#Capitalism. Just adding this response thread here - summary of and reflections on responses

mastodon.green/@pvonhellermann…

Pauline von Hellermann

2024-12-14 08:59:55

Ah! The poll has ended! I can report that only 11% of participants (1403 in total) still believe in #capitalism. Which perhaps does say something about the current mood here on Mastodon. And perhaps, who knows, gives us some courage to have more open discussions that we really do need alternatives and should talk about them, whether eco-socialism, eco-communism, or something else in entirely.

For now, some brief reflections on poll itself and responses. 1/n
mastodon.green/@pvonhellermann…

Pauline von Hellermann (@pvonhellermannn@mastodon.green)

So, does anyone on here still believe in capitalism? #Capitalism [ ] Yes [ ] No

^{Mastodon.green}

I believe in it like I believe in the third law of thermodynamics: I would rather that it were not the case, but I'm not going to deny that it exists.

(The word "believe in" often gets conflated to mean both "believe in the existence of" and "are a fan of", which are very different meanings.)

annoyingly a rhetorical question.
But yes I have seen capitalist apologists here on Mastodon, in replies to other people posts rather than directly in my timeline.

And the there is the question of what we mean by capitalism and whether it can be tamed, but short of worldwide revolution I can't see how we can all survive how its profit driven promotion of growth and it's suborning of the democratic process bringing about economic and environmental collapse.

It sure as hell does not work for healthcare.

I'm watching a fight between one of the largest insurers (my insurer in fact) and Ohio State - one of the most important providers (my provider in fact). Why on God's green earth would we set them up to play a game of chicken with everyone's care, as our rate-setting mechanism?

It's beyond absurd. The public already pays for more than half of the provider's work (especially given that OSU James is a cost-plus cancer care center), and OSU is a public institution. We could cap provider gross charges and set minimum reimbursements at the very least. But ... capitalism.

I think capitalism is not inherently bad, unregulated capitalism is. When wealth gets concentrated to a very few at the expense of the masses.

But capitalism is the best we have. But it needs to evolve. Social democracies in Europe are pretty decent in providing a good balance.

I believe in capitalism, but regulated so as to not... Go bananas.

When in the hands of freelancers and small businesses and cooperatives, yes. People should be able to sell their products and services directly and not have to work for a giant corporation.

But I don't believe in crony capitalism, where the government and business collude against the people, which is what we have now. And I don't believe in corporatism, where the corporations have most or all the power.

Never did.

Greed and hubris are destroying the world.

I'm afraid it exists, yes.

more seriously: not everything can or should be organised by the government. But _unrestrained_ capitalism is rarely the best thing for it's customers.

Girl you only get one answer from me:
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😆Muhahahahahahahahaha🤣

@captainrob @azphilosopher but what you can have is a capitalist economy with socialist welfare policies and that is what Scandinavia has. Very prosperous profitable companies and very wealthy people who pay into a comprehensive wealth system. It is both capitalism and socialism.

 It’s not one or the other - all countries have a bit of each.
The USA has socialised roads and education. Communist countries have independent taxi drivers and shopkeepers.