this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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[–] thetreesaysbark 29 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (6 children)

From my understanding, our case studies in communist societies have the same if not worse weath dispersal, so I don't believe that this is a communist Vs capitalist issues, and more of a corruption of either societal type problem due to people being easily taken advantage of in groups.

Please correct me if I'm wrong in this though, I may simply be falling for the propaganda machine.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago

Criticisms of rampant capitalism do not necessitate promoting communism as the solution.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (3 children)

How is this corruption of capitalism? It's kinda like, the entire point. Capitalism without inequality is contrary to its definition

[–] Ummdustry 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Capitalism without inequality is contrary to its definition

I mean kinda, but it's a matter of degrees. Capitalism revolves around the private ownership of capital, so will not enforce a given level of (in)equality. Still though, the overall amount of inequality (I.e. by the GINI index) can vary quite dramatically between capitalist societies. From Brazil up in the 60's to Germany down in the 30's.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

I don't know but if people could agree to take just a tiny bit of profit, everyone would be happy. Sure, inequality would still exist but it wouldn't be the-top-one-percent-owns-half-of-the-total-wealth inequal

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I mean not really. Certainly could be argued that it's the natural conclusion of capitalism in our society, but it's not the point. With capitalism as intended, the worker who is working longer hours in a position far more crucial to society should be earning significantly more than the fat cat who is making little positive impact on society and is working shorter hours.

So yeah, pretty much any real-world implementation of capitalism will reach this result because greed exists, but the ideals of capitalism are quite opposite.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 1 points 8 months ago

Not really. The worker should be making however much it costs to replace them. If the worker is easily replaced, they'll make very little, but if they have niche skills, they should be well paid. The worker can always move somewhere that they'll be paid better, and the employer can always look for a replacement.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

You are correct. Also, these one dimensional posts fail to acknowledge the cost of buildings, utilities, taxes, marketing, administration, etc.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

In a communist society, isn't the wealth not supposed to be accumulated by a handful of investors ? If that wealth not centralized on a few staleholders isn't it more distributed or spent on social systems / societal expenses ?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

In communism there is no wealth, since it would be a moneyless society.

[–] agamemnonymous 2 points 8 months ago

communist societies

Which exactly would those be? I've never heard of one