Not to say your outlook is wrong, because it’s true that much has improved over time, but I’d say the meme is touching on a core issue that highlights the increasing unsustainability of modern capitalism.
Because resources today are not nearly as scarce as they once were, and because quality of life has risen, economic systems have needed to engineer greater degrees of artificial scarcity in order to motivate people to continue working and producing value for the owner class.
This introduces strategies like planned obsolescence of essential goods, widespread conversion of residences into rental units, and costs of living rising higher than wages. There must always be a resource drain to continue justifying the need for labor.
Automation is the other factor that has impacted the longevity of this model. It has long been accepted that, as automation continues to render human labor obsolete, it would be possible to leverage automation to provide a baseline quality of life for all regardless of ability to work.
However, because the owner class is motivated to continue consolidating wealth, it is in their interest to keep the flow of wealth going monodirectionally, whereby laborers who still have value to contribute are locked in, while those who lack value are left to dwindle and die at the margins.
So what we’re observing in today’s reality is not that optimistic post-scarcity redistribution of wealth that was originally envisioned, but instead shrinking populations throughout most of the first world due to artificial scarcity. If it’s too expensive to start a family, you don’t; if it’s too expensive to live, you die. The end goal of late capitalism is to leave only the owner class and their motivated wage slaves, thereby achieving a sort of neo-feudalism.
Shrinking populations seem more to be from two positive things:
A drastic reduction in teenage pregnancies.
As living standards improve, gigantic families are less essential for survival (they used to be cheap labour to worm the land, provide family care etc.)
But in general, sure, there are absolutely bad incentives under capitalism. We’ve known this for a long time and when we could talk rationally as adults, we could deal with them, hence anti-trust and anti-collusion laws, which are required to stop the inevitable desire for monopolistic price rewards.
Just like we changed those laws, we can change others to temper capitalism. Unfortunately, when we cede the “hey, why don’t we fix things?” Space to folks whose answer is an economic model that has literally never worked, well, then we’re left with the libertarians and other conservatives vs the centrist progressives while our Leftie flank is mia.
Honestly, if I were one of the digital overlords who run our social media and I wanted to maintain the our current ruthless capitalism, I can think of nothing more useful than encouraging as much communist nonsense from the Left as I possibly could.
Guys we just have to do better laws to fix the system that lets rich people control what the laws are.
Lile we do for anti trust laws, collusion, labour safety, employment standards etc.
Feudalism is not a perfect system but it’s the only one that has ever worked
There had been alternative, better economic models by this time. Though, I suppose it is fitting that your hypothetical only works if you don’t know all that much.
Lile we do for anti trust laws, collusion, labour safety, employment standards etc.
The ones currently either not functioning or actively getting dismantled?
There had been alternative, better economic models by this time. Though, I suppose it is fitting that your hypothetical only works if you don’t know all that much.
There are alternative better economic models today.
Yes, its of course going to be harder to build systems of power outside of the capitalist nation state system, as any working model is going to be seen as a threat and attacked.
The ones currently either not functioning or actively getting dismantled?
Are you conflating America with how all capitalism must function? Or how do you see anti trust not functioning in say, the EU?
There are alternative better economic models today.
Theoretical ones. Surely you understand the difference between theory and practice?
Your earlier argument was silly because during feudalism, there were and had been alternative models that produced a similar or better standard of living.
So far, in practice, every application of non capitalism has been a dumpster fire or yielded living standards that are significantly lower than ours.
Don’t be upset because you conflated capitalism with America.
And lol, right winger. Given that for the past decade+ I’ve taken a major paycut to work for a proudly progressive institution because I believe in our values, well, that’s just adorable.
Knowing things doesn’t make someone a right winger (frequently, it’s the opposite!)
Not to say your outlook is wrong, because it’s true that much has improved over time, but I’d say the meme is touching on a core issue that highlights the increasing unsustainability of modern capitalism.
Because resources today are not nearly as scarce as they once were, and because quality of life has risen, economic systems have needed to engineer greater degrees of artificial scarcity in order to motivate people to continue working and producing value for the owner class.
This introduces strategies like planned obsolescence of essential goods, widespread conversion of residences into rental units, and costs of living rising higher than wages. There must always be a resource drain to continue justifying the need for labor.
Automation is the other factor that has impacted the longevity of this model. It has long been accepted that, as automation continues to render human labor obsolete, it would be possible to leverage automation to provide a baseline quality of life for all regardless of ability to work.
However, because the owner class is motivated to continue consolidating wealth, it is in their interest to keep the flow of wealth going monodirectionally, whereby laborers who still have value to contribute are locked in, while those who lack value are left to dwindle and die at the margins.
So what we’re observing in today’s reality is not that optimistic post-scarcity redistribution of wealth that was originally envisioned, but instead shrinking populations throughout most of the first world due to artificial scarcity. If it’s too expensive to start a family, you don’t; if it’s too expensive to live, you die. The end goal of late capitalism is to leave only the owner class and their motivated wage slaves, thereby achieving a sort of neo-feudalism.
Shrinking populations seem more to be from two positive things:
A drastic reduction in teenage pregnancies.
As living standards improve, gigantic families are less essential for survival (they used to be cheap labour to worm the land, provide family care etc.)
But in general, sure, there are absolutely bad incentives under capitalism. We’ve known this for a long time and when we could talk rationally as adults, we could deal with them, hence anti-trust and anti-collusion laws, which are required to stop the inevitable desire for monopolistic price rewards.
Just like we changed those laws, we can change others to temper capitalism. Unfortunately, when we cede the “hey, why don’t we fix things?” Space to folks whose answer is an economic model that has literally never worked, well, then we’re left with the libertarians and other conservatives vs the centrist progressives while our Leftie flank is mia.
Honestly, if I were one of the digital overlords who run our social media and I wanted to maintain the our current ruthless capitalism, I can think of nothing more useful than encouraging as much communist nonsense from the Left as I possibly could.
Guys we just have to do better laws to fix the system that lets rich people control what the laws are.
Feudalism is not a perfect system but it’s the only one that has ever worked, so says the aristocracy!
Lile we do for anti trust laws, collusion, labour safety, employment standards etc.
There had been alternative, better economic models by this time. Though, I suppose it is fitting that your hypothetical only works if you don’t know all that much.
The ones currently either not functioning or actively getting dismantled?
There are alternative better economic models today.
Yes, its of course going to be harder to build systems of power outside of the capitalist nation state system, as any working model is going to be seen as a threat and attacked.
Are you conflating America with how all capitalism must function? Or how do you see anti trust not functioning in say, the EU?
Theoretical ones. Surely you understand the difference between theory and practice?
Your earlier argument was silly because during feudalism, there were and had been alternative models that produced a similar or better standard of living.
So far, in practice, every application of non capitalism has been a dumpster fire or yielded living standards that are significantly lower than ours.
Man, smug right wingers are so not worth arguing with.
Don’t be upset because you conflated capitalism with America.
And lol, right winger. Given that for the past decade+ I’ve taken a major paycut to work for a proudly progressive institution because I believe in our values, well, that’s just adorable.
Knowing things doesn’t make someone a right winger (frequently, it’s the opposite!)
Left wing is when you’re McCarthy but think the gays are okay.