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This is the problem of capitalism. The unrealistic reliance on benevolent billionaires to do what's best for society, and not what's in their own best interest

by Klinky 5y ago

This is the problem of capitalism. The unrealistic reliance on benevolent billionaires to do what's best for society, and not what's in their own best interest to the detriment of society.

imwillofficial 5y ago
I see this less as an intrinsic problem with capitalism, and more of a failure for our government to do its job, protect citizens and enforce healthy boundaries in society. Instead we have sweetheart deals and tax breaks.
- Klinky 5y ago
  I think it is intrinsic. Capital is just code for "power and control", the more money and capital you gain, the more persuasive power you have on everyone, including the government that should be regulating your behavior to the benefit of the people, and not specific corporate interests.
  - imwillofficial 5y ago
    Nope, capital just means money. Maybe it brings power and control, maybe it doesn’t. The two are not intrinsically linked. There are people far more poor, and far more powerful than me in our current system.
    - Klinky 5y ago
      In a system where you need money to survive, you inherently gain more power and more control with the more money you have. Maybe these people have more "social capital" than you, but that doesn't go far if you can't survive. The desperation economy is designed to keep a lot of monkeys dancing for peanuts.
      - imwillofficial 5y ago
        On this, we agree.
hitpointdrew 5y ago
There is not a "problem of capitalism" at all. There is no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. Capitalism if by far the best tool the world has ever seen for lifting massive amounts of people out of poverty and giving people the most amount of freedom. PERIOD. All other forms of government are more tyrannical and more corrupt than capitalism, without exception. You can absolutely have capitalism and a higher/better functioning government. Fist stop spending INSANE amounts of the budget on the military and "defense", instead spend it on helping your own people. Second, institute a VAT and an UBI. Third, actually support capitalism by updating and enforcing anti-trust laws. Problem solved.
- Klinky 5y ago
  I don't think I was prescribing throwing it all out, but implementing UBI or needing heavy antitrust laws to enforce behavior suggests capitalism alone is not a solution by itself, it must be heavily regulated, and maybe supplemented with socialist/welfare policies. The problem is that capitalism often leads to regulatory capture, so we're left with crony capitalism.
- munificent 5y ago
  > Fist stop spending INSANE amounts of the budget on the military and "defense", instead spend it on helping your own people. Take a step back here. Why do you think a government ends up spending insane amounts of the budget on the military? Where do you think that money goes? What you're seeing is the result of giant capitalist corporations producing weapons, logistics, etc. that have enough power to parasitize the government. You can argue that it's a failure of government that it is able to be captured, or a failure of capitalism (or corporatism) that it does so. I don't find either argument particularly illuminating. I think a better way to look at it is that we live in a capitalism+democratic system and that combined system clearly has some significant structural flaws. If we don't look at our government and private sector systems holistically and fix those flaws relatively soon, we won't have to, because they will have made the world uninhabitable for most humans.
  - hitpointdrew 5y ago

by Klinky 5y ago

This is the problem of capitalism. The unrealistic reliance on benevolent billionaires to do what's best for society, and not what's in their own best interest to the detriment of society.

imwillofficial 5y ago

I see this less as an intrinsic problem with capitalism, and more of a failure for our government to do its job, protect citizens and enforce healthy boundaries in society. Instead we have sweetheart deals and tax breaks.

Klinky 5y ago
I think it is intrinsic. Capital is just code for "power and control", the more money and capital you gain, the more persuasive power you have on everyone, including the government that should be regulating your behavior to the benefit of the people, and not specific corporate interests.
- imwillofficial 5y ago
  Nope, capital just means money. Maybe it brings power and control, maybe it doesn’t. The two are not intrinsically linked. There are people far more poor, and far more powerful than me in our current system.
  - Klinky 5y ago
    In a system where you need money to survive, you inherently gain more power and more control with the more money you have. Maybe these people have more "social capital" than you, but that doesn't go far if you can't survive. The desperation economy is designed to keep a lot of monkeys dancing for peanuts.
    - imwillofficial 5y ago
      On this, we agree.

hitpointdrew 5y ago

There is not a "problem of capitalism" at all. There is no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. Capitalism if by far the best tool the world has ever seen for lifting massive amounts of people out of poverty and giving people the most amount of freedom. PERIOD. All other forms of government are more tyrannical and more corrupt than capitalism, without exception. You can absolutely have capitalism and a higher/better functioning government. Fist stop spending INSANE amounts of the budget on the military and "defense", instead spend it on helping your own people. Second, institute a VAT and an UBI. Third, actually support capitalism by updating and enforcing anti-trust laws. Problem solved.

Klinky 5y ago
I don't think I was prescribing throwing it all out, but implementing UBI or needing heavy antitrust laws to enforce behavior suggests capitalism alone is not a solution by itself, it must be heavily regulated, and maybe supplemented with socialist/welfare policies. The problem is that capitalism often leads to regulatory capture, so we're left with crony capitalism.
munificent 5y ago
> Fist stop spending INSANE amounts of the budget on the military and "defense", instead spend it on helping your own people. Take a step back here. Why do you think a government ends up spending insane amounts of the budget on the military? Where do you think that money goes? What you're seeing is the result of giant capitalist corporations producing weapons, logistics, etc. that have enough power to parasitize the government. You can argue that it's a failure of government that it is able to be captured, or a failure of capitalism (or corporatism) that it does so. I don't find either argument particularly illuminating. I think a better way to look at it is that we live in a capitalism+democratic system and that combined system clearly has some significant structural flaws. If we don't look at our government and private sector systems holistically and fix those flaws relatively soon, we won't have to, because they will have made the world uninhabitable for most humans.
- hitpointdrew 5y ago