Lets talk about capitalism

Osterbaum · 05-21-2014, 06:08 AM

Capitalism is the system wherein we humans organize ourselves and our society based on the principles of competition, profit making and self-interest.

The profit motive is the driver behind this capitalist system. It can manifest itself in different forms, that is profits aka accumulation of wealth in our society often means accumulating money in one form or another. Capital attracts more capital and those with the most of it have the most power or at least the most advantaged position in society.

There are several wide spread, almost universal myths about capitalism as an economic system. This is all part of capitalist realism, the pervasive global atmosphere where it is 'easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism'. I'm going to briefly try and debunk a few of the most common myths here. I wont go into much detail, I'm hoping to spark a discussion which might then lead to further elaboration of several topics.

myth the 1st
Capitalism is human nature.

No.

Whenever someone claims something in the name of 'human nature' it's good to get skeptical as hell. It is an extremely complicated concept, largely abstract and certainly not easily quantifiable. Not to mention that there are a ton of historical and contemporary examples of people acting differently from what our current ideas about 'human nature' would suggest.

Proponents of capitalism would have us believe that they know humans are greedy, competitive and only self-interested by nature. What's their proof? Often it amounts to little more than some kind of social darwinism, which I hope I don't have to tell everyone why it's bullshit. A large part of their 'proof' is the way our world functions. But I don't have to tell you that's a circular argument: Capitalism is best because people are greedy ---> we know people are greedy because capitalism?

Is it in fact more likely, that the world we live in molds our 'nature'? Many people act greedy or self-interested, because we live in a world that promises to reward such behavior. Because in our world the driving motive for most things is making profit.

myth the 2nd
Capitalism is efficient.

A system in which we throw out food while people starve.
A system in which people are homeless while there are empty buildings.
A system where planned obsolescence is a thing.

There is nothing efficient about any of that.

And this is the way it works because by capitalist logic business doesn't care about producing for need, only for profit. Food is worthless to capitalism if no one buys it. Homes are useless unless someone pays to live in them. Designing long lasting products generates less profit than selling people a new consumer toy every few years.

In short, there is nothing efficient about producing for profit.

myth the 3rd
Capitalism is fair.

What does the value of a product consist of?
- raw materials
- wear & tear of machinery and tools
- work

The raw materials are worth what they're worth. The wear & tear costs are more or less constant, they certainly can't generate new value. So it is the work done to transform raw materials into products, using the necessary knowledge and tools, that creates this extra value.

If we accept that the extra value is added to raw materials via work done on them, then we accept that this is the source of profit. If we accept work as the source of added value, then how would it be fair that this generated value should go into the pockets of """job creators"""?

myth the 4th
Capitalism is freedom.

Work for someone else or starve.

That's not a choice, that's a threat!

myth the 5th
There is no alternative.

The famous TINA argument.

But history is again full of examples of people struggling to create their own alternatives that they feel are best for them and their communities.

Hunter gatherers lived quite differently from us. We had alternative communities in Europe in the middle-ages. We've had several more0contemporary revolutions where people sought to take matters into their own hands and create their own world; the revolutionary waves of 1848, Paris Commune in 1871, the Russian and Ukranian revolutions (1917-1921, after which they became something else entirely), the German revolution (1918-1920), the Spanish revolution (1936-37), Hungary in 1956, the revolutionary wave of 1968 and the social movements all over the world that have risen out of the anti-globalisation movement of the late 90's/early 00's and the present capitalist crisis.

We have the Zapatista movement.

And these are just the examples I can name off the top of my head.

After all, even capitalism didn't just pop into existence out of nowhere. Feudalism was quite a different system. There is always an alternative, we just need to be willing to imagine it and then strive towards createing it. Discuss.

05-21-2014, 06:08 AM	#1
Osterbaum The revolution will be memed! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: FIN Posts: 5,967	Lets talk about capitalism Capitalism is the system wherein we humans organize ourselves and our society based on the principles of competition, profit making and self-interest. The profit motive is the driver behind this capitalist system. It can manifest itself in different forms, that is profits aka accumulation of wealth in our society often means accumulating money in one form or another. Capital attracts more capital and those with the most of it have the most power or at least the most advantaged position in society. There are several wide spread, almost universal myths about capitalism as an economic system. This is all part of capitalist realism, the pervasive global atmosphere where it is 'easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism'. I'm going to briefly try and debunk a few of the most common myths here. I wont go into much detail, I'm hoping to spark a discussion which might then lead to further elaboration of several topics. myth the 1st Capitalism is human nature. No. Whenever someone claims something in the name of 'human nature' it's good to get skeptical as hell. It is an extremely complicated concept, largely abstract and certainly not easily quantifiable. Not to mention that there are a ton of historical and contemporary examples of people acting differently from what our current ideas about 'human nature' would suggest. Proponents of capitalism would have us believe that they know humans are greedy, competitive and only self-interested by nature. What's their proof? Often it amounts to little more than some kind of social darwinism, which I hope I don't have to tell everyone why it's bullshit. A large part of their 'proof' is the way our world functions. But I don't have to tell you that's a circular argument: Capitalism is best because people are greedy ---> we know people are greedy because capitalism? Is it in fact more likely, that the world we live in molds our 'nature'? Many people act greedy or self-interested, because we live in a world that promises to reward such behavior. Because in our world the driving motive for most things is making profit. myth the 2nd Capitalism is efficient. A system in which we throw out food while people starve. A system in which people are homeless while there are empty buildings. A system where planned obsolescence is a thing. There is nothing efficient about any of that. And this is the way it works because by capitalist logic business doesn't care about producing for need, only for profit. Food is worthless to capitalism if no one buys it. Homes are useless unless someone pays to live in them. Designing long lasting products generates less profit than selling people a new consumer toy every few years. In short, there is nothing efficient about producing for profit. myth the 3rd Capitalism is fair. What does the value of a product consist of? - raw materials - wear & tear of machinery and tools - work The raw materials are worth what they're worth. The wear & tear costs are more or less constant, they certainly can't generate new value. So it is the work done to transform raw materials into products, using the necessary knowledge and tools, that creates this extra value. If we accept that the extra value is added to raw materials via work done on them, then we accept that this is the source of profit. If we accept work as the source of added value, then how would it be fair that this generated value should go into the pockets of """job creators"""? myth the 4th Capitalism is freedom. Work for someone else or starve. That's not a choice, that's a threat! myth the 5th There is no alternative. The famous TINA argument. But history is again full of examples of people struggling to create their own alternatives that they feel are best for them and their communities. Hunter gatherers lived quite differently from us. We had alternative communities in Europe in the middle-ages. We've had several more0contemporary revolutions where people sought to take matters into their own hands and create their own world; the revolutionary waves of 1848, Paris Commune in 1871, the Russian and Ukranian revolutions (1917-1921, after which they became something else entirely), the German revolution (1918-1920), the Spanish revolution (1936-37), Hungary in 1956, the revolutionary wave of 1968 and the social movements all over the world that have risen out of the anti-globalisation movement of the late 90's/early 00's and the present capitalist crisis. We have the Zapatista movement. And these are just the examples I can name off the top of my head. After all, even capitalism didn't just pop into existence out of nowhere. Feudalism was quite a different system. There is always an alternative, we just need to be willing to imagine it and then strive towards createing it. Discuss. __________________ D is for Dirty Commie! Last edited by Osterbaum; 05-22-2014 at 06:14 AM.