erthwerm:
Quick somebody ask her if she still has a DVD/Blu-Ray player or if she just streams/downloads stuff.
Image credits: limp-duck-
#11 “Anticapitalist Etsy Shop”
shook_not_shaken:
This is what happens when leftoids change the definition of capitalism from "the free market" to "when exclusively non-workers own the means of production". Just let them have their fantasy, you can't have a discussion with people who change the definitions of words.
ICantBelieveItsNotEC:
Everyone is against capitalism until they suddenly realise that they can be a capitalist too.
Image credits: L2P-Lennon
#12 Because We All Know Taxes Actually Go Towards War And Not "Social Programs"
burneralt012:
They go towards "social programs" too, but most of the money is spent on bureaucracy and corruption, and government always pays far too much money compared to companies, so very little actually money actually ends up in the pockets of the poor as a result. We've spent 15 trillion on the war on poverty so far, and the rate is still the same.
opaqueperson:
As a disclaimer, let's not jump on the bandwagon to say Amazon (or the "rich") doesn't pay taxes. Amazon does pay the legally required taxes, or the IRS would be hounding them. They just make little to no profits so they pay limited income taxes, due to losses, costs, and other totally normal, totally legal situations. And of course #TaxationIsTheft
Image credits: Gbustahsnow
But 'tis the nature of socialization online. And nowadays, most of us do get our news and express our political opinions on social media. Most of us know that political discussions online are usually pointless and only cause our blood pressure to rise. But that toxic environment doesn't come out of nowhere; it's created by people. And some researchers suggest that netizens who choose to participate in political discussions online might already be uncivil.
#13 What If I Don't Declare My Job ?
goose-and-fish:
Every time you buy something the government takes a slice. Own property, government takes a slice. Die, government takes a slice.
It’s not like employment is the only tax government collects.
molotok_c_518:
Use a service? Taxed.
Use a utility? Taxed.
If the government could find a way to tax air, you know they'd be all over that.
Image credits: NtsParadize
#14 I Would Like To File A Complaint
Messengerw1:
A country that enforced a mandatory gun buy back program now passing more authoritarian policies?
Shocker.
Image credits: BoredPotatoes357
#15 Are You Kidding Me?
AYE-BO:
What's hilarious is that capitalists are literally eating the rich at the moment. Much more so than any dumb a*s wannabe commie or hippy ever has or will. It may not be long term. It wont effect them much in the end. But the little people are definitely showing the rich people that we can use their own dirty tricks against them.
Whiprust:
LibCaps are often just as class conscious as Socialists of any type. We all eat the rich, but what State Socialists usually don't realize is that the government is what's feeding the rich in the first place. If anything the whole r/WSB debacle is proving that you can't eat the rich until you eat the government.
Image credits: reddit.com
Researchers Michalis Mamakos and Eli Finkel studied politically engaged users' behavior on Reddit. They found that those who facilitate a toxic environment on non-partisan subreddits do the same thing on political ones.
"Our findings suggest that online political discourse is uncivil largely because the people who opt into it are generally uncivil," Mamakos said. "Such individuals undermine the democratic values that should be present in the public sphere."
#16 Oh, Americans Hate The Bill Of Rights Now? The USA Is Screwed. From The Grovel Institute
TheAmbiguousAnswer:
The constitution includes voting rights, banning slavery, and the Bill of Rights; more specifically, it includes amendments that guarantee you can speak out on tyranny (1st Amendment), resist them invading your life (4th Amendment), and guarantees you can back those rights (and others) up with force (the 2nd Amendment, our favorite amendment).
I can understand wanting to amend the constitution, but when someone wants to throw nearly 30 of those amendments that have accumulated over 300 years, and start a new one... really f**king sus.
VoidAgent:
I think some people simply do not fully grasp how integral to the existence of the United States the Constitution is. To them, it’s more like...a really famous Congressional bill or maybe a Supreme Court ruling. Important, but we could probably do without it. In actuality, it is the document that outlines that which the US is built upon. Without the Constitution, the United States is simply not the United States anymore.
Image credits: GoldAndBlackRule
#17 Some Boot-Licking In My Fortune Cookie
the9trances:
I think it's pretty insightful, actually.
People who claim to love "democracy" only truly love it when their personal flavor wins and forces its view on the rest. This seems like a satirical take on that.
deefop:
Quite true.
I'm listening to a Tom Woods episode today with Peter Schiff where he's talking about living down in Puerto Rico, and they have tons of elite progressives from California moving down there to escape the horrific taxes, all while vociferously rooting for politicians that will increase the very taxes they're trying to escape.
It's f**king mind boggling and hypocritical to a fare thee well.
Image credits: El_Maquinisto
#18 The People Who Work On Supermarket Checkouts Are Capitalist Oppressors
SRIrwinkil:
These are the same folks who don't consider any trades person who makes money a true part of the working class, the reason clearly being that well paid working folk absolutely disproves some of their root theories.
Trash goblins think that plumbers aren't working class simply because they made good money.
Image credits: reddit.com
The "[Stuff] Statists Say" subreddit is the place for netizens with slightly anarchistic views. Yet we have to be exact here: anarchism and anti-statism are two different things. Anarchists are usually against establishments of any kind, believing that all governments are (or are destined to become) evil. Anti-statists tend to be more moderate, believing in the minimization of state and its power.
#19 Unintended Consequences
Anon:
I love it when they f**k themselves and wonder where the d**k came from.
Image credits: reddit.com
#20 Statist Wants Climate Lockdowns To Halt Climate Change
Abandon_All-Hope:
Wow. It’s like the authoritarians found this new way to suppress people and now they want to use it to get more of what they want.
This was always a danger of complying with COVID lockdowns. If people get used to them, they will become a new tactic.
Image credits: LiberalKiwi
#21 "YoU mIsSpElLeD CaPiTaLiSm!"
C0uN7rY:
Ah, the old "Managers and CEO's sit around and get paid while the little guys do all the work!" trope.
Image credits: TheMaybeMualist
Some people suggest that Americans might be the biggest anti-statists of all. Author and journalist John Judis points to the debate over national health insurance in the U.S. He says that people want support from the government, yet they still don't like or trust it.
In 2025, 57% of Americans think that healthcare is the government's responsibility. But when it comes to insurance, the majority (53%) still say they'd prefer a healthcare system based on private insurance vs 43% who want the government to run it.
#22 "If You Taxed Inheritance At 100% You Get A Lot Closer To Equality Of Opportunity"
WhatMixedFeelings:
Why save for your family if the government’s gonna steal all your possessions when you die? This is a great way to eliminate motivation.
Image credits: reddit.com
#23 What Does She Think The Second Amendment Is For? Hunting?
Savant_Guarde:
I stop paying attention when people start out with the debate tactic "call to authority".
I am vet and gun owner but...
Means nothing to the argument. It's kinda like when Mark Kelly says the same s**t, right before he drops to his knees for Bloomberg.
Image credits: McBeast58_
#24 North Korea And China Are Champions Of Human Rights
Ibeagoodman (OP):
Update:
It looks like UN Watch is an organization devoted to critiquing the UN, and this tweet was sarcasm.
https://unwatch.org/
Image credits: Ibeagoodman
Essentially, Judis proposes that Americans have a general ideological predisposition against giving the government too much power. "Americans have supported, or have come to support, specific governmental remedies, such as Social Security, the minimum wage, and environmental and consumer protections," he writes.
"But, when a new program that expands government is proposed, they have displayed a general ideological predisposition against the power of government."
#25 Yes, If A Car Factory Is Near Me, I Can Pop In For A Day And Churn Out A Vehicle For Myself Under Socialism
skp_005:
I don't see what you guys don't get, it is all written in the response, let me point it out:
"if ... they have the resources for you to do so then go ahead"
So, you can't make a vehicle because they will never have the resources.
Glad I could help.
Image credits: GoldAndBlackRule
#26 Smh
SnooBananas6052:
I'd much rather it be the exact opposite: 330 million gun owners, except the federal government.
Image credits: Trucker_Cole
#27 I Can’t Even Think Of A Witty Remark, This Is Just So Incredibly Dumb
Ok-Refrigerator9272:
Right because communism is viewed as evil because of "a" famine. Right, among other things
Image credits: reddit.com
What's your take on statism, Pandas? Do you think government bureaucracy and public institutions such as libraries are a waste of time and money? Or are they a necessary evil? Let's have some civil discussions in the comments, shall we? And, if you don't feel up to it, cheer yourself up with some anti-capitalist memes right here!
#28 Chinese Embassy To The United States Openly Admitting To Ethnic Genocide And Forced Sterilization Of Uighurs
Arzie5676:
CCP propaganda (a communist dictatorship): still allowed on social media.
Trump: that’s a bridge too far for the sensibilities of social media.
Image credits: ArbitraryOrder
#29 How About We Replace "The Economy" With "Everyone's Jobs"
TheDragonReborn726:
Yes, The entire country’s economy boils down to rich people buying yachts. And if they didn’t buy yachts that money would be distributed by the government efficiently and effectively!
How does this even remotely make sense?
Image credits: uncico
#30 So Basically The State Should Prevent All Deaths
HarryBergeron927:
The government is incompetent and k*lls people! And to remedy this, we must grant more power to the incompetent k*lling machine!
This actually makes sense to auth left.
Image credits: JanisVanish
#31 Saw This On Twitter And Couldn't Resist To Post It Here
Image credits: diegonou
#32 F**king Based
Image credits: Spitzly
#33 Imagine Simping For North Korea
Image credits: Lumpy-Ad9393
#34 They Have The Word “Tiananmen” Banned From From Title In This Sub Reddit Lmaoo
Image credits: Careful_Angle825
#35 Capitalism Forced Businesses To Shut Down. Abolish Capitalism And Everything Will Be Fine
Image credits: NotCausarius
#36 When You Hate BLM So Much You Become A Communist
Image credits: pjokinen
#37 What The F**k Is Wrong With These People
Image credits: garnished_fatburgers
#38 It’s Almost Like This Isn’t A Case Of The State Forcing The Economy To Shut Down And Then Claiming Credit For It Getting Better Once They Allow It To Open Again... Are People Seriously Dumb Enough To Buy This Propaganda?
Image credits: Ksais0
#39 TheRightCan’tMeme Mod Stopping The Spread Of Misinformation
Image credits: Cowardly_Squrrel
#40 Huh?
Image credits: zmenimpak
#41 Wars Are Totally Capitalism
Image credits: NtsParadize
#42 “Back Doors Are A Myth, We Just Want To Work With Companies To Access Encrypted Messages.”
Image credits: PatronSaintofHorses
#43 I Told Her She Didn't Have A "Right" To Rule Others And Got A Response. Have A Feeling I Won't Be Hearing Back From Her Again!
Image credits: Brokea*scars
#44 Wake Up Everyone, It Shouldnt Be Possible For People To Fail
Image credits: achas123
#45 Capitalism Is When Public Housing
Image credits: reddit.com
#46 Individuals Can't Make Their Own Rational Decision So Let's Let The Government (A Group Of Individuals) Decide Whats Best For Everyone
Image credits: cliffiscool
#47 Because The People Should Never Be Allowed To Decide What’s In Their Best Interest!
Image credits: reddit.com
#48 We Unanimously Support The People Of Cuba But Above All The Communist Party Of Cuba, The Same One The People Of Cuba Are Revolting Over
Image credits: k**l_cia_people
#49 “I’m Literally Trying To Give Everybody Money.”
Image credits: LiberalKiwi
#50 We Don't Know That Other People Have Feelings, Apparently
Image credits: kngsgmbt
#51 Ndt Makes A Rare Valid Point. Smash Mouth Helpfully Proves His Point
Image credits: iAmAddicted2R_ddit
#52 Liberal Denies Obama's War Crimes And Is Offended When I Give Evidence
Image credits: reddit.com
#53 Hmmm. Who Do You Think Created This Problem Chris?
Image credits: C0mmunismBad
#54 Best Statist Comeback Ever
Image credits: somethingtostrivefor
#55 State Worship Creeps Me The F**k Out
Image credits: _ziggyv_
#56 I Bet This Person Is A Wonderful Dinner Guest
Image credits: broham1987
#57 This Riot Is A Gift That Keeps On Giving: Trump Supporters Have Profaned Holy Ground
Image credits: reddit.com
#58 Ig Stalin And Mao Weren't Dictators
Image credits: account637
#59 "All Of The Stores Around Me Closed Down! Where Will I Buy Food To Feed My Kids? This Is Capitalism's Fault!"
Image credits: reddit.com
#60 Labor Theory Of Value At It Again
Image credits: Johnfish76239
#61 How Can They Be This Close But Still So Far Away?
Image credits: GeneralCuster75
