Capitalism
A Clash of Titans - Marx vs Paine
Submitted by Clinton Alden on Fri, 08/30/2024 - 6:51amMarx's Oversight of Thomas Paine's Moral Virtue and the Impossibility of a Stateless, Classless Society.
What Marx Overlooked
Karl Marx's vision of a stateless, classless society, as articulated in his works on communism, stands as a revolutionary blueprint for an idealized form of human organization. Marx’s theories advocate for the eventual dissolution of the state and the class structure, based on his critique of capitalism and his belief in historical materialism.
However, a critical examination of Thomas Paine’s arguments in "Common Sense" reveals a significant aspect that Marx overlooked: Paine's identification of a fundamental defect in moral virtue that necessitates the establishment of government in the first place.
This oversight reveals a potential flaw in Marx’s ideal of a stateless society, suggesting that such a society might be inherently unachievable due to the nature of human morality and social organization.
The ProWar Playboook
Submitted by gjohnsit on Wed, 07/26/2023 - 12:49pmStep #1: Wealthy capitalists identify public assets that they want to steal (see banana wars in early 20th Century, Iraqi oil 2002, Ukraine right now).
Step #2: Independent Media ignores Step 1 until years after war ends.
Step #3: MIC PR kicks into gear demonizing opponent, including xenophobia, often years before war starts (Russia 2013 to now)).
Why capitalism has doomed us all to more and more war
Submitted by gjohnsit on Sun, 06/18/2023 - 5:32pm
As this video shows, wars are extremely profitable.
Before capitalism
Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/26/2023 - 1:31pmAsk almost anyone, and they will tell you that people in the past lived lives of brutality, poverty, and short. It's only with capitalism that people's lives began improving. Right?
Well, actually no. Not even close.
Capitalism and climate change: a summary
Submitted by Cassiodorus on Sun, 01/08/2023 - 3:11pmJust three days ago there was an open thread on climate change here at C99%. At any rate, climate change isn't going away, regardless of how fiercely the local Barnes and Noble outlet promotes the newest fashion in climate denial.
Open Thread - 12-09-22 - The Pendulum
Submitted by JtC on Fri, 12/09/2022 - 8:46am
My generation. Born of world war. Born of a conflagration so great it caused humanity to pause and reassess itself. Standing on the brink will do that. My generation was born of the "greatest generation", and was weaned by middle class affluence. It was one of those times in history when the pendulum swung in favor of the common man. It was a time when capitalism worked, and not just for the wealthy. Capitalism had prevailed over communism. It was that dualism that gave birth to my generation. Enlightened pols had gone against the grain of opulence and levied hefty taxes on the rich that paved the way for decades of prosperity. That prosperity defined my generation, but it also set us on the trajectory to the present.
How capitalism is causing a global famine
Submitted by gjohnsit on Sun, 10/16/2022 - 1:22pmDavid Beasley, the Chief of World Food Programme, warned that “a wave of hunger has turned into “a tsunami”.
Friday is Meme Day
Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 07/29/2022 - 7:23pm
Let's all rejoice in this "uplifting" story below.
Capitalists no longer need or want democracy
Submitted by gjohnsit on Wed, 07/13/2022 - 3:11pmIn the middle ages nations used to default on their debts all the time. The reason is because the major banks of the days lent money to the monarchies, not to the nations themselves.
