Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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We live in a post information scarcity society and we still haven't moved on from capitalism. (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/showerthoughts

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Edit: Changed title to be more accurate.

Also here is the summary from Wikipedia on what Post-scarcity means:

Post-scarcity is a theoretical economic situation in which most goods can be produced in great abundance with minimal human labor needed, so that they become available to all very cheaply or even freely. Post-scarcity does not mean that scarcity has been eliminated for all goods and services but that all people can easily have their basic survival needs met along with some significant proportion of their desires for goods and services. Writers on the topic often emphasize that some commodities will remain scarce in a post-scarcity society.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Technically, Monarchism falls under that definition as well, which is why it gets a bit more complex than that.

[–] Iceblade02 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

A monarchy can be capitalist as long as peoples property rights are respected. The moment the monarch decides to lop somebodys head off and take their stuff you'll be back to the old-school feudalistic "might makes right" societies.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Sort of. Monarchism is more about respecting a family's right to rule, than a claim on economics, though usually Feudalism goes hand in hand historically. The British parliamentary system with a vestigial Monarchy is an exception, not the rule.

[–] betheydocrime 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I would call monarchism a form of religious capitalism where the ruling class claims divine right as the methods to accumulate capital, rather than using financial means to accumulate capital

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Certainly more hierarchical than Socialism, but also more than Capitalism. Fundamentally, the lack of a market for Capital separates Capitalism from Monarchism, the class dynamics of today are different from before. This is helpful to understand IMO when trying to see how to solve it.

[–] betheydocrime 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Does the exchange of land between kingdoms via wedding dowries/treaties/violence fulfill the definition of a "market for capital"?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not really. Capitalism allows anyone to buy and sell Capital, whereas these more primitive exchanges aren't the same. The Bourgeoisie are fundamentally different from the Aristocracy.

[–] betheydocrime 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's pretty fair. It may feel impossible for me today to afford any capital, but if I were somehow able to accumulate enough money I would be legally allowed to own capital. Under monarchy, even if I got that much money, it would be illegal for me to purchase capital as an individual. That's enough of a distinction to make them different for me, thanks for bringing it up.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Yep, that's the idea! Functionally, Capitalism is more revolutionary and progressive than Feudalism, which is why it's a good thing that Feudalism is fading and Capitalism is the status quo, just like it will also be a good thing when Capitalism is fading and Socialism becomes the status quo.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Kinda. It’s not a very efficient market, but a market doesn’t have to be efficient to be a market.

I guess technically any system of trade could be thought of as a capital market, as long as capital is for sale.