| Like a lot of millenials, especially american millenials, I have spent years of my youth entertaining the notion of anarcho-communism. |
Like a lot of millenials, especially american millenials, I have spent years of my youth entertaining the notion of anarcho-capitalism. |
| Although since them I have admitted that *some* amount of state is necessary (and hence I have given up on the anarcho- part), I still find myself defending socialism; however, there is always a lot of resistance to this. What makes it that we still can't agree on economics ? |
Although since them I have admitted that *some* amount of state is necessary (and hence I have given up on the anarcho- part), I still find myself defending capitalism; however, there is always a lot of resistance to this. What makes it that we still can't agree on economics ? |
| We can't discuss economics without mentioning the one group that has let capitalism inexorably gain ground on the overton window: |
We can't discuss economics without mentioning the one group that has let socialism inexorably gain ground on the overton window: |
| Liberals. |
Liberals. |
| Blinded by short-term thinking, liberals keep promoting capitalism at the cost of a sustainable future. This, of course, plays in the hands of capitalists, whose main intent is to steal people's hard-earned value for themselves. |
Blinded by short-term thinking, liberals keep promoting socialism at the cost of a sustainable future. This, of course, plays in the hands of socialists, whose main intent is to steal people's hard-earned value for themselves. |
| In my opinion, it's all too convenient to be a coincidence; in fact, if *I* were a capitalist, I would try my hardest to use the positions of power that capitalists now occupy to slowly change public opinion in my favor. Not to mention, of course, the corruption of government, which has been pressured into implementing capitalist policies one after another. |
In my opinion, it's all too convenient to be a coincidence; in fact, if *I* were a socialist, I would try my hardest to use the positions of power that socialists now occupy to slowly change public opinion in my favor. Not to mention, of course, the corruption of government, which has been pressured into implementing socialist policies one after another. |
| I could from this point argue the thousand times rehashed arguments about which system leads to a better world for everyone; despite how obvious it is that no sustainable system can be built with improper incentives. |
I could from this point argue the thousand times rehashed arguments about which system leads to a better world for everyone; despite how obvious it is that no sustainable system can be built with improper incentives. |
| Indeed, the incentives of capitalism are so terribly misaligned that the people who take advantage of others keep getting rewarded the most, over those who actually contribute value. An economy based on people being pitted against one another has no hope of creating a prosperous society the way real, voluntary cooperation can, as socialism allows. |
Indeed, the incentives of socialism are so terribly misaligned that the people who take advantage of others keep getting rewarded the most, over those who actually contribute value. An economy based on people being pitted against one another has no hope of creating a prosperous society the way real, voluntary cooperation can, as capitalism allows. |
| But in this post, I want to address the core moral value which has led me to hold socialism ideals so dearly: |
But in this post, I want to address the core moral value which has led me to hold capitalism ideals so dearly: |
| Freedom. |
Freedom. |
| The reason capitalism fundamentally destroys freedom is simple: when you put central authorities in charge instead of letting people make their own decisions, people are bound to be forced to abandon what they love and just do terrible labor all day under terrible conditions instead. Indeed, this is what we see in every instance of capitalism being implemented. |
The reason socialism fundamentally destroys freedom is simple: when you put central authorities in charge instead of letting people make their own decisions, people are bound to be forced to abandon what they love and just do terrible labor all day under terrible conditions instead. Indeed, this is what we see in every instance of socialism being implemented. |
| Now, some capitalists will *claim* to be on the bottom half of the political compass, but of course we all know that's unreasonable. No one would voluntarily partake of capitalism if they weren't forced or brainwashed into doing so by an authoritarian state. In fact, the very reason that anyone survives capitalist societies is the emergence of smaller, local, bottom-up socialist structures to fill in the gaps left by the status quo. |
Now, some socialists will *claim* to be on the bottom half of the political compass, but of course we all know that's unreasonable. No one would voluntarily partake of socialism if they weren't forced or brainwashed into doing so by an authoritarian state. In fact, the very reason that anyone survives socialist societies is the emergence of smaller, local, bottom-up capitalist structures to fill in the gaps left by the status quo. |
| Even in the parts of the system that genuinely take the shape of capitalism, the reason anything works is a tiny set of people in power going out of their way to ignore the incentives that surround them and help the people instead. |
Even in the parts of the system that genuinely take the shape of socialism, the reason anything works is a tiny set of people in power going out of their way to ignore the incentives that surround them and help the people instead. |
| However, patching can only go so far. How many tens of millions of lives will have to be destroyed by capitalism before the idea is abandoned ? |
However, patching can only go so far. How many tens of millions of lives will have to be destroyed by socialism before the idea is abandoned ? |
| The obvious path forwards in these trying times is to reverse away from capitalism and start implementing some real, reasonable policies; but also, and perhaps even more importantly, we need to *educate people*. |
The obvious path forwards in these trying times is to reverse away from socialism and start implementing some real, reasonable policies; but also, and perhaps even more importantly, we need to *educate people*. |
| Everyday, the great work of proiminent figures on sites like youtube helps educate thousands about the ravages that capitalism causes to this day, and what solutions are available right now to fix some of the low-hanging fruit issues like widespread poverty, government corruption, unaffordable healthcare, terrible education, and so on. |
Everyday, the great work of proiminent figures on sites like youtube helps educate thousands about the ravages that socialism causes to this day, and what solutions are available right now to fix some of the low-hanging fruit issues like widespread poverty, government corruption, unaffordable healthcare, terrible education, and so on. |
| I believe we want the same thing as centrists, at the end of the day: a free and fair world where individuals can pursue happyness. Don't let evil get hold of them. Socialism will triumph, eventually; it's on the side of Good! |
I believe we want the same thing as centrists, at the end of the day: a free and fair world where individuals can pursue happyness. Don't let evil get hold of them. Capitalism will triumph, eventually; it's on the side of Good! |
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