u think its possible to be fair in a system (capitalism) where someone OWNS the means of production (capital)…obviously whoever owns the capital is not going to be a saint nor is he expected to be.
Capitalism is slavery
All the wars in the world (currently led by the USA) are thanks to Capitalism and its unbrindled lust for wealth.
Also the destruction of nature and environment and the exploitation of natural resources.
That’s why he’s qualifying it with a strong government regulating the corporations. I think the problems you’re seeing fall under what he’s calling “corporationalism”, which is as good a word as any for what our system of government is right now.
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In the communist system the state owns the means of production, and they’re more corrupt than the capitalists. I saw a program about the human costs of Mao’s “great leap forward”. While millions of Chinese starved to death the communist cadre lived comfortable lives.
The communist system exists for the sake of class warfare. There are records of Mao Tse Tung’s and Joseph Stalin’s conversation shortly after China became communist. Mao was saying to Stalin, “You’ve got nuclear weapons. We’ve got 800 million people. Let’s go for it. Let’s have a war with the capitalists now. So the world will lose half its population. In the end it will be communist.” The communists thought that any price was worth paying to establish a communist system, even if it meant millions upon millions of people dying.
I agree with every single word.
Now. Considering – and keeping in mind the fact that man is an animal, with an animal’s brain…
Show me the alternative.
(Because, until idealism becomes reality, I gotta deal with things as they are.)
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Socialism essentially says that the best output or productivity of a Human being comes when he gets an ideal opportunity and freedom for his emotional side of his intellect and only then can one can work in the best productive levels. In capitalism every employee essentially knows sub-consciously that he is manipualated and is a slave so it leads to Clash conflicts and other problems.
Socialism gaurantees such an atmosphere…Of course it may have to be forced…no other system manages to maintain the dignity of a majority of all Humans and does not compromise on productivity.
To give you an example: Research has indicated that those Companies perform better overall wherein there is a employee loyalty and good rapport among team-mates in the company. In such an atmosphere the employee himself feels the need to give better output to his/her employer.
But if the Employee is manipulated by Money or something else such an atmosphere is bound to fail…No self-respecting human can be bought by money
Capitalism robs the dignity of 95% of the labor force both economically and otherwise.
Look at the five year plans of Stalin and Mao’s “great leap forward”. Millions of people were worked to death in the service of the state, while a corrupt communist cadre lived comfortably. Human nature is inherently corrupt, and no economic system can cancel out that corruption. In a communist system people work for an amorphous entity - the state. In a capitalist system people can work for themselves, and there is a system of checks and balances in place to prevent exploitation.
Atleast basic dignity of Human needs and necessities are guaranteed and noone starves to death. Of course you will get a 1 bedroom home for 2 guys and not a 4 bedroom home in a capitalist society but in a communist society the whole population gets it while in a capitalist setup the inequality is unspeakable of. And I am not talking about the healthcare, Education and other things which the communist state takes care of you.
When Mao instituted his “great leap forward” food supplies collapsed, and 35 million people starved to death.
I have no disagreement with anything you wrote. But I am forced to say that every experiment with compulsory socialism – from the UK to the communist world to the US – has produced major problems, ranging from (for example) increased learned helplessness and dependence upon the state resulting in grave diminishment of problem-solving skills among the masses (ask @Sarad about this, as her pretty sophisticated sociological studies of causes & effects in former communist block nations seem to have made this evident to her) to wholesale manipulation, graft, embezzlement from and corruption of the social welfare system.
Krishnamurti was one of many who saw that incautious reform always leads to new problems, regardless of however “compassionate” or “empathic” those reforms were originally intended to be. (That K. found himself alongside Ayn Rand in taking that position must have been flummoxing. Hahaha.)
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I agree with all your analysis of socialism, but capitalism has its problems too - namely greed and excess. Wealth tends to accumulate in the hands of the few. Also, there are often problems in markets as venture capitalists seek to maximize profits. I think a hybrid capitalist/socialist system works best. Markets have to be regulated, and things like worker safety and consumer safety need to be imposed.
If you only knew who you were “singing” to in the “choir.”
But having been compelled – as a pre-requisite for an advanced degree – to take a college course in dealing with “irresolvable ambiguities and conflicts,” I can live with the imperfections of both capitalism and socialism. And hope that the “totalistic” or “absolutistic” solutions some of the less sophisticated politicians pander to (because they understand how simple-minded most voters are) (because we are stupidified for a reason?) are just so much… pandering.
Because extremism tends to work really poorly at the level of policy setting.
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People want certainty. Ambiguity is tiring to their souls.
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Ya got that right, for sure. But… isn’t that just because we were all taught to believe that UN-certainty is supposed to be scary? (Well. What if we didn’t think that way?)
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I bought a book called ‘Marx: Early Writings’ a few years ago and was very entertained and also angered at the social forces that make us work in unproductive ways a bit. It seems that most jobs in the world today are not for productive gains but for keeping the populations pacified and in chains.
I do consider myself a Marxist but I am in favor of technical and scientific research as well.
Many people associate Marxism with anti-technology but in my mind that is not possible to rigorously prove.
men are fickle, God is supreme.
my ideology
As far as politics goes I am a reluctant socialist leaning person. I would love to be otherwise but my mental illness makes me dependent on the government for survival. The Tea Party or any group reluctant to pay taxes scares me. Having once worked I know the feeling of those who feel that they know how to spend their hard earned money better than the government and have felt guilt over the fact that the drugs that keep me stable costs thousands a month. At the same time I did not ask to have this disorder that I increasingly see that I was born with. Communism in practice is more extreme than socialism and absolute power corrupts. In the early days of the USSR the Communist party members lived pretty frugally as a part of living up to their ideals. But eventually they were hosting lavish dinner parties while their people were starving. But it is good for those of us who are disabled or on the lower end of the spectrum that the market economy nations created the safety nets to keep communism from taking over their countries because capitalism in an extreme form is wrong as well. Although I am just surviving at least I’m not on a street corner begging for alms. I think that the wealth of capitalist nations helps make their social safety nets better than other nations but the most extreme austerity ideologies of market economies always puts the programs that sustain the less fortunate on the chopping block. I would rather be a competent business leader going to the beach with a hot chick on a 2 week holiday eating the most expensive food and living the “good life”, But it’s healthiest for me to appreciate those willing to keep me existing and enjoy what I can have in life because it’s not all bad. The Communist ideology has served its purpose by scaring the very rich and elite into helping the less fortunate out so they won’t be overthrown by them. Communism failed because the revolutionaries became the rich and the elite and eliminated any incentive for the talented not in power in their country to succeed in life and treated them like the serfs they sought to “liberate”. But some of the ideas of the left like women’s rights, day care for children, a social safety net, a minimum wage for low skilled workers, social security for the elderly, free education, and help for those who can’t pay for medical care have been a good thing for societies around the World.
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High five on the “dynamic tension” theory. (Have you noticed what the elites are doing now that communism is slipping away?)