@freemo
Which Communism are you talking about? The one where everybody shares everything or the one where there's a dictator making them share nothing?

@freemo @avlcharlie

Maybe, but if communism converges to these two cases with the same result, it seems to be from the same error in thinking.

@amerika

The root error comes from the assumption people will cooperate with the principle willingly. Once you assume most people will exploit any system for personal gain when they can it becomes evident communism is not a workable system without a totalitarian government. Even then people will generally do the bare minimum so you get poverty.

Capitalism exploits the inherent selfishness of individuals for the greater good of society.

@avlcharlie

@freemo
I wondered if that was the angle. It is an unfortunate but realistic view.

While not probable I still hold out that there is a possibility, however minuscule, that we can break that cycle.

@avlcharlie

Oh we absolutely can, but that is just capitalism with compassion at that point. It isnt communism if people do it willingly rather than a totalitarian government.

We have it in capitalism all the tine, its called a commune.

@freemo
I had a long reply but I realized it was this..

John Lennon: Imagine

@avlcharlie

Right but what im sayi g is,john lenon was describing capitalism, a capitalism filled with altruistic people.

@freemo
Altruistic Capitalism seems to be an oxymoron.. but I suppose that's the point. That it can't exist. That we are in fact doomed and destined to deal with the greed of humanity... Which is another unfortunate but realistic view.

@avlcharlie How is it a oxymoron. All capitalism is is any system which includes free market trade, that is, trade in which natural supply-demand pressures dominate the markets pricing.

Nothing about that implies greed or altruism, it only implies everyone is trying to maximize their own fitness function (get the most utility for their resources). Its about effiency not greed.

@freemo @avlcharlie well, unless people attempt to develop some level of sophistication, efficiency turns into greed, because thoughtless accumulation is the easiest thing to do. This is reinforced by a social environment where chronic accumulators are considered successful by chronically accumulating media.

@mapto

Bow ya figure that makes no sense. Accumulating resources in a vault untouched is the least effecient form, you literally have negative effiency as inflation devalues assets. A person would achieve effiency by investing thrir mo ey wisely and ensuring other people are using those resources to effectively increase the total resources in the market.

You are getting stuck in the fallacy that someone havibg authority (ownership) over those resources means that other people cant use it for their own gains as well which is entierly contrary to the reality. Those resources will be in others hands and used by them in some agreement to use them for mutual gain (investment in others).

@avlcharlie

Follow

@freemo @mapto @avlcharlie "Lay not up for yourselves treasure on earth - where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal, [and inflation doth devalue]."

Investing in people is also a thing:

For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings. Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

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