Gregory's Server@Radical_EgoCom Capitalism is a society’s answer to five basic questions (See Robert Reich’s book on capitalism.) The questions are valid, but the way we answered them sucks. We need to answer the questions better.
|
15 comments
@Radical_EgoCom What can owned and under what conditions? What can be sold and under what condition? How much market power should an entity be allowed to have? How do we deal with economic failure? What laws should address questions 1-4? When feudalism was overthrown, capitalism answered these questions in the best way people could think of, but these answers, despite being sufficient back then, are now not only insufficient, but are actively harmful (extreme wealth inequality and climate change are two examples). Socialism answers these questions far better now for the modern world than capitalism does: 1/4 1. What can be owned, and under what conditions? The means of production can be collectively owned by society through the state, and personal property can be owned by citizens. 2. What can be sold, and under what condition? Goods and services can be produced collectively and sold under conditions that serve collective interest instead of profit. 2/4 3. How much market power should an entity be allowed to have? No entity should have significant market power. It must be restricted to prevent exploitation and ensure equitable distribution. 4. How do we deal with economic failure? Through collective planning and state intervention to address failures and prioritize the needs of the people. 3/4 5. What laws should address questions 1-4? Laws that mandate collective ownership of key resources, regulate transactions to ensure social benefit, limit market power to prevent capitalism, and promote state intervention in economic failures. 4/4 @Radical_EgoCom What you’ve described in your answers could be considered a version of capitalism. The point is the answer to these questions is not simple and requires societal consensus. You may be closer to Reich than I am. 😀 Do you even know what capitalism is? What I just described is literally socialism, the collective ownership of the means of production, not capitalism, the private ownership of the means of production. Literally nothing in my answer can in any way be considered a version of capitalism. Please educate yourself on the differences between capitalism and socialism. You're very wrong. @Radical_EgoCom @brancheb You have always said that the state is a necessary evil only in a transitional phase, but you answered these questions as if it should exist forever. Me saying "state intervention" does not imply that I want the state to exist forever. You made it clear that you know that I believe in a transitional state. So, you should be able to understand that I believe that this transitional state should interfere in public affairs. There's nothing about that that suggests that I want the state to exist forever. |
@brancheb
Could you tell me the five basic questions?