this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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Hi all,

I'm seeing a lot of hate for capitalism here, and I'm wondering why that is and what the rationale behind it is. I'm pretty pro-capitalism myself, so I want to see the logic on the other side of the fence.

If this isn't the right forum for a political/economic discussion-- I'm happy to take this somewhere else.

Cheers!

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I agree with your point of view, and I think the solution is more governmental regulation. Billionaires and companies keep leeching for infinite growth, and I believe our system can work (and has proven it can work), if we allow a free market within reason.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Since the current system allows the people who make the rules to be bought, I think we'd have to start over entirely from scratch for it to work at all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I think realistically the only way to fix that flaw would be starting over. Unrealistically, a constitutional amendment could solve a lot of those issues.

[–] jake_eric 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Regulations are indeed an important part of managing our system as it is, but they're fundamentally a bandaid to the problems of capitalism.

You gotta catch the corporations doing a bad thing and then tell them not to do it, meanwhile they're buying politicians to fight against you on it. And it still doesn't stop them from committing actions that are horribly unethical and extremely damaging to our society and to the environment, they just tone it down a bit at best, or occasionally they'll have to put a small fraction of their money into a lawsuit without actually changing their behavior.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, the relationship betweens corporations and our government absolutely has to change. I totally agree that the system is not at all working in that regard. It especially pisses me off when corporations break the law and the fines amount to nothing except the cost of doing business.

[–] jake_eric 3 points 1 year ago

Yup. If we're talking regulations then regulations on how much corporations can donate to politicians should be top of the list (and ideally that amount should be zero), but obviously both the politicians and the corporations like that donations are totally allowed, making it difficult to pass such things...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Some example where it works? Because where I live (EU), stuff is regulated and no one of my generation can buy shit. I pay so much for rent that I can't save money to buy something of my own. While the owner of the company has luxury cars. We're all wage slaves. Sadly, everything else is doomed to fail as well, so even the fabled communism of Soviet bootlickers won't save us.

[–] bouh 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If you think EU is regulated, you have no idea what regulation should be. EU is merely preventing capitalism from self euthanasy at this point.

And I am a firm supporter of Europe.

[–] jerrimu 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Soviet system was communism with bosses, bosses duck up everything.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, that's looking for scapegoats. Truth is you always need some kind of a boss.

Let's imagine the fabled True Communism™. So everyone goes to vote for everything, everyone has a say in everything and everything is owned by everyone. Someone has to organize the elections. And because it's unrealistic for millions of people to go to one voting booth, you need local elections, pretty much what democracy looks like now. And there you go - you have your local leaders, those who organize elections. Your bosses are back and True Communism™ devolves back into the "communism with bosses".

Or let's say we come with a magical solution to that problem. Your country doesn't have money to build only luxury houses or flats, there need to be some smaller and shittier ones. Who decides who lives in the villa and who lives in the small apartment? There are these solutions:

  • you only build shitty apartments for everyone - yay, communism wins again!
  • people who are "more equal" than the others get them, for example for their service to the country and lo and behold, bosses are back!

Communism doesn't work and cannot work, simply because of human nature.