Competition kills competition. To the victor go the spoils. Bigger war chest, bigger army. Etc.
The reason I defend capitalism is not because I like the outcome. I just have good reason to be extremely skeptical of the alternatives (judging by history). Systems that don’t take into account people’s natural competitive instincts are doomed to catastrophe.
For anyone who hates hierarchies and dreams of a flat system (some form of anarchism), I would invite them to read The Tyranny of Structurelessness by feminist Jo Freeman.
Anarchism does not (necessarily) call for a total lack of organisational structure, first and foremost it calls for the abolition of unjust hierarchies. I think a lot of anarchists would broadly agree with the main points of that article.
If you think there is no viable alternative to captitalism, I’d highly recommend the book “Capitalist Realism” by Mark Fisher, which tackles that very subject :)
Capitalism doesn’t need defending, even if alternatives are worth critiquing. A system alone will never be enough. No matter what, conscious effort must be taken to prevent suffering and total collapse of the social contract. Efforts to better the public good are more prudent than ever with humanity being so powerful and dangerous.
I think it does. If anything, capitalism is in grave danger right now. It seems to be getting closer and closer to slipping back into feudalism. I’m talking about a world with zero economic mobility and a rentier class that owns all the land.
If you don’t realize that feudalism is the natural course of capitalism, I don’t know what to tell you. Really, capitalism is just collective feudalism, with the state enforcing rule for the large nobility. Capitalism trends towards monopoly, with power funneling info fewer and fewer hands.
It requires a conceited effort of the state and the public to prevent or stem this. The government can’t just take power from the wealthy for itself, but redistribute that power to the people for their independent use. That’s more democratic socialism than social democracy, and it certainly does not represent capitalist mechanisms. It can only work in spite of capitalism.
Survival of the fittest is not a defense of capitalism as a public serving economic system. It’s an explanation of how capitalism pushes us towards authoritarianism, then autocracy, then jungle law, where the public are left to the elements and parasites.
Competition kills competition. To the victor go the spoils. Bigger war chest, bigger army. Etc.
The reason I defend capitalism is not because I like the outcome. I just have good reason to be extremely skeptical of the alternatives (judging by history). Systems that don’t take into account people’s natural competitive instincts are doomed to catastrophe.
For anyone who hates hierarchies and dreams of a flat system (some form of anarchism), I would invite them to read The Tyranny of Structurelessness by feminist Jo Freeman.
From the article:
Evenly distributed power is a lack of hierarchy, isn’t it? How does that article support your point that a flat system doesn’t work?
Really interesting link, thanks for sharing.
Anarchism does not (necessarily) call for a total lack of organisational structure, first and foremost it calls for the abolition of unjust hierarchies. I think a lot of anarchists would broadly agree with the main points of that article.
If you think there is no viable alternative to captitalism, I’d highly recommend the book “Capitalist Realism” by Mark Fisher, which tackles that very subject :)
Capitalism doesn’t need defending, even if alternatives are worth critiquing. A system alone will never be enough. No matter what, conscious effort must be taken to prevent suffering and total collapse of the social contract. Efforts to better the public good are more prudent than ever with humanity being so powerful and dangerous.
I think it does. If anything, capitalism is in grave danger right now. It seems to be getting closer and closer to slipping back into feudalism. I’m talking about a world with zero economic mobility and a rentier class that owns all the land.
If you don’t realize that feudalism is the natural course of capitalism, I don’t know what to tell you. Really, capitalism is just collective feudalism, with the state enforcing rule for the large nobility. Capitalism trends towards monopoly, with power funneling info fewer and fewer hands.
It requires a conceited effort of the state and the public to prevent or stem this. The government can’t just take power from the wealthy for itself, but redistribute that power to the people for their independent use. That’s more democratic socialism than social democracy, and it certainly does not represent capitalist mechanisms. It can only work in spite of capitalism.
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/cathy-levine-the-tyranny-of-tyranny
Survival of the fittest is not a defense of capitalism as a public serving economic system. It’s an explanation of how capitalism pushes us towards authoritarianism, then autocracy, then jungle law, where the public are left to the elements and parasites.