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How does the profit motive under Capitalism come to exist? (feddit.de)

submitted 2 years ago by hamborgr@feddit.de to c/socialism@lemmy.ml

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We all know the argument that profit motive is part of human nature is false. Yet I'm still not sure why capital owners pursue profits. Is it the difference of self-interest vs collective interest? If so then wouldn't that enforce the argument on human nature? Or am I missing a crucial aspect of the Capitalist system? I'm genuinely wondering.

Edit: Sorry for not being able to answer all of the comments, the blocklist of my instance sadly won't let me see all of the comments.

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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

The thing to understand is that there is a feedback loop between social structures and the way people behave within a particular society. Capitalism creates pressures that select for particular types of behaviours. Then people who become successful under this system ensure that it continues working in their favor.

The mistake is to extrapolate that behaviours people exhibit within the capitalist system are intrinsic to human nature. It's akin to assuming that juggling is a natural elephant behaviour based on seeing a juggling elephant in a circus.

This is an excellent essay on the subject incidentally https://www.jamesherod.info/Getting_Free.pdf