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Some have more money than they can spend in a lifetime while others are homeless. This is the society we live in, created by capitalism that demands unsustaina

Some have more money than they can spend in a lifetime while others are homeless. This is the society we live in, created by capitalism that demands unsustainable growth.

l33t233372 3y ago
Homeless people also exist in non-capitalist economies so I’m not certain that is evidence of anything. Scarcity is the problem, not capitalism.
- johndhi 3y ago
  Scarcity of what? Certainly not money - there seems to be enough of that, it's just not in the poor people's hands
  - rightbyte 3y ago
    Scarcity of beds in mental institutions.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > Scarcity of what? Attention and logistics. The cost of getting things where they need to go, the administration of an empire, frequently dwarves by orders of magnitude the cost of the materials being transported to and fro. The problem is not solved by localisation given the increased exposure to volatility that brings.
eastbound 3y ago
The state takes 63% of our income here in France, and there are still homeless people. I’d say the capitalists do a better job.
- louwrentius 3y ago
  You know that France is a capitalist society right?
  - kelnos 3y ago
    Capitalist, yes, but with many more socialist features than the US.
    - activitypea 3y ago
      My impression that welfare state and social support systems are on par with their neighbors, they just have a stronger culture of labor rights.
- gbanfalvi 3y ago
  How are capitalists addressing homelessness? Have you read about homelessness in SF and the bay area?
  - eastbound 3y ago
    Caritative actions are part of capitalism. I donate voluntarily to charities, this is part of capitalism. Capitalism doesn’t prevent people from having a soul. Capitalism is the framework that makes all those people work together: The nun, the family guy, the corporate shark, the idealist who can buy land and create an inefficient community based on non-monetary exchange. Capitalism also makes us globally quite rich (by virtue of allowing us to simply take the revenue we generate in our startups), which affords us the luxury of giving 63% to the state. Supposedly in exchange for the state taking care of poor people. It’s the capitalism that allows me that money. So I get it, you pin everything bad on capitalism. It’s just that you allow CEOs to pactise with the state to remove freedoms from you. Meanwhile you forget that this unprecedented lifestyle improvement since the industrial revolution, it’s also due to capitalism.
andsoitis 3y ago
> Some have more money than they can spend in a lifetime while others are homeless. > This is the society we live in, created by capitalism that demands unsustainable growth. Who are you blaming? If you're so virtuous, why don't you give away half of your money to a homeless person?
- pikelet 3y ago
  Because to make a significant difference to that person's life you'd have to give them an astounding amount of money (and probably other forms of support), and personally speaking I'm still desperately saving just for a chance at having a place of my own myself. Nobody claimed to be 'virtuous', but caring is a good first step. I donate some of my time and a small amount per month to a local multicultural group. Small things help. Caring helps. Why is this suddenly about whether you're happy to give away half your savings to a person you don't know? Society as a whole could make things better by sharing wealth just a little more equitably. But some people seem to think that billionaires are just fine and not at all a symptom of a sick society. Sorry but I get really frustrated by this lazy kind of 'well why don't you do it?' response. It just feels like you're trying to convince yourself that you're right not to care (to be clear, I have no idea whether you do or not), and implying that anyone who does, and hopes for something better, is just a hypocrite.
  - louwrentius 3y ago
    I share your frustrations and thanks for your support.
  - andsoitis 3y ago
    The accusation and tone was that billionaires have incredible wealth that they horde while people around them suffer. But that is a very uncharitable framing of their philanthropy.
    - louwrentius 3y ago
      They should pay their fair share of taxes, they aren’t some emperor who decides over us.

Some have more money than they can spend in a lifetime while others are homeless. This is the society we live in, created by capitalism that demands unsustainable growth.

l33t233372 3y ago

Homeless people also exist in non-capitalist economies so I’m not certain that is evidence of anything. Scarcity is the problem, not capitalism.

johndhi 3y ago
Scarcity of what? Certainly not money - there seems to be enough of that, it's just not in the poor people's hands
- rightbyte 3y ago
  Scarcity of beds in mental institutions.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > Scarcity of what? Attention and logistics. The cost of getting things where they need to go, the administration of an empire, frequently dwarves by orders of magnitude the cost of the materials being transported to and fro. The problem is not solved by localisation given the increased exposure to volatility that brings.

eastbound 3y ago

The state takes 63% of our income here in France, and there are still homeless people. I’d say the capitalists do a better job.

louwrentius 3y ago
You know that France is a capitalist society right?
- kelnos 3y ago
  Capitalist, yes, but with many more socialist features than the US.
  - activitypea 3y ago
    My impression that welfare state and social support systems are on par with their neighbors, they just have a stronger culture of labor rights.
gbanfalvi 3y ago
How are capitalists addressing homelessness? Have you read about homelessness in SF and the bay area?
- eastbound 3y ago
  Caritative actions are part of capitalism. I donate voluntarily to charities, this is part of capitalism. Capitalism doesn’t prevent people from having a soul. Capitalism is the framework that makes all those people work together: The nun, the family guy, the corporate shark, the idealist who can buy land and create an inefficient community based on non-monetary exchange. Capitalism also makes us globally quite rich (by virtue of allowing us to simply take the revenue we generate in our startups), which affords us the luxury of giving 63% to the state. Supposedly in exchange for the state taking care of poor people. It’s the capitalism that allows me that money. So I get it, you pin everything bad on capitalism. It’s just that you allow CEOs to pactise with the state to remove freedoms from you. Meanwhile you forget that this unprecedented lifestyle improvement since the industrial revolution, it’s also due to capitalism.

andsoitis 3y ago

> Some have more money than they can spend in a lifetime while others are homeless. > This is the society we live in, created by capitalism that demands unsustainable growth. Who are you blaming? If you're so virtuous, why don't you give away half of your money to a homeless person?

pikelet 3y ago
Because to make a significant difference to that person's life you'd have to give them an astounding amount of money (and probably other forms of support), and personally speaking I'm still desperately saving just for a chance at having a place of my own myself. Nobody claimed to be 'virtuous', but caring is a good first step. I donate some of my time and a small amount per month to a local multicultural group. Small things help. Caring helps. Why is this suddenly about whether you're happy to give away half your savings to a person you don't know? Society as a whole could make things better by sharing wealth just a little more equitably. But some people seem to think that billionaires are just fine and not at all a symptom of a sick society. Sorry but I get really frustrated by this lazy kind of 'well why don't you do it?' response. It just feels like you're trying to convince yourself that you're right not to care (to be clear, I have no idea whether you do or not), and implying that anyone who does, and hopes for something better, is just a hypocrite.
- louwrentius 3y ago
  I share your frustrations and thanks for your support.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  The accusation and tone was that billionaires have incredible wealth that they horde while people around them suffer. But that is a very uncharitable framing of their philanthropy.
  - louwrentius 3y ago
    They should pay their fair share of taxes, they aren’t some emperor who decides over us.