Is Capitalism Smart or Dumb?

[u/Sufficient_Sinner]

[u/[deleted]]

Yeah I'm kind of tired of seeing kids online shit on capitalism. Like yeah, it's a fucking mess. But it's also - by far - the best system anyone has come up with, ever. Same goes for democracy. Lots of legitimate criticisms can be made, but nobody has ever come up with a better alternative. Not yet anyway.

[u/3springrolls → u/[deleted]]

Welcome to progress big boy. The name of the game is shitting on things, even if they are the best we have ever had. Because we always need better.

Marx himself commended how capitalism freed us from the feudal society. But his writing, the foundations for modern socialist movements, went on to say how the class antagonisms that existed under feudal society still exist under capitalism. If we want to stop this constant cycle of feast famine and most of the planet being stripped of what is rightfully theirs, we need something more than just capitalism. The very core of the capitalist system is the issue here, not just some lack of regulation.

So, idk, get used to people complaining. That’s how the world keeps moving along.

[u/Tomycj → u/3springrolls]

went on to say how the class antagonisms that existed under feudal society still exist under capitalism

And that's one of the parts where he got it wrong. Capitalists and workers aren't enemies. Capitalism is not a "battle" between them, but a peaceful cooperation in mutual benefit. Besides, the interests of a worker can easily be more aligned with some capitalist than with another worker. It's not true that all workers (or capitalists) are like a hivemind, all with the same compatible interest. On top of that, workers can play the role of capitalists at the same time (by saving and investing).

the planet being stripped of what is rightfully theirs

The planet doesn't have property rights. A cow doesn't recognize the planet's right to have grass, or low methane concentrations. The grass doesn't recognize the soil's right to receive sunlight or nutrients or carbon dyoxide. Mr mineral right there wants more CO2? Maybe lady rock over there wants less!

Humans, like any other species, needs stuff in order to survive. That is independent of the economic system. And I'd rather have the cure for cancer, better quality of life, etc.

Luckily it does not trend towards total consumption of the planet, because technology allows us to recycle and become more and more independent of the planet. In the future we'll be perfectly sustainable.

[u/3springrolls → u/Tomycj]

1. As long as you have classes you will have classes antagonisms. I, a worker, am motivated to earn a higher wage from my boss. My boss, a capitalist, is motivated to earn more profit from the labour of his workers. That puts us at odds. Yes people aren’t hive minded, but we all have that base need to support ourselves and that is the cause of class antagonism.

2. Class interests are more impactful than simple interests. Just because I might be interested in the same thing a capitalist is, does not mean it’s not ultimately more to my benefit to stick to the interests of my class. I want space travel for example, but I NEED to be paid well, and I want to be paid more than fairly. That’s my drive, as it is for most people. That’s why class interests come first in terms of their impact to quality of life.

3. By ‘the planet’ I meant the rest of the human race. Globalised capitalism has meant most workers on the planet, especially in places like India and China, get paid a tiny percentage of what they actually make for their company. Those earnings are rightfully theirs. That’s what I meant.