Capitalism rewards selfish individualism, greed, and encourages competition. Proponents claim this works because it naturally aligns with human nature. How about a system that rewards selflessness, and encourages cooperation? Which are also a natural part of human nature. We stand by democracy in government, but don’t want it in our workplaces? No issues with poor leadership would be outright eliminated, but we can do better.
Comment on Unregulated Capitalism would kill the planet.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I’ve heard Monarchists use this line.
At some point, no system is going to be better than it’s leadership. And competent, benevolent leadership has come from somewhere. You can’t build a functionally society out of negation.
Demagoguery isn’t unique to Capitalism and it isn’t resolved merely through nationalization.
save_the_humans@leminal.space 3 days ago
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Capitalism rewards selfish individualism, greed, and encourages competition.
Capitalism rewards private accumulation of capital operating at a profit.
Selfish, individualistic, and greedy people often jerk themselves off about the merits of capitalism. But far far more of them fail than succeed under it. Meanwhile, tightly knit families, close friend groups, and religious collective routinely mop the floor with anti-social self-obsessed rise-and-grind types.
And capitalism does not encourage competition. Just the opposite. Cartels and monopolies regularly outperform competitive enterprises.
How about a system that rewards selflessness, and encourages cooperation? Which are also a natural part of human nature.
Human nature rewards socializing up to the Dunbar number, eating, fucking, working as little as possible, and doing unspeakable violence to your distant neighbors and vulnerable peers.
Idk why we hold it up as some kind of metric for a functional society when it’s a real mixed bag on a good day.
Also, annoyingly essentialist, as though humans - like any other species - aren’t constantly diversifying and evolving.
No issues with poor leadership would be outright eliminated, but we can do better.
We can define a target and work towards it for 40 years. And then the next generation can reevaluate progress and adjust course.
“Better” is in the eye of the beholder, in the end.
But you do need something to move towards. Utopianism gives people an idea of where they’re going. You can’t just Doomer yourself out of a bad historically moment.
Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Human nature rewards socializing up to the Dunbar number, eating, fucking, working as little as possible, and doing unspeakable violence to your distant neighbors and vulnerable peers.
Exactly. Human nature isn’t that much different from cat nature. It takes us tremendous effort to NOT follow human nature.
save_the_humans@leminal.space 3 days ago
You can’t just Doomer yourself out of a bad historically moment.
I agree. I advocate for democratizing the workplace. We already have a successful model for this that literally outperforms traditional capitalist firms. If only we had a system, laws, regulations, etc, that rewarded it.
And capitalism does not encourage competition. Just the opposite. Cartels and monopolies regularly outperform competitive enterprises.
Kind of my point actually. The foundations of capitalism are on shaky grounds. Currently though, internal cooperation inside traditional capitalist firms, only rewards those at the top; those with the capital.
Human nature rewards socializing up to the Dunbar number
I dont see how this is anything other than a bad faith argument. Socialism, broadly, is when workers own the means of production. Not the individual capitalists that exploit their workers for profit. How is this a goal we wouldn’t all want to strive towards? I advocate for worker cooperatives. This is a form of, decentralized, stateless market socialism. Paired with an alternative measure of GDP, like the economy for the common good, for the purpose of tax breaks, subsidies, etc. Nationalize a few key industries, and we have ourselves an economy that benefits more than just a few. Nothing about some “Dunbar number” limits any of this.
Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
The only reason Coops aren’t more prevalent is capitalist propoganda and goverment subsidising of monopolies
Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
You just pulled that out of your ass.
save_the_humans@leminal.space 3 days ago
Trying to say the problem is literally capitalism, and what it rewards and encourages. The problem is not necessarily leadership. The solution I propose is not merely idealistic. It is systemic and practical in what the reward structures are. See my other comment for a high level overview of what that looks like.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Are these monarchists aware of the history of monarchs?
Also, if a system can’t be better than its leadership why not just eliminate the leadership?
Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Ah, now you’re thinking with guillotines.