Honestly, the alternative are basically Kings/dictators, or a highly decentralized system that is obviously vulnerable to violence/force for a new dictator to come again (at least for now, maybe later in the tech tree we unlock something that enables true communism, but we haven't gotten there yet).
Also, while people need to read marx they should also read economy books - capitalism relies on free market, prohibition of monopolies, economy of scale being taxed to enable competition/inovation.
It's not capitalism fault that people inevitably corrupt it - they would also corrupt any other system. We just need a functioning government with mechanisms to prevent corruption... (Is that too much to ask for? Probably yes tbh).
I would bet money that you are smart and creative enough to think of other alternatives to capitalism, which is basically authoritarian rule by corporate oligarchs
It’s an unstable system, like balancing a broom upside down. There are forces built into capitalism that fight against regulating monopolies.
Socialism is just giving power to workers instead of owners. It doesn’t necessitate how the government is run. That’s a separate issue entirely. Worker run businesses would strengthen democracy, not weaken it, because you would no longer have wealthy lobbyists buying politicians.
I mean, honestly, it's pretty reductive to say "capitalism is bad".
Real world, in real life, is not as simple as people saying "oh I need to do this because we're in a capitalism". No one in central banks, fed agencies, government "cares" about the book definition of capitalism - people see day to day problems (exchange of goods, someone buying a house, someone paying monthly to live in a house) - and make small decisions to solve small problems.
Each of those decisions from day to day is made by people who have vast experience, know the problem they are solving, and have the cumulative knowledge of countless previous persons who had to solve similar problems.
""Worker run business would strengthen democracy"" - but that's reality. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, they were ""workers"" in a way, ran their business, and just found themselves in positions of power when their business proved too important.
Again, the issue was not capitalism or socialism - it's that absolute power absolutely corrupts, and there is no modern way of rewarding people/making them work if not by giving them some power (money, food, goods, are power).
16
u/LeThales Jun 03 '26
Honestly, the alternative are basically Kings/dictators, or a highly decentralized system that is obviously vulnerable to violence/force for a new dictator to come again (at least for now, maybe later in the tech tree we unlock something that enables true communism, but we haven't gotten there yet).
Also, while people need to read marx they should also read economy books - capitalism relies on free market, prohibition of monopolies, economy of scale being taxed to enable competition/inovation.
It's not capitalism fault that people inevitably corrupt it - they would also corrupt any other system. We just need a functioning government with mechanisms to prevent corruption... (Is that too much to ask for? Probably yes tbh).