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I don't see how I can view this any other way than the culminating results of rampant capitalism. When everything is reduced to pure profit motives there is no

I don't see how I can view this any other way than the culminating results of rampant capitalism. When everything is reduced to pure profit motives there is no room left for people to be people. Time off, dating, family, stability, and more, all take a back seat to increasing profits. And as business and corporations get bigger and bigger they only gained more power and control over peoples lives and push us farther down the self-destructive path of pure profit motivations and working endless hours.

morepedantic 1y ago
I suppose the high child mortality rates of all the other economic systems tried thus far are preferable. The proximate cause is social collapse, not economic. Maybe the ultimate collapse is economic, but it could again be social.
- mordae 1y ago
  Sigh. Capitalism aligned with our needs (cheap goods) up until about 1990. Colonization of former USSR pushed it to 2010 or so, but now it just keep declining and won't stop. It needs growth in productivity that just isn't possible without replacing human labour at above inflation rate. I did so by giving us fridges, dishwashers, supermarkets and other time savers, but robotic vacuum was the last one. Self driving trucks and autonomous shops are being rolled out extremely slowly. And with hollowing out middle class the outlook for 90% standard of living is pretty bleak, without having anything to offer to the 10% besides being cheap factory manipulators. At some point we really will have to sit down, say the house is complete, hand out free beers and take a breather before getting to the smaller details of furnishing and gardening. Then we can maybe discuss the stars.
- AngryData 1y ago
  Are you trying to claim that without unfettered capitalism all medical progress and technological improvement would never happen? Capitalism didn't reduce child mortality, technology and knowledge did, and we have been progressing technologically for atleast 40,000 years, if not significantly more.
  - mordae 1y ago
    It did help make the time saving devices widely available and thus boosted our productive capacity. It e.g. allowed many women to enter the workforce since they no longer had to spend all their time washing, cleaning, cooking, shopping etc.. It no longer does that, though. Now it just seeks rent, sells luxuries to rich and manipulates masses into overconsumption.

morepedantic 1y ago

I suppose the high child mortality rates of all the other economic systems tried thus far are preferable. The proximate cause is social collapse, not economic. Maybe the ultimate collapse is economic, but it could again be social.

mordae 1y ago
Sigh. Capitalism aligned with our needs (cheap goods) up until about 1990. Colonization of former USSR pushed it to 2010 or so, but now it just keep declining and won't stop. It needs growth in productivity that just isn't possible without replacing human labour at above inflation rate. I did so by giving us fridges, dishwashers, supermarkets and other time savers, but robotic vacuum was the last one. Self driving trucks and autonomous shops are being rolled out extremely slowly. And with hollowing out middle class the outlook for 90% standard of living is pretty bleak, without having anything to offer to the 10% besides being cheap factory manipulators. At some point we really will have to sit down, say the house is complete, hand out free beers and take a breather before getting to the smaller details of furnishing and gardening. Then we can maybe discuss the stars.
AngryData 1y ago
Are you trying to claim that without unfettered capitalism all medical progress and technological improvement would never happen? Capitalism didn't reduce child mortality, technology and knowledge did, and we have been progressing technologically for atleast 40,000 years, if not significantly more.
- mordae 1y ago
  It did help make the time saving devices widely available and thus boosted our productive capacity. It e.g. allowed many women to enter the workforce since they no longer had to spend all their time washing, cleaning, cooking, shopping etc.. It no longer does that, though. Now it just seeks rent, sells luxuries to rich and manipulates masses into overconsumption.