What is a belief you’ve done a total 180 on?
I used to be strictly materialist and atheist. Now I’m pretty spiritual. Don’t necessarily follow a religion and don’t support bigotry but yeah, I’m fairly spiritual now. This is a recent development and I never thought I’d be here like 5 years ago.
This is an unpopular opinion around here but greed and the desire for power are the real problems and they exist in any economic system.
Capitalism wouldn’t be that bad if wealth was distributed equitably - heavy wealth taxes et cetera supporting socialised human policies like education, healthcare, UBI, et cetera.
This is the particularly unpopular part: Capitalism is not completely without virtue.
For example, capitalism will find the most efficient means of production.
The “happiest” nations in the world are capitalist with sococialised health and education.
That is untrue. Capitalism will find the most profitable means of production. Profit is all that matters. Capitalism will happily abandon efficiency, safety, environmental protection, and happiness in general, all in the pursuit of more profit.
If you don’t believe me, truly ask yourself whether you think Comcast is the most efficient ISP possible.
Efficiency is a functionally meaningless term under capitalism. Efficiency of what? Efficiency of email and phone spam? Widespread advertisement campaigns? Efficiency in sabotaging your competitors or collaborating to fix prices? Efficiency in redesigning products to manipulate your consumers and planned obsolescence? Efficiency in environmental destruction? Efficiency in finding loopholes in the legal system and regulations? In lobbying the government to receive special treatment? There are many ways to compete in a competitive market.
Society needs direction. Production when necessary, at the level that it is needed, keeping in mind ecological constraints. Capitalism is incapable of that.
sveltecider
hperrin