5 ms·

I have spent my entire adult life getting paid for a particular skillset. At the same time I have donated that skillset to family, friends, neighbors, and stran

I have spent my entire adult life getting paid for a particular skillset. At the same time I have donated that skillset to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. Every single time I have been paid for my skillset I have guaranteed that the results of my labor were reusable by everyone on the planet, not just the party paying me. I am a very devout capitalist. I believe very deeply in contributing to society. I don't think I am that unusual in this respect. I see people acting very capitalistic to operate community gardens with the maximum margins. I see highly trained experts volunteer as educators. I see well-paid doctors and lawyers raking up leaves for their neighbors. I see accountants freelancing to keep the blind center afloat. There is a lot of greed in the world. I don't deny it. I confess it in myself. But there are a lot of people doing a lot of good as well. If you're feeling discouraged about the dimmer side of human nature, start up something bright and wholesome and be amazed at how many people flock to help you. Surround yourself with these people. If you don't feel you have the energy to start your own thing, be one of the people who flock to somebody else's bright efforts. What kind of world do you want to live in? Spend your effort building that world. (Even if it takes a lot of effort.)

wolvesechoes 5mo ago
> am a very devout capitalist. I believe very deeply in contributing to society. I don't think I am that unusual in this respect. I see people acting very capitalistic to operate community gardens with the maximum margins. I see highly trained experts volunteer as educators. I see well-paid doctors and lawyers raking up leaves for their neighbors. I see accountants freelancing to keep the blind center afloat. Charity won't save us, and all these "good" and "moral" people actively resist any change that could actually solve systemic issues, like progressive tax.
- freeopinion 5mo ago
  Charity is the only thing that can save us. Tax is just a different take on charity. We all agree to pay into the community chest to provide for a pubic commons. Resistance to progressive tax is resistance to a type of charity. One important difference between charity and tax is who gets to decide on how it is spent. If charity won't save us taxes never will.
  - anjel 5mo ago
    Isn't empathy the better term here?
  - ako 5mo ago
    Tax is not charity, tax is payment for community products and services. You have things you pay for individually, and things you pay for as a community. Charity is when you pay for things you dont need yourself, tax is when you pay for things you need being part of a larger group.
  - gopher_space 5mo ago
    > One important difference between charity and tax is who gets to decide on how it is spent. The desire for control interferes with efficiency, and this is a lesson every decent NGO operating out of Africa learned thirty years ago. I think our real problem is that we've been dismissing working solutions with "but that's socialism" for so long that socialism is starting to look kind of amazing.
    - freeopinion 5mo ago
      You might think that my brain is broken, but I do not think that capitalism and socialism are mutually exclusive. I think that capitalism describes the effects of acting out of self interest. I think that people can act in a way that they think is in their best self interest when it actually isn't. Also, "self interest" can have qualifiers like "near term", "long term", etc. Self interest is frequently complicated. Sometimes socialism can provide solutions that are in the best <qualifier> self interest for a particular issue. In those cases, a good capitalist will choose socialism when <qualifier> is their priority. I would expect that a good socialist would utilize the principles of capitalism to execute the most cost-effective socialist solutions.
      - blinkbat 5mo ago
        "I am a very devout capitalist. I believe very deeply in contributing to society." sorry, but these cannot coexist. you are deceiving yourself.
deleted 5mo ago
[deleted]
NonHyloMorph 5mo ago
You probably haven't realised (which is often the case with tge negativities, the holes in our thought), and I would be genuinely interested in your reflection on this when I point it out: you are talking about the actions of experts lawyers well paid doctors and accountants. Maybe as example for people like you (someone claiming to be a devout capitalist). All the described positions in a stratificed society are rather priviliged but also still people who work. What role do the people play, that are not part of that social strata?

wolvesechoes 5mo ago

> am a very devout capitalist. I believe very deeply in contributing to society. I don't think I am that unusual in this respect. I see people acting very capitalistic to operate community gardens with the maximum margins. I see highly trained experts volunteer as educators. I see well-paid doctors and lawyers raking up leaves for their neighbors. I see accountants freelancing to keep the blind center afloat. Charity won't save us, and all these "good" and "moral" people actively resist any change that could actually solve systemic issues, like progressive tax.

freeopinion 5mo ago
Charity is the only thing that can save us. Tax is just a different take on charity. We all agree to pay into the community chest to provide for a pubic commons. Resistance to progressive tax is resistance to a type of charity. One important difference between charity and tax is who gets to decide on how it is spent. If charity won't save us taxes never will.
- anjel 5mo ago
  Isn't empathy the better term here?
- ako 5mo ago
  Tax is not charity, tax is payment for community products and services. You have things you pay for individually, and things you pay for as a community. Charity is when you pay for things you dont need yourself, tax is when you pay for things you need being part of a larger group.
- gopher_space 5mo ago
  > One important difference between charity and tax is who gets to decide on how it is spent. The desire for control interferes with efficiency, and this is a lesson every decent NGO operating out of Africa learned thirty years ago. I think our real problem is that we've been dismissing working solutions with "but that's socialism" for so long that socialism is starting to look kind of amazing.
  - freeopinion 5mo ago
    You might think that my brain is broken, but I do not think that capitalism and socialism are mutually exclusive. I think that capitalism describes the effects of acting out of self interest. I think that people can act in a way that they think is in their best self interest when it actually isn't. Also, "self interest" can have qualifiers like "near term", "long term", etc. Self interest is frequently complicated. Sometimes socialism can provide solutions that are in the best <qualifier> self interest for a particular issue. In those cases, a good capitalist will choose socialism when <qualifier> is their priority. I would expect that a good socialist would utilize the principles of capitalism to execute the most cost-effective socialist solutions.
    - blinkbat 5mo ago
      "I am a very devout capitalist. I believe very deeply in contributing to society." sorry, but these cannot coexist. you are deceiving yourself.

deleted 5mo ago

[deleted]

NonHyloMorph 5mo ago

You probably haven't realised (which is often the case with tge negativities, the holes in our thought), and I would be genuinely interested in your reflection on this when I point it out: you are talking about the actions of experts lawyers well paid doctors and accountants. Maybe as example for people like you (someone claiming to be a devout capitalist). All the described positions in a stratificed society are rather priviliged but also still people who work. What role do the people play, that are not part of that social strata?