this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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Hi all,

I'm seeing a lot of hate for capitalism here, and I'm wondering why that is and what the rationale behind it is. I'm pretty pro-capitalism myself, so I want to see the logic on the other side of the fence.

If this isn't the right forum for a political/economic discussion-- I'm happy to take this somewhere else.

Cheers!

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[โ€“] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like buying shit as much as the next person, I also don't think endless growth for shareholders is a laudable goal and is likely dangerous. I also don't think that essential services should be run for profit, but then I am from a country with proper government health care. Government should set a baseline, not a company.

But as I said, I still like buying shit

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We don't need capitalism to have markets, they're perfectly compatible with a socialist economy.

For example, all businesses could be required to operate as cooperatives and VC funding could be replaced by the state bank that could give loans to people who want to start a coop business.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

There is no need for all businesses to be cooperatives. Just require that majority voting shares be held by workers in a business always. Other people can buy shares to sell if they go higher or for dividend payouts. This would secure worker ownership of a business while still allowing for markets.

While banks should be part of the funding structure, disallowing VCs would have to mean disallowing any person from investing in anything, since that's what VCs are, just a bunch of people getting together and putting money into things.