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There have been scientific breakthroughs throughout human history and none of them "liberated" humanity in regards to sickness, poverty, energy, travel, enterta

There have been scientific breakthroughs throughout human history and none of them "liberated" humanity in regards to sickness, poverty, energy, travel, entertainment. Why should this one now be different? There will always be sickness and poverty in a capitalist system that is built on the exploitation of others to sustain itself. During capitalism, medical ånd technological advances such breakthroughs might bring will always disproportionately benefit the rich. Sickness, poverty at least could already be "solved problems", as some people I think say, if not for class injustice in a system that depends on inequality to function.

psychlops 3y ago
You write as if there is any alternative to capitalism that isn't far, far worse. It is truly the height of luxury to throw stones at the system that enabled the current wealth of the world.
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fooker 3y ago
It has. Out modern standard of living is significantly better than ..say.. 800 years ago purely because of industrialization.
troyvit 3y ago
If you agree that we'll always be mortal then there will always be sickness, etc., even without capitalism, and in fact this breakthrough (if it is one) didn't originate in a capitalist system. With that in mind, liberation is a means, not an end. When I think of it that way I see great progress. Here are 2 examples: - Sickness: Fluoridation reduces enamel caries in adults by 20%-40%. "Tooth loss is no longer considered inevitable".[1] - Poverty: The number of humans living in extreme poverty has never been lower[2] I could keep going but I think you get the point. I agree that we have serious problems in the world, and many of them are getting worse, but in terms of health and wealth, humans as a whole have never had it better. Some of that might actually be _due_ to capitalism, or at least Democracy, which has a hard time existing without it. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm [2] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-in-extreme-poverty-absolute https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-in-extre...
vladms 3y ago
Really? "none of them liberated"? Have you checked life expectancy in the last hundreds of years? Doubling life span is not a liberation? And we are on a tech website, do you see open source being a part of the capitalist system?! Due to open source movement a huge amount of benefits were to anybody with knowledge, irrespective of their fortune. And don't get me started on medical advances. There are so many things that are shared for research and everybody can benefit from the information. Yes, any system can be improved, but throwing rocks without practical suggestions is useless.

psychlops 3y ago

You write as if there is any alternative to capitalism that isn't far, far worse. It is truly the height of luxury to throw stones at the system that enabled the current wealth of the world.

deleted 3y ago
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fooker 3y ago

It has. Out modern standard of living is significantly better than ..say.. 800 years ago purely because of industrialization.

troyvit 3y ago

If you agree that we'll always be mortal then there will always be sickness, etc., even without capitalism, and in fact this breakthrough (if it is one) didn't originate in a capitalist system. With that in mind, liberation is a means, not an end. When I think of it that way I see great progress. Here are 2 examples: - Sickness: Fluoridation reduces enamel caries in adults by 20%-40%. "Tooth loss is no longer considered inevitable".[1] - Poverty: The number of humans living in extreme poverty has never been lower[2] I could keep going but I think you get the point. I agree that we have serious problems in the world, and many of them are getting worse, but in terms of health and wealth, humans as a whole have never had it better. Some of that might actually be _due_ to capitalism, or at least Democracy, which has a hard time existing without it. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm [2] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-in-extreme-poverty-absolute https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-in-extre...

vladms 3y ago

Really? "none of them liberated"? Have you checked life expectancy in the last hundreds of years? Doubling life span is not a liberation? And we are on a tech website, do you see open source being a part of the capitalist system?! Due to open source movement a huge amount of benefits were to anybody with knowledge, irrespective of their fortune. And don't get me started on medical advances. There are so many things that are shared for research and everybody can benefit from the information. Yes, any system can be improved, but throwing rocks without practical suggestions is useless.