Mastodawn

While #transidentity and other varieites of #genrderorientation or #sexualorientation, seem to concern only a tiny minority, the issue at stake literally concerns everyone who isn't a rich white cis-hetero male over 50. And that issue is #patriarchy and #capitalism, which, together, ensure that anyone. who isn't wealthy male cis-hetero WASP is to be tightly controlled and exploited or even exterminated, if they are too "subversive". This concerns #LGBTQIA+, but right after, #jews and #muslims.

AKingsbury 2d ago

@ariane

All sorts of people are controlled all sorts of ways, and it's not capitalism that does it. Indeed, capitalism clearly prescribes FREE markets, open exchange, etc. It's a powerful tool to uplift the poor.

No, the primary instrument of oppression is the government. Ask yourself this; who has more power over you, right now; Jeff Bezos, of the local chief of police? Which one can send an armed man to your home with impunity?

@AlexanderKingsbury Actually, #capitalism has been literally built on the exploitation not only of former "serfs" in Europe,, but also of slaves and resources taken over by European capitalists through colonization. Free market has always only been for those who possess something to sell or to produce goods to sell. That is a minority of people. Everyone else is just there to serve these dominants, sometimes against an under-valued salary, sometimes just to be able to keep their life.

@AlexanderKingsbury #Capitalism bourgeoisie has always been able to engage the #government in their own interest, be it through placing people of their own cast in government, or by blackmailing government with suppression of labor and moving it abroad, in countries with more friendly government. Basically, #capitalists have been able to wriggle their way out of responsibilities with the help of more or less corrupt governments.

AKingsbury 2d ago

@ariane

You're deeply confused about what capitalism is. Capitalism clearly and directly forbids such things as slavery; slavery is in obvious contradiction to the very concept of a free market. Likewise government suppression of labor; also not in accord with a free market.

@AlexanderKingsbury Actually, you are the one who is deeply ignorant of the history of #capitalism. Because modern slavery and modern Western empires were literally born out of #capitalism. What made modern slavery illegal weren't capitalists, but humanists who felt that human dignity was more important than the wealth of a few privileged. If some considered themselves "liberals", most were socialist. And decolonization was the revolt of those colonized.

AKingsbury 2d ago

@ariane

Again, it's impossible for slavery to have been born from capitalism. Capitalism clearly directs free markets, which are in direct contradiction to slavery. Now, you can say that there were free markets and slavery which existed separately but at at the same time, and that's historically accurate, but to say that slavery is capitalistic is the product of either ignorance or dishonesty.

@AlexanderKingsbury You are definitely the one who is in deep confusion. You're confusing capitalism with free market and these are not the same things, even if capitalism fares better under a free market. Capitalism is just a type of economy based on the possession of the means of production and the capacity to get the human ressources necessary to run the production. Whether they are free or not doesn't matter. Slaves allow just for much cheaper labor costs than employees.