The only problem communism has solved so far is obesity.
Why dont you tell us you have a paper thin understanding of communism without telling us you have a paper thin understanding of communism…
I think it’s interesting that people always just jump to “communism is when no food,” like there have been no famines or starvation under capitalism.
Especially when you can note that those problems with food production were basically immediately solved with the extremely deserved death of Lysenkoism.
Lysenko wouldn’t be a problem in first place, if he bet his own capital on his hypothesis.
Because the only alternative to unregulated capitalism is authoritarianism, got it
Is there a reason why you chose to be reactionary on the internet today?
This isn’t Reddit, you can be nicer than this, and maybe discuss the point about libertarianism that you like instead of just jumping to a bad faith argument against another economic system that neither OP, nor the post has brought up.
Remember there’s a person on the other side of the screen. Unless it’s a bit of course, but you know better than to take the bait of bots.
Have you actually read about it from various sources that you cross referenced or are you taking this from your libertarian society that instilled its beliefs on you through culture?
People in Russia and China were much hungrier and unequal before the communist revolution, look it up. Unless you’re talking about Cuba, which the US tried desperately to overturn and starve.
The market isn’t free, there’s a ton of restrictions and policies that benefit large corporations while making it very difficult for new companies to make any headway against their competition
Remove those restrictions and things get shittier, not more competitive. The only thing that makes smaller companies competitive is either 1, they corner some disruptive market that the big boys are ignoring (this is so rare you likely know all of the big instances of this) or 2, antitrust breaks up the big companies so that a more competitive market emerges.
That’s it. Anything else is an edge case of an edge case and not worth bothering with. The top of that list is removing regulations. Regulations are written in blood and acting like they’re just red tape in your way is how people die.
Yeah wtf. Regulation is the only reason new businesses can come into the market at all
Indeed. Any problem with small business breaking in right now is mostly a function of the fact that our system for anti-trust has completely fallen off. Like the story about Microsoft and Phil Spencer wanting to buy Nintendo or Valve - in a sane world, they wouldn’t even consider it because that’s a clear case of consolidation that is harmful for consumers.
Do you people actually think the housing market is a free market??? It’s one of the most overly regulated markets! Zoning laws restrict what kind of housing can be built all over the US. Getting rid of those would allow for more mixed style housing and that is one example of de-regulation and making a freer market.
It would also allow Exxon to install an oil rig 15 feet away from your backyard privacy fence and there’s not shit you can do about it. Zoning laws exist for a reason. They’re a bit shit, yes, and changing the way they work would go a long way toward improving America’s reliance on cars. But blanket removal of regulations is never the answer for any industry anywhere. We should know better by this point that unregulated capitalists will extract every last drop of value from a given proposition with no regard to anyone else impacted by it. It’s happened hundreds of times already.
The only way for libertarianism to work is if every human had only good intentions. Since that’s simply never going to happen libertarianism will never work. Just my opinion feel free to disagree.
It’s just like socialism; great concept, but impossible to perfectly implement. That said, I’d still prefer a system where I maintain independence and freedom than any alternative since humans are inherently are own largest problems.
I’d prefer a system similar to what we have in germany right now as it is a mix of socialism and capitalism in a way that reduces the exploitation that free market capitalism brings. Complete freedom in market almost always leads to exploitation which is terrible
How exactly does Germany reduce exploitation from capitalism? Is it labor laws? I would like to remind you that having social programs and laws that benefit the working class is not socialism.
What, specifically, are you meaning when you use the term “capitalism”? There is a difference, for example, between an anarcho-capitalist, or fundamentally free market, and a competitive free market. One is alright with the existance of monopolistic/anti-competitive behaviour, and the other is not.
Respectfully, I think the opposite. I think, for the most part, a free® market naturally benefits humans with good intentions and harms those with bad intentions.
For example, let’s say in a free market, somebody wanted to start a business with horrible working conditions, horrible salary, horrible everything. Now, if the economy is real bad then people might work there, but for the most part, that business is going to fail because people won’t work there, and would choose other jobs instead. So in this case, a free market actually incentivizes “good intentions”. The business owner will have to improve work conditions, salary, etc. so that people will work there instead of elsewhere.
And one of the important aspects of a free market is the ability to start a competing business. If there was a company with overall poor working conditions and salary, it would highly incentivize someone to start a new company with better conditions, because they could pull in all the workers from the other company.
And look, I’m not saying this is fool proof and works 100% of the time, and I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a healthy amount of regulation. But if you compare this to an economic system where businesses are run by the government, you can simply just be stuck with shitty work conditions and shitty salary, and not be able to do anything about it.
That only works when worker are less replaceable and desperate. Their are a lots of open job positions today but most pay less than the cost of living.
Lots of open job positions is very healthy for the economy, it gives the worker the ability to choose, and it makes companies have to compete. A ton of companies are literally being forced to increase their wages in order to get enough employees.
My concern is that “bad product” to the consumer is mostly a matter of price and quality; environmental impact, legality, and even employee safety rank much lower with the average person as far as choosing where to spend their money. Companies can and do operate for years on the suffering of the lower class in particular, often openly doing so, and still make oodles of money.
Firstly, I think it completely aligns with libertarian principles to regulate environmental impact. If a company pollutes the airs and rivers, that physical affects everybody.
Secondly, yeah, it is sad that many consumers will turn a blind eye to poor working conditions and environmental impact … but I do think there is a limit. And honestly, most of the big companies in our nation are making some attempt to improve environmental conditions, probably because they know that some people will stop buying their product if they don’t. It’s not a lot, but I think the fact that it’s happening at all is some proof that companies can certainly be pressured into doing the right thing without legislation.
What I like about the free-ish markets is that it at least gives you a personal choice. If you don’t want to support a business, you don’t have to. It sucks if other people support it, but let’s be honest, if like 50% of the country wants to support a business that you don’t like, then what can you expect?
That’s fine to disagree. I used to believe this back when I took Econ classes in college, every Econ professor is a libertarian lmao. I just don’t think a free market would punish bad actors. Tons of people turn a blind eye to anything as long as costs are cheap
free market would punish bad actors
The free market punishing bad actors (depending on how we are defining bad actors) is inherently dependent on the morals of the consumer.
Tons of people turn a blind eye to anything as long as costs are cheap
The question would then become: “Whose morals are truly virtuous?”.
Libertarianism also works if there is information about bad people and good people are free to avoid them.
Freedom of information and freedom of action.
It’s easier to avoid bad people in free markets than it is to prevent them from taking and abusing positions of power in a powerful state.
Except freedom of information and freedom of action are two of the first things to die without regulation. Company towns and crooked newspapers are hallmarks of low-regulation.
It’s easier to vote bad people out of positions of power in a powerful state than it is to prevent them from abusing executive roles in powerful conglomerates.
Is it still libertarianism if those freedoms don’t exist anymore? I don’t think libertarians argue for no regulations.
Regarding the bad people, the trick is that bad people don’t look bad, much like captured markets offer the illusion of choice. So it’s difficult to vote them out.
The thing is that we argue different moments in development. You compare the correction of the corrupted states whereas I was talking about maintaining the functioning states.
Libertarianism is a theory espoused to those with good intentions by people that have bad intentions.
It doesn’t work for almost anyone. But it super works for some. That’s the point.
It doesn’t work for almost anyone
You don’t believe that upholding, and maximising individual rights, and freedoms is a net positive?
You’re forcing a black-and-white dichotomy where one does not exist, which is a nice oversimplification that’s the exact sort of thing I’m talking about.
Everyone loves freedom! Like the freedom to:
- pay a child to work in a mine
- schedule workers for 80+ hours a week
- drive without speed limits
- use as much water out of the local river as desired
- dump waste into that same river
- sell unregulated, untested medicine
So obviously there are “freedoms” that mainly serve to infringe on the actual freedoms of others. Those just happen to be the ones that libertarians don’t talk about so much but are really what they’re after.
That’s where operating it using Algocracy comes in.
Yeah the main lesson I’ve taken away from the last decade of cryptocurrency instability, NFTs, and things like algorithmically generated judicial sentencing guidelines that perpetuated the existing racial biases while making them seem more legitimate because “the computer can’t be wrong” is that we should run our whole society with them.
Sure.
Algocracy uses algorithms to inform societal decisions, while Blockchain is a transparent, decentralized ledger system. People often confuse cryptocurrencies with the underlying Blockchain technology, even though they serve different purposes.
Comparing the challenges of Algocracy to the volatility of cryptocurrencies is like assessing the potential of online commerce based on early internet connectivity issues.
Biases in Algocracy are the result of poor design. With meticulous design and continuous oversight, the potential of Algocracy can be fully realized.
Also there’s the fact that nearly everybody’s idea of freedom is drastically different and some people’s freedoms infringe on others.
Also there’s the fact that nearly everybody’s idea of freedom is drastically different
Libertarianism seeks to maximise freedom.
some people’s freedoms infringe on others.
Libertarianism does not, in any way, shape, or form, advocate the idea that one is able infringe on the rights, and freedoms of another without their consent. One should not be allowed to impart a cost on another without their consent, or proper compensation for damages.
What if you think you should be able to enjoy peace and quiet and your neighbour wants to play loud music constantly?
Who’s freedoms do you infringe so the other one can have theirs?
I personally don’t fully agree. Libertarianism just doesn’t work at all. It is not even a complete system from a logical sense. It falls apart when faced with basic scrutiny, or they just theorize a system that’s basically the same as a central government but with a private entity name stamped on it.
It is an ideology stemming from a basic principle, but they sadly don’t seem to think of the entire system as a whole.
hey just theorize a system that’s basically the same as a central government but with a private entity name stamped on it.
I don’t believe that any informed libertarian would advocate for a corporatocracy.
Libertarianism just doesn’t work at all. It is not even a complete system from a logical sense. It falls apart when faced with basic scrutiny
Would you be able to give some specific examples to back up your claim?
I’d be happy to tackle this with you, but just to avoid the frequent “actually, this isn’t libertarianism, this is the other X system”, can you please define libertarianism from your perspective?
The problem is that it doesn’t work even if everyone has good intentions. It needs everyone to agree on what “good intentions” even means.
I think you are possibly confusing libertarianism with anarchism. Libertarianism does not make the argument that the state is well functioning without a central authoritative mediating body – I point you to the model of a Nightwatchman State.
Let’s be honest there are areas that would benefit from less regulation.
(Looking at you housing!)
Let’s be honest, this is simply not true. Regulation acts in favor of the weaker link, no area benefits from deregulation.
Are you kidding me? No area benefits from deregulation?
Regulation in a lot of areas is put in as a protection to businesses already in the space to help alleviate competition. Is Charter/Comcast is out there pushing for deregulation so that small cities and communities can come in and setup their own cheaper broadband services, or are they fighting it tooth and nail?
Does my barber actually need a license to cut hair? Sure you could argue that the barber is technically more hygienic, but that isn’t always the case… it’s just another way to make it harder for me to open up a competing barbershop.
Regulations are made to make sure that businesses comply with the minimum safety and health rules, as well as not actively harming the consumer. So, no, no area benefits from deregulation. Giant companies love deregulation so they can monopolize and/or fix prices. Getting to your barber example: if I’m trying to find a barber, I will surely only look for licensed barbers, as I surely do not want a busted hair job, or to incur in any hazard. Simple as that.
That is a capitalism chasing the bag problem, not a too much regulation problem.
I’m not saying slums… but look around the United States and see what states are monumentally cheaper to build in. Hint. It’s not blue states.
And I say that as a progressive in minnesota.
Blue states are more desirable to live in, thusly increasing demand. Though you’d need an education to understand economics 99, and it seems your state didn’t provide.
I can’t tell if this is sarcasm. The housing market is suffering due to “real estate investors” just buying out and renting houses that used to be non-rental. Investment is driving up the cost of housing significantly. There’s going to be a reckoning as wages are kept down and mortgages keep going up though. Eventually rent to cover mortgages are going to be too high and it’s just going to push out the small time real estate investors, and either more companies will move in or there’ll be a small drop in pricing.
I’ll agree that is A problem, but not the only problem.
- Nimbyism
- Building laws
- licensing laws
- zoning
Those things also add to the exorbitant cost of housing. It’s not investors who are causing houses to cost 300 a square foot in my city, it’s lack of buildable land, contractor availability, licensing, residential zoning laws. All those things equal cost… some of those things could be fixed with less regulation.
I mean, food can be made cheaper with less regulation too, that doesn’t mean that’s the right answer or even a good answer. Most of that stuff you mentioned has been in place for a long time. The more recent blowup in cost isn’t directly related.
You do realize it’s a rich people hoarding land/houses problem, not a building laws problem right?
