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The root problem here is not economics, it is basic human nature. Humans have forever been seeking to increase their power base at the expense of others, and be
by unoti 11y ago
The root problem here is not economics, it is basic human nature. Humans have forever been seeking to increase their power base at the expense of others, and been corruptible by greed. This is not new, and it is not limited to capitalism. It's basic human nature, and it's one of our key weaknesses.
- thiagoharry 11y agoI'm not seeking to increase my power base at the expense of others. If I would get less money doing something that would make the world a better place, I would happily choose this. Am I not human? I see this kind of answer as a kind of explanation widely disseminated to justify our economic system as inevitable, but which have very little scientific basis. For me it's wishful thinking. The kind of economic growth observed in capitalism and some of its characteristics like the cyclic crisis not related with natural changes like climate is something unique to our civilization. And it's a very new thing at the human history (less than 300 years). What will be the effects of these things at long scale is something still to be comprehended.
- Sakes 11y agoThe problem with building arguments around human nature is that just about everything is human nature. Greed... Altruism... * Edit for clarity * So it can be invoked to justify almost any argument involving human behavior.
- Retra 11y agoIt's not so basic that it can't be overcome.