• Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    17
    ·
    5 days ago

    Do you? Capitalism is quite literally the idea that private individuals can own and control the means of production.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      14
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 days ago

      So not the same as all the workers owning the factory…just one guy maybe.

          • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            4 days ago

            And? You understand that socialism is antithetical to the concept of ownership, right? Of course you don’t. You don’t even understand what it is.

              • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                8 hours ago

                That’s not true. Socialism is against the idea of private property outright. The very aim of the socialism as an economic system to collectivize all infrastructure, resources, property, land, and means of production where everything is “owned” by the “public”. Something like a co-op where workers directly own the business they operate like a grocery store aren’t allowed in a socialist system because that’s still private property and the business is engaging in the free market. So even though its worker owned and it follows socialist principles on a micro level, it’s antithetical to socialism.

                • MyVeryRealName@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  7 hours ago

                  That’s not true. Market socialism (which is what I support) allows for independent companies.

                  What you’re talking about is Leninism and it’s derivatives (which I oppose).

                  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    7 hours ago

                    Market socialism as a concept is vague. Are you talking about something more akin China or Vietnam today or something more idealistic and hypothetical? If it’s the former then I assure you that China today is just state capitalism with Chinese characteristics.

    • zbyte64@awful.systems
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      5 days ago

      Go a step further and argue Monarchies are really capitalism as well because the king is a private individual owning the means of production.

        • zbyte64@awful.systems
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          5 days ago

          More than that, we’re capable of ignoring the personal attacks and push the point further. Capitalism is sociopolitical so dismissing comparisons to other political arrangements is silly

          • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            4 days ago

            Capitalism is not sociopolitical, it’s an economic system. You don’t even have a point to push because you clearly don’t even understand what capitalism is, let alone make valid comparisons for it. Comparing capitalism to monarchy is like comparing luggage to airplanes, it’s just not the same thing.

            • zbyte64@awful.systems
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              4 days ago

              You pointed out how capitalism depends on private property, that is a social relationship that is backed by political power to enforce said property rights. You can try to redefine economics but you can’t escape observed reality. But please continue to insist I don’t know what i am talking about, it truly adds value to the debate. You should actually require payment before making such statements

              • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                4 days ago

                You keep making one ignorant statement after another while doubling down on being a smug pseudointellectual. All economic systems are backed by their government, and all governments have a monopoly on violence to maintain order. That’s not a revelation of anything but your ignorance. All societies in history with a socialist system have the same exact dynamic. This doesn’t change the fact that monarchy and capitalism aren’t comparable because they’re fundamentally different concepts. If you’re going to double down again on such a painfully false notion, then this conversation is not worth continuing.

                • zbyte64@awful.systems
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  2
                  ·
                  4 days ago

                  Monarchy and Capitlism are different concepts but I am not the one who offered a definition of Capitalism so broad that it would include Monarchy. It was my mistake to get distracted by yet another inaccuracy.

                  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    8 hours ago

                    Dude, you clearly don’t understand what either concept even mean. Monarchy is a system of government where a single individual serves at the head of the state, usually by birthright and they usually have absolute power over the state. Monarchs are NOT private individuals, because they are the state. The definition of a private individual is someone who does NOT represent the state or any public institution, hence why they are private.

                    Capitalism formed alongside classical liberalism in Europe as a reaction to the monarchies at the time and the feudalist systems that they were running. The whole idea of capitalism is take economic power out of the hands of the monarchs and their cronies and put them directly into the hands of the people. That’s why capitalism is big on the idea of minimal government intervention and maximum rights to private individuals.

                    In essence, monarchy is a political system while capitalism is an economic system. They are not comparable, and they do not fall under each others definitions. Capitalism came into existence as a reaction to the economic model at the time, which was feudalism. Capitalism was a part of a bigger movement at the time that revolted against tyrannical monarchies in Europe that also championed liberalism, secularism, and democracy. This is not me babbling nonsense, this reaction is called the age of enlightenment in history.

    • MyVeryRealName@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 days ago

      No. Marx, who defined Capitalism was clear that it was a state of the world where most wealth was controlled by a select few.

          • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            2 days ago

            No, you’re still wrong. There is not single person who made or defined capitalism. It’s a concept that evolved through through the contributions of multiple philosophers and economists in different times. Kind of like the internet. It’s not like Marxism where it has specific inventors that you can point to.

              • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                9 hours ago

                Oh, I mean I guess, but isn’t that pointlessly semantic point? The same exact concept has existed before its modern coinage, it was just called by different names like “system of natural liberty” or “commercial society”. It was and still is the go to economic system for classical liberalism which is the ideology that shaped Europe out of the age of the age of feudal monarchies and into constitutional democracies.

                  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    7 hours ago

                    Commerce in what sense? Socialism is very much against the idea of a free market where commerce happens. It tries to substitute that concept with collectivization and redistribution.