To end capitalism we need to ignore it.
To end capitalism we need to ignore it.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/13355449
Capitalism is a game where only a few people get to win.
We have also seen time and time again that it is a game that is able to manipulate and change whatever ideology or behaviour you have to work towards its own benefit.
So the only way to actually "win" is to not play the game.
Right now that seems impossible because it is a massive collective action problem, however this whole platform is a testament to show that it's possible to overcome that kind of problem.
Reddit is a dominant platform that is starting to destroy itself. People are in turn finding alternatives such as Lemmy to satisfy the need that Reddit once did.
I view capitalism in the same way. It will never truly completely cease to exist (the same way Digg never truly died), but it can become irrelevant over time if we collectively decide to just use another system to satisfy the same needs that capitalism is satisfying today.
The one example that I can think of that tries to tackle this problem is the idea of free stores that are based on a gift economy. If more people decided to use this system instead of capitalism then capitalism will have less sway over people's lives.
And in the end it doesn't have to be specifically a free store that needs to be adopted by wider society but whatever it is does need to satisfy the same basic need that capitalism does in our current society.
So the only way to actually “win” is to not play the game.
Start an employee-owned socialist company and get to it! It's been done before, somewhat successfully. So get on it!
Isn't the "company" part of what you mentioned still playing the game?
Capitalism isn't "organizations involved in work" or even the idea of trading goods and services for others or currency.
Capitalism is the idea that there's people who own the land, buildings, machines, and materials, hire labour, and pay them as little as they can convince them to work for while taking profit for just being the boss of that stuff.
The only way to move beyond capitalism is to find the source of free energy that will enable post-scarcity. Until then humans will continue to compete for resources.
Or move to circular economy and accept that GDP doesn't measure prosperity. We already have free energy from the Sun.
This is a commonly held belief and one that I had for most of my life. I don't know what finally did it for me, but the book Trekonomics definitely gave me a push.
We are already post scarcity. Most energy use is just a complete waste.
Most of our energy is used wastefully in the pursuit of infinite growth on a finite planet. We have enough energy to provide for every person. We do not have enough energy to provide for capital
This.
This is why investment in fusion is so important. For one thing all energy markets will become null and void. But secondly, the point where we have no more energy scarcity is a point when we finally have replicators.
I can taste the raktakino now.
free stores that are based on a gift economy.
How do those who gift the stores the free goods get those goods to gift?
Yeah it is through capitalism at the moment. My point is that it doesn't have to be.
I was pointing out free stores as a model.
I'm inclined to agree but I worry about capitalism's vampiric ability to co-opt things. Sort of like how any country that tries to do socialism gets attacked by the US or suffers a coup at some point. Capitalists are so greedy that they'll see people having fun without them and try to take a piece for themselves somehow, or find a way to make the population dependent on capital. (Just look at the IMF and Africa.)
That is sort of my point. If you play the game you are going to lose (in this case get co-opted) so you need to be able to not play the same game that they are.
Capitalism pillages culture, packages the plundered goods, and sells it back to you as a luxury item.
Free stores? Gift economy? I think you're giving people too much credit and are waaaayyyy too optimistic.
I already lived under socialism, and it's much worse than anything capitalism has to offer.
if I can't win I'll get a printer and ruin every economy possible