4 ms·

How to live under capitalism, according to Stardew Valley

14 points by colinprince 5y ago

dr_dshiv 5y ago
Sorry for the stupid question, but what do people mean by capitalism?
- rufusroflpunch 5y ago
  In modern mixed economies, people on the left say that whatever is less than ideal about the economy is capitalism and people on the right say it is socialism. So it’s in the eye of the beholder, terminology be damned.
- pattrn 5y ago
  I think it's technically defined as private ownership of the means of production, but don't quote me on that. My last economics class happened many years ago.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- lsiebert 5y ago
  You know how invested money can make money through investment in businesses or property which is then operated to produce profitable goods and services by employees, contractors, renters, leasees, slaves etc, rather than you having to make money from your property and business through your own labor or as an equal partner? That's capitalism.
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  A definition I like is that it means the re-investment of (at least some) profits into more and/or better tools and processes.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
nextstep 5y ago
Very interesting essay. I didn’t realize the narrative of Stardew Valley was about a struggle against a large corporation.
- nathanaldensr 5y ago
  It's not (which I suspect you are hinting at knowing). People will find anything to use to further a political message, including an innocuous video game. I posted a Stardew min-max guide[1] awhile back and got grief for it that it was violating the spirit of the game, which, for the complainers, was to relax. Uptight people gonna uptight. [1] https://github.com/nathan-alden-sr/stardew-valley/blob/master/min-max/1.5/readme.md https://github.com/nathan-alden-sr/stardew-valley/blob/maste...
hirundo 5y ago
The player's goal in the Stardew Valley universe is to please your dead grandfather. This is not a foreign incentive to players in a capitalist society. As in the game we leverage profit to achieve larger goals. We sometimes sacrifice profit opportunities for the same goals. The author imagines capitalism as pure profit incentive, and any balancing incentive as anti-capitalist. But profit has always and everywhere been a means, not an end. We participate in the market for a broad spectrum of ends, and earning Grandpa's respect is not an uncommon one. Here's the subtitle: > ‘Stardew Valley’ doesn’t challenge capitalism by trying to escape from it, but by teaching a lesson on generosity Generosity doesn't challenge capitalism. It is frequently enabled by it. And it sure helps capitalism function better. The game simulates that.
phnofive 5y ago
Sadly, the author faceplants in his opening paragraph: > The default of many games is capitalist. Money, and the accumulation of it, is often core to a game’s mechanic. Money is not capital - the explicit goal of PokeMon is to accumulate the monsters that earn you status, money, etc. in furtherance of more accumulation. So I don't disagree with the premise, but money's almost never the ultimate goal in simulators.
pattrn 5y ago
Posts like this make me scratch my head. He describes his parents as first generation immigrants who moved to the United States and built up enough wealth in one generation to put their kids through college. Then he denigrates capitalism and describes his situation as "privilege." By all appearances, his parents, who started from nothing, seem to be quite well off -- perhaps even better off than him -- despite his "privilege." I fail to see the material impact of what he calls "privilege," and I don't understand why he dislikes the economic system that catapulted his parents into success. His own life story reads like a counter-argument to his own post.
- loopz 5y ago
  His parents got sent money, and he got zero-interest loans as well. While the family bootstrapped from initial small investments and hard work, there were financial support that functioned both as security blanket and strategic fund to draw from in specific times of need. Not everyone around him were that lucky, and he observed the difference.

14 points by colinprince 5y ago

dr_dshiv 5y ago

Sorry for the stupid question, but what do people mean by capitalism?

rufusroflpunch 5y ago
In modern mixed economies, people on the left say that whatever is less than ideal about the economy is capitalism and people on the right say it is socialism. So it’s in the eye of the beholder, terminology be damned.
pattrn 5y ago
I think it's technically defined as private ownership of the means of production, but don't quote me on that. My last economics class happened many years ago.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
lsiebert 5y ago
You know how invested money can make money through investment in businesses or property which is then operated to produce profitable goods and services by employees, contractors, renters, leasees, slaves etc, rather than you having to make money from your property and business through your own labor or as an equal partner? That's capitalism.
AnimalMuppet 5y ago
A definition I like is that it means the re-investment of (at least some) profits into more and/or better tools and processes.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

nextstep 5y ago

Very interesting essay. I didn’t realize the narrative of Stardew Valley was about a struggle against a large corporation.

nathanaldensr 5y ago
It's not (which I suspect you are hinting at knowing). People will find anything to use to further a political message, including an innocuous video game. I posted a Stardew min-max guide[1] awhile back and got grief for it that it was violating the spirit of the game, which, for the complainers, was to relax. Uptight people gonna uptight. [1] https://github.com/nathan-alden-sr/stardew-valley/blob/master/min-max/1.5/readme.md https://github.com/nathan-alden-sr/stardew-valley/blob/maste...

hirundo 5y ago

The player's goal in the Stardew Valley universe is to please your dead grandfather. This is not a foreign incentive to players in a capitalist society. As in the game we leverage profit to achieve larger goals. We sometimes sacrifice profit opportunities for the same goals. The author imagines capitalism as pure profit incentive, and any balancing incentive as anti-capitalist. But profit has always and everywhere been a means, not an end. We participate in the market for a broad spectrum of ends, and earning Grandpa's respect is not an uncommon one. Here's the subtitle: > ‘Stardew Valley’ doesn’t challenge capitalism by trying to escape from it, but by teaching a lesson on generosity Generosity doesn't challenge capitalism. It is frequently enabled by it. And it sure helps capitalism function better. The game simulates that.

phnofive 5y ago

Sadly, the author faceplants in his opening paragraph: > The default of many games is capitalist. Money, and the accumulation of it, is often core to a game’s mechanic. Money is not capital - the explicit goal of PokeMon is to accumulate the monsters that earn you status, money, etc. in furtherance of more accumulation. So I don't disagree with the premise, but money's almost never the ultimate goal in simulators.

pattrn 5y ago

Posts like this make me scratch my head. He describes his parents as first generation immigrants who moved to the United States and built up enough wealth in one generation to put their kids through college. Then he denigrates capitalism and describes his situation as "privilege." By all appearances, his parents, who started from nothing, seem to be quite well off -- perhaps even better off than him -- despite his "privilege." I fail to see the material impact of what he calls "privilege," and I don't understand why he dislikes the economic system that catapulted his parents into success. His own life story reads like a counter-argument to his own post.

loopz 5y ago
His parents got sent money, and he got zero-interest loans as well. While the family bootstrapped from initial small investments and hard work, there were financial support that functioned both as security blanket and strategic fund to draw from in specific times of need. Not everyone around him were that lucky, and he observed the difference.