So the act of commerce is ethical but the source of the commerce might not be? I feel like I’m being really obtuse here and I apologize but goods and services could be stolen or forced and rarely is legislation enough. But I can totally see two unknowing people engaging in trade at their free will for items they don’t know are stolen.
I feel so pessimistic about the world at times that I find materialism and ethics just don’t mix.
Commerce deals with the distribution of value, production with the creation of it. So let’s say there is a widget factory. If one person “owns” it and thousands work to make widgets, their production is stolen through ownership, which causes deeper issues beyond the obvious as well.
Commerce doesn’t cause problems as it’s just resolving a situation of swapping the widgets you made for carrots. Barring some market-twisting forces like the stock market for example, a simple free market where you’re happy with the amount of carrots you get for the amount of widgets you get is fine.
The evil of capitalism is not that you can trade. The evil of capitalism is that you go to work, and receive a fraction of the product of your work while someone else who does not work at all receives a lot of it.
Technically the current capitalist western system would be socialist, if employment without ownership would be outlawed, and coops were the enforced norm.
I think you’re making a discussion into a spit fight for the sake of feeling better about yourself. I ask because I want to understand and for no other reason.
I think the ethical part may have to do with the following from Wikipedia on commerce:
The diversity in the distribution of natural resources, differences of human needs and wants, and division of labour along with comparative advantage are the principal factors that give rise to commercial exchanges.
I do not see how the commercial part is necessary for the distribution of goods though and recognize it as the main culprit in making such a system unethical. I.e., supplying needs is good and necessary, however a commercial platform is not.
We need to stop attempts to normalize the system that requires grind/hustle lifestyle to exist
Most people are killing their selves being killed by said system, that demands third jobs and to share apartments because those at the top need another yacht.
People aren’t “work-a-holics.” They ain’t there because it’s their dream. They’re there because they need absurd amounts of money to survive in this neoliberal capitalist dystopia.
Those that say they rise and grind and love it are faking it til they make it. They’ll never make it, and will fake it to the grave.
I think both are true. I know plenty of people that take absolute undeniable pride in working 50-70 hour weeks every week and never taking a day off. It’s like their life’s defining characteristic.
I remember in college we took a course on economic efficiency and the short takeaway is “the free market is extremely efficient, but only when the competing parties start with equal resources. the more inequal the starting position, the less efficient the market becomes.” and to my mind that suggests that we should enforce some sort of “rubber-banding” effect so that a company needs to keep competing or else it will “drift” back to the mean over time. Something like aggressive taxes on the uber-rich and comprehensive welfare for the poor, y’know? Capitalism but with safety guards would be pretty cool.
Something like aggressive taxes on the uber-rich and comprehensive welfare for the poor, y’know?
This is why aggressive estate taxes are so incredibly critical. People shouldn’t be professional descendants. And of course welfare provides both ladder and safety net. The fools who are trying to abolish one or both are working against social mobility.
Afraid to say this but that college course was capitalist propaganda. When you look at the actual facts it points to capitalism being trash in every metric except cancer-like growth for the sake of cancer-like growth, which of course it’s good at because that’s what it was designed for.
I’ve worked for the government both as an employee and a contractor. I’ve also worked for small and large companies. The government was by far better at accomplishing the actual objective / product. The worst government entity I worked for though was a city government. Those are terrible.
seeing the incumbent party in my home country watering down environmental protection rules to benefit(and later benefit from) crony capitalist friends even as they persecute activists, I think it’s over.
We are 100% going to suffer, but I think we can still survive as a species if we act quickly.
If worst case scenario comes to fruition it would be sweet to at least not let those bastards live to 100 and die peacefully in their sleep, on their cozy air conditioned beds.
The problem is you can’t get people to organize and work together if everyone is worried about where to get their next meal. Hell, people can barely even do that now; how much more when that time comes.
This is too negative. We are making some progress (mostly despite governments). Kurzgesagt has a great video on this that is both based on fact and somewhat hopeful: youtu.be/LxgMdjyw8uw?si=K4oUpRAHbGro18We
Legitimately, though: I listened to my sister tell her 4-year about “yummy spices” at Thanksgiving. The example she used was “like salt!” I was horrified.
She also made & brought the absolute worst green bean casserole I have ever tasted in my life. It was like wet, crunchy green beans covered in French-fried onions (which came from a can, which is why it’s pretty much the only thing she got right).
She used “no added salt/sodium” cream-of-mushroom soup, the green beans, and the canned fried onions, and added nothing else.
I love green bean casserole, as it’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods. Even offered to make it for everyone this year! But she insisted that she wanted to do it.
The only thing that was salty this Thanksgiving was me.
Salt is just a major part of their cuisine/flavouring
It’s not exclusive to Japan if you’re worried about stereotypes but they tend to celebrate it more than other countries that look to burn your mouth off
I wish someone would’ve told me this earlier. I got into it just wanting to make a little cash by selling that salt rock. Now look at me; I can’t even enjoy some chicken if doesn’t have at least 9 different herbs and spices.
All of you using adblockers are pathetic. You’ll willingly deprive companies of their revenue just because you can’t be bothered to see a few ads? It’s not like ads are harmful or anything!
…hang on I think porn just started playing on my computer I have to find where the popup is and close it… Right after I close this other popup that says I’ve won 69 trillion dollars, and this one for dick pills, and this one for free vbucks, and this online casino one, and that one saying I have 420 viruses on my PC, and this one from the local fringe religious group that says I’ll go to hell if I poop, and this one that straight up looks like it’s trying to download ransomware, and… Damn my battery just died from all the extra processing power those popups needed. Uh but adblock is still evil though, don’t forget that.
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