this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2023
1119 points (93.5% liked)

Memes

45554 readers
727 users here now

Rules:

  1. Be civil and nice.
  2. Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 94 points 11 months ago

I wouldn't say all problems are because of capitalism. I do believe that most of the problems I face are exacerbated by capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 88 points 11 months ago

And most of the time you'd be right.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Wherever there is a need there is potential for exploitation by greed. Of course capitalists without a leash are going to wreak havoc on everything.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Capitalism by definition is about exploiting labor and extracting wealth. Commerce is the ethical application of purchasing goods and services.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (8 children)

Why do you say commerce is specifically ethical? I've always considered it more neutral and up to implementation.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] set_secret 39 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Capitalism acts like a car hurtling down a highway with no brakes, powered by the roaring engine of industry.

Its insatiable thirst for growth and profits accelerates industrial activity to reckless speeds, steamrolling environmental concerns in its pursuit of relentless expansion.

Industry isn't the villain; it's merely the engine being pushed to its limits by capitalism's uncontrolled, destructive momentum.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] pinkdrunkenelephants 31 points 11 months ago (11 children)

Blaming everything on capitalism is oversimplistic and reductive, to be honest.

Climate collapse is a result of industrialization and not capitalism, to start. Unless you want to explain how Stalin and Mao were still burning coal.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Whatever social economic model which can funnel power and authority to the very top is bond to ruin us. Humans are too greedy to sit at the top of such hierarchies.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yep, that's why decentralization is so important, and why leftist organizational structure ie decentralization and democratization of production is going to be so critical moving forward.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution are inseparable from one another. The failure of 20th century Socialist states to adequately address green energy goals can be attributed to rapid industrialization to attempt to keep pace with Capitalist entities.

Going forward, the reason why Green Energy isn't the standard in the US is due to oil companies, not efficiency. The profit motive stands in direct confrontation with the good of all.

That's just Climate Change, too. Capitalism's failures of hierarchical and consumerist nature will exist as long as Capitalism exists.

Not every problem is because of Capitalism, but many are, and at the end of the day this is just a meme.

[–] Sanyanov 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Besides what another commenter noted about indistrialization being product of capitalism and then fierce competition, here's one more thing:

Do you see all those green activists buying reusable bags? Taking their bottles, recycling everything? Well, this has already been there in the past, and most notably - in socialist countries. Pretty much till its death USSR, for example, heavily favored reusable things, there just weren't plastic bags and plastic bottles and all that waste, and recycling, especially of glass and metal and paper, was a super normal thing and people got money/trade-in for that.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (8 replies)
[–] troglodytis 29 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Funnily enough, capitalist do the same thing. See a problem? Apply capitalism

[–] giggling_engine 27 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I disagree and I'll explain why for $20

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] No_Ones_Slick_Like_Gaston 19 points 11 months ago

Most times is Ronald Reagan, but yeah, capitalism in it's most exalted forms of exploitation is the reason.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago

The greatest crimes are caused by excess and not by necessity.

[–] danc4498 11 points 11 months ago
[–] mydude 11 points 11 months ago (39 children)

It's funny cause it's true.

load more comments (39 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Well, you're usually in the general vicinity of the root cause of any problem by that assumption.

[–] Ddhuud 8 points 11 months ago

99% of Lemmy, but unironically.

load more comments
view more: next ›