• LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Capitalism is the problem, not the solution

      Capitalism only “works” due to the inequalities and unjust hierarchies it creates

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          1 year ago

          Because humans always or against each other towards inequalities and hierarchies.

          I don’t subscribe to this cynical view of humankind. It is systems like capitalism that introduce these inequalities and hierarchies. In a system based on “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need,” there would be no need to establish inequities and hierarchies. In fact, in such a system, it would run against one’s own best interests to invest in such destructive paths.

          You cannot escape human nature

          1. It is human nature to exist in a social group that upholds the interest of self as well as those around us. Are you projecting your own shortcomings onto the rest of us? That seems unfair of you.

          2. Even if your cynical viewpoint were correct, this is still false. We are beings of higher intelligence, not bound by the confines of instinct. We have language that we can use to develop new systems and new understandings that aren’t inherently destructive like capitalism.

          Capitalism at least offers the slight chance to better your own position

          LMAO what? Capitalism does the very opposite. You are victim of the “temporarily embarrassed millionaire” mindset of capitalism. It’s false propaganda. You’ve been deceived. (Or maybe you are benefiting from this system and therefore want people to believe this, which … says something not so good about your character.)

          If you are born smart

          If you’re born smart, you do have privileges and opportunities that others do not have. This itself is an inequity that we should work to correct, and not something to be proud of.

          or very dedicated

          And there it is! The good ol’ bootstraps came out. It was only a matter of time.

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              1 year ago

              None of the good things you mentioned are the result of capitalism and are in fact strangled by capitalism. The internet started as a military project, which is not inherently capitalist, and if anything the internet as we know it is an example of the potential of anarchism. Same with much of our infrastructure, such as international railways/highways, public libraries, state and national parks…

              You also grossly overestimate how much your choices and hard work contribute to success while underestimating sheer luck and privilege.

              I … can’t really respond to everything you wrote, partially because it’s a borderline gish gallop, but most of your statements have been addressed by leftist and post-leftist literature.

              I’d recommend reading up on anarcho-communism and anarcho-primitivism. They’re quite different theories that work to solve the unjust and destructive system of capitalism. Also read up on the history of leftist movements in Latin America and how US intervention was used to derail them (US is responsible for the rise of authoritarianism/Soviet alignment in Cuba and the derailment of Sandinistas in Nicaragua, just as two examples.) While not specifically leftist, I’d also recommend reading something like Caste by Isabel Wilkerson to understand racial hierarchies and Everyday Sexism by Lara Bates about gender hierarchies.

              Frankly, capitalism is killing our people and destroying the planet, and it urgently needs to be stopped. It’s an inherently destructive system, and it can’t be fixed. It must be replaced.