4 ms·
The aspect of capitalism that's problematic to me is not that people can generate wealth through labor, it's that they can generate wealth through wealth. You
by lemoncucumber 8y ago
The aspect of capitalism that's problematic to me is not that people can generate wealth through labor, it's that they can generate wealth through wealth.
You can make far more money just by being rich and owning capital than you ever can by your own labor. You can own physical property that makes money like farmland, apartment buildings, natural resources, factories, etc. or you can be a shareholder in companies which make money.
Either way, it's not really your labor that's making you richer, and that's the part that feels unfair about the whole system.
A piece of anecdata to support my point: the richest families in Florence today are the same familes that were rich 700 years ago, too: https://www.vox.com/2016/5/18/11691818/barone-mocetti-florence https://www.vox.com/2016/5/18/11691818/barone-mocetti-floren...
- thatoneuser 8y agoI agree to some extent that wealth begetting wealth can be problematic, but in order to have the first bit of wealth someone has to create it. If you made the first hammer you'd be able to make more hammers much easier. You've effectively made the world wealthier by your work and invention and as a result it's fair that you get more than just the value of your hammer. Your claim about making more wealth from wealth than labor kinda skips over the parts about needing so much wealth and having to accumulate it.