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"Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of motives, will somehow work together for the benefit of all."—John Maynard Keynes
this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2024
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Late Stage Capitalism
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I’ve been saying this for years. Some douchebag will always pop up to argue with me saying that under capitalism, the serfs have a choice of whether to work for this king or that king (er, I mean, Company)… and I just laugh and laugh. And point to the existence of Company Towns as a concrete example.
Also under classic Feudalism the lords usually did not micromanage your farm. At harvest time the collector would pass by and you had to fill your quota. How you got there was your problem but also your choice. It was often terrible because the quota was unrealistic, but you had an agency over your own work, that people today often lack.
Once if the things about feudalism though was that the conditions varied widely. One lord might tell you what to plant, when to plant it, and how to treat it. They might even work that field with you. On the other end of the spectrum is the tax collector method you mention. And it could change suddenly too, old lord dies with no male heir. The money and lands go to his daughter's husband who sells the land for more money. New lord shows up and demands a whole second round of taxes to offset buying the land.
Things could be really good when you had a good chain of leaders in feudalism. But they could be so much more bad with just one bad link.
Oh yeah, that's because the vast majority of people beleive we jumped straight from feudalism to capitalism, without merchantislism in between.
That's where a lot of the disconnect comes in. In a world of cottage industries and small holdings, choice really could mean something. Everyone being ruthlessly self interested could've, potentially, worked out. Without market makers etc. the best idea and the brightest people may well have risen to the top and the market could've made that happen.
However, that was merchantislism. In the world of capitalism, that's make believe fantasy nonsense that shows capitalists to be just as utopian as any socialist.
I mean, it was literally invented, due to the changes brought about by the industrial because the aristocracy were terrified they might have to start working for a living. It wasn't some natural state we defaulted to. It didn't happen by magic or divine providence. It wasn't chosen because it was the most fair or stood up to scrutiny the best.
Nope, it's literally the greed and entitled laziness of the British upper classes, expressed in economic form.
Nope, it's literally the greed and entitled laziness of the British upper classes, expressed in economic form.
Holy cow. I never thought about it that way.
Good points. I feel like mercantilism would have evolved naturally into capitalism even without the catalyst of the upper classes and their influence. But that's another topic entirely.
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To be fair mercantilism was highly controlled. The original corporations were created under mercantilism and given such broad monopolies that they had their own soldiers and fought their own wars.
So it wasn't exactly a bastion of choice either. Capitalism was the Democratic backlash against kings giving out monopoly contracts. But it was only ever meant to widen the ownership class so all the nobles and rich people could play, and not just the super connected ones. The workers were never supposed to benefit.
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The difference is that under capitalism, the blame is outsourced to the market.
Do company towns still exist?
When I meet someone in Seattle, I ask them if they work for Amazon or Microsoft. Usually I'm correct.
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See also: cities where the healthcare system or hospital system is the largest employer.
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Kings actually used to take care of their subjects, unlike modern capitalists' CEOs.
No, lots of kings were brutal tyrants and/or totally incompetent rulers. The ones who took care of their subjects and who were wise and competent were extremely rare. These were the philosopher kings Plato wanted as rulers.
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CEOs take care of thier subjects very well.
Thier subjects: $$$
It's not like some dude was suddenly born one day and everyone decided he was in charge. The forefathers of Kings were inhuman psychopaths.
They were often the descendants of conquerors or settlers. While you could overcome competitors justly, being completely ruthless is typically advantageous. Maybe I'm crazy, but perhaps we should implement a governing system that discourages that behavior.
We could make it so that each person, as equals, gets a secret vote to put people in charge of writing laws, managing the treasury, appointing judges and military personnel, etc. In order to stop people from gaining too much power or authority we would limit the growth of their personal assets via tax brackets which increase based on the amount they gain, and when we end up with surplus of funds from taxation we then use that money to provide to the needy and build public goods which enrich everyone's lives.
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Debatable honestly. People inherited who were so bat shit insane even the "free market" can't do worse.
Insane people inherit wealth today and lead their "kingdom" to ruin only to be proper up by somebody else only to fail again.
We just haven't had this type of capitalism for long enough to see many Neros that had infinite power and then ruin it completely. We are in the holy Roman empire with 1000+ kingdoms constantly in strive with each other. Some are more powerful than others and ever so often one completely shits the bed because the inherited child is an absolute buffoon.
Also, it was by no means always inheritance. Quite often it was the most power hungry psychopath that won.
I’ll pay you more. Come with me! Well, that and God said that I should be king. It is my divine right! My great grandpa made a deal with his great grandpa! Oh, and never fight uphill, me boys. Not good.
And Musk can't order you beheaded.
Yet
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And professionals instead of priests.
There should be a system that pays for producing value to all life. Something bigger than UN.
This is totally possible under actual democracy, the only challenge is getting enough people to the point where they're not voting against their own long-term interests, and voting system's robust enough to withstand the influence of capital.
What I mean is, there are governments around the world already funding positive things, on the collective purse.
It's just at the moment, it pales in comparison to the stranglehold capitalism has over our economies.
Just saying, we don't need to wait for the entire world to join hands to move towards socialism.
Don’t most small farmers in the west at least own their own land. So not really like feudalism but I get your point.
Just as residents in cities are progressively owning less of the land they live on family farmers are being pushed out by corporate megafarms.
Ahh a small rural subset of the population rules their own land. But unfortunately they don't own the rights to their seeds, farming equipment, and the food they produce (sometimes). They produce things that sell for so little sometimes they can't be independent and need trade agreements with other feudal lords that work them to death. Aka a farmer still gets groceries at Walmart, healthcare, seeds from big seed Corp, and tractors from John deere so much so most small independent farmers are closing up shop
I beleive most farms in the UK are leased now days. Not sure about anywhere else though.
Something like 39% in the US too, mostly the best farming areas according to the government's map. There's no cross data though on how many small farm operations in the US have to rent land.
Oh they're solving that problem as fast as they can. Don't you worry.
How some have been deposed; some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
Some poison’d by their wives: some sleeping kill’d;
All murder’d: for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Political power and purchasing power are just two kinds of power. And when those two powers merge - as with wealthy kings of the past or modern politically active business elites - bad things happen.
I mean there were counts and dukes and shit too. But yeah.
At this late stage it is.
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