Capitalism itself rarely invents new things, but it does optimize existing things quite well
Though what it tries to optimize it for isn't always what is best for the consumer
this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
755 points (83.8% liked)
Political Memes
5413 readers
5280 users here now
Welcome to politcal memes!
These are our rules:
Be civil
Jokes are okay, but don’t intentionally harass or disturb any member of our community. Sexism, racism and bigotry are not allowed. Good faith argumentation only. No posts discouraging people to vote or shaming people for voting.
No misinformation
Don’t post any intentional misinformation. When asked by mods, provide sources for any claims you make.
Posts should be memes
Random pictures do not qualify as memes. Relevance to politics is required.
No bots, spam or self-promotion
Follow instance rules, ask for your bot to be allowed on this community.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Chicken sandwiches used to be so much better. Now it occasionally feels like I'm biting into a tire. I don't understand this business strategy.
Its simple, capitalism treats the consumer like cattle, and the optimization of profit drives them to replace real quality products with cheaper and cheaper substitutes over time until you're expected to bite into that tire and go "wow, this chicken is delicious"
But I just stopped buying them instead.
I just broke into the fast food chain's headquarters to find the secret formula. Next year's recipe is going to be this between two buns:
load more comments
(11 replies)
Indeed. People like to claim that capitalism is the most efficient system, but what it's efficient at is transferring wealth to the ownership class.
That's what efficiency means in context, and in practice.
Well, everything is learned in comparison. I lived in USSR, and that OP meme for USSR would be just an empty frame. At least under capitalism there is this wealth that is being transferred and if it is democratic capitalism then a safety net can be created to correct for capitalism failures.
To be honest, the whole farce is the capitalism vs socialism argument anyway. It was just a an idea so that we can do us vs them.
We should be doing what's best for the country each and every time as best we can. In some cases this may mean socialism when providing free education which then enhances capitalismn having a smarter country average of people.
The problem is people don't realise we're not really capitalist. When everything's good for companies rich CEO's blame capitalismnin why they keep their fat pay checks and why if you don't like it you should leave. When everything's bad, CEO's blame society in why they deserve a free government bail out. Because the truth is, either way it's the people who get screwed over.
Sure we may have many companies with competing products (usually only 2 big ones) that's supposed to bring competition. Until you realise they're all largely owned by two main shareholder groups.
load more comments
(5 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
Capitalism is also highly adept at taking the credit for the inventions and innovations of talented engineers and other scientists.
(Pictured: a now deceased deadbeat dad/marketer/capitalist/new age medicine enthusiast who never invented anything, but sure did enjoy wearing turtlenecks)
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(4 replies)
This is a dumb post
Yeah. All of these chicken sandwiches tastes different, and I like having choices.
It's like getting mad at different fast food restaurant for all selling hamburgers.
load more comments
(25 replies)
Yup, honestly food is a cornerstone of the human experience. Having different options and exploring different things is generally great.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Even though I disagree with the statement "capitalism breeds innovation", this is poor way to demonstrate that it's bullshit.
Of course a chicken sandwich isn't going to appear fundamentally different from Popeyes to KFC. They're also not the only items that these restaurants sell.
The idea is that these restaurants exist as some kind of better option over a local mom & pop sandwich joint with higher unit overhead. Whether or not the value proposition is sufficient for you is personal.
It's also an example of something capitalism does well. Those chicken sandwiches are not interchangeable, and you can buy the one that best suits your taste and budget, plus competition generally keeps the quality pretty good.
Capitalism ruins a hell of a lot of things that really matter, but not chicken sandwiches.
Exactly. I'm as "last stage capitalism" as they come (okay maybe not extreme) but this image is a terrible take.
All those varieties saw a market that demanded a product. Companies innovated and are selling the products and making a profit.
I feel like the OP missed the point. A better example would be to show pure monopolies like ISPs. The fact we're paying hand over fist for subpar internet is an example of innovation not working.
load more comments
(1 replies)
See, unfettered capitalism is completely fucked, but this is a bad example. It would be like getting a bunch of different coffee brands and putting them together like this and saying the same thing.
Coffee is coffee.
Chicken Sandwiches are chicken sandwiches.
There are bigger issues with capitalism that are worth discussing instead
While I agree with you, I think it's meant more symbolically but Lemmy being Lemmy everyone here is going to take it literally
I don't get it, how much can you possibly do to differentiate a chicken sandwich? There's plenty of issues to discuss but you can do better than this, come on.
Fast food has a lot more competitive aspects than just the actual food, marketing, other unique products to draw customers in, location, branding, kitchen effiency, customer retention, franchising structure, ingredient sourcing. The public facing stuff is also the easiest to copy so that's why a lot of those things are similar.
What do you want when you order a chicken sandwich? Do you want them to give you a burger?
load more comments
(1 replies)
They taste distinctly different. I like spicy chicken sandwiches so I've tried a couple of these. Burger King's tastes like they just slapped a bunch of ingredients together and wrapped it up. McDonald's actually tastes and feels like a chicken sandwich. Popeye's has a very buttery mouth feel, and the bun is a lot more flavorful and rich.
I get what the meme is trying to say, but this is a poor example of it.
load more comments
(6 replies)
Capitalism is when burger
Capitalism (here meaning a market economy dominated by a powerful investor class) breeds a dozen different companies trying to differentiate themselves with minor variations. Sometimes those variations lead to actual, legitimate improvements that are then spread throughout the industry.
Most of the time it just leads to one wondering what the fuck the difference is between 'Cheerios' and 'Cheery Os' in the cereal aisle at the grocery store.
Considering they're all trying to copy Chick-fil-A’s sandwich, yes
Well, pardner, gather 'round and let me spin ya a yarn about Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. Now, this here sandwich, it ain't no newfangled creation. No siree, it's been around for a long time.
Back in the days when the sun beat down on dusty trails and tumbleweeds rolled through the town, folks would mosey on over to Wendy's for a taste of that spicy chicken goodness. The sandwich had a kick to it, a real fiery flavor that could wake a sleepy cowboy right up.
They say the recipe was a closely guarded secret, passed down through generations of Wendy's cooks. The chicken was crispy, the spices were just right, and the bun, well, it held it all together like a trusty steed on a rough ride.
Folks from far and wide would ride in from all corners of the territory just to sink their teeth into one of them spicy chicken sandwiches. It became a legend in these parts, a symbol of good eatin' and a taste of the wild, wild west.
So, next time you saunter on down to Wendy's and order yourself a spicy chicken sandwich, remember, you're tappin' into a taste of history, partner. It's been around for a long time, and it's still kickin' to this very day.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(5 replies)
Popeyes putting their fried chicken on Brioche with a decent sauce was an innovation, at least for fast food. It was sold out at most locations in CA when it launched. The BK and KFC both copied it.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Capitalism takes innovation and beats the life out of it to flog the corpse for a quick buck. The thing that made KFC special wasn't the blend of herbs and spices (that they don't even fucking use anymore and you used to be able to buy ready mixed at the shops) it was the new innovative cooking technique that they immediately tossed in the trash because it was cheaper to just throw it all in a deep frier like everyone already did.
Yup it really sucks we don't get good EVs because so far all the legacy automotive companies want to keep on making ridiculous SUVs.
load more comments
(23 replies)
Maybe it's because this is posted in c/politicalmemes but I think y'all are thinking to deeply about something that should be a mild chuckle and then moving on.
I think you're all missing the point, half of these places were known for hamburgers, the other half for whole pieces of fried chicken. They all ended up with slight variations on the same product. The point isn't that they should've innovated the chicken sandwich it's that they all ended up with the same product, the opposite of innovation in a market full of restaurants.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Popeye's blackened spicy is by FAR the superior spicy chicken sandwich.
And to all the libertarians present: This would be even worse if things were totally unregulated.
load more comments
(3 replies)
I realized this a couple of days ago when we were in a rush to be somewhere and thought to just go for fastfood drive-thru to eat. Asked my wife what she liked and she said not a burger. Every fastfood drive-thru I could think of was a burger/sandwich except for taco bell.
Because most other fast-food chains are medium-fast-food, only sandwiches can be made in 15 seconds.
load more comments
(2 replies)
It breeds it in the same way breed means to consumate offspring i.e. to have sex, wich is coloquially know as fuck
Ergo: Capitalism fucks innovation
Am I the only one who thinks the Popeyes sandwich is the greasiest fuckin thing ever? Everyone raved about it but I couldn't finish it, I really gave it an honest try. It was gross.
view more: next ›