Is there an alternative to capitalism?

[8wid]

Watch Star Trek and you'll know there is an alternative to capitalism.

 

[Marvolo]

Most states get money from the Fed Govt., which basically is a socialist practice because that money comes from the U.S. as a whole. Without it they wouldn't be able to function for the most part.

So, what's the solution? I'm really not sure what will work in the long run; and guess what; nobody is. There has NEVER been a country like the U.S.A. in all of history. We are basically breaking new ground every day. We ARE a post industrialized nation. What now? Basically nobody knows. Everything is just a guess.

My thoughts on what would help the current economy? We need to start a Moon and Mars race all over again. Ever heard of Lewis Black's "Big F***in Thing" project. That's what we need to put people back to work; one common long term goal that cannot be accomplished completely in many generations. We have built a nation; the nation building is now over. It's time to move on to building something else.

A project to get large-scale Moon bases and serious manned flights to Mars on such a massive scale as to need lots of manufacturing of goods, parts. So massive that it would need 100 million + workers for the foreseeable future to work. This could breed massive competition around the globe just like in the 60's. Sadly, the only thing that will probably make this possible is if some fossil fuel-like energy source was located on Mars. Just my thoughts on a few things I've been pondering on for a while.

I, personally believe that we are headed for a major revolution in the next 15+ years, especially if the classes continue to move away from one another. I also believe it could be diverted if we would look toward a "global" sized project/problem/issue that needs us all to come together to explore/fix.

Wait, I think I just heard on CNN that there is possibly water and an "energy" source better than oil on Mars....pass it on.

A common goal would help us. Finding one in this day and age seems impossible tho. And I myself have also felt for a long time that there is a revolution coming in this country. The status quo can't hold forever.

 

[Destructus86]

We need a system that greatly supports small business while making large companies more accountable for their actions. Less jobs going overseas and more jobs for the people.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Socialism seemed to be working in Europe until the Euro debt crisis.

 

[Axl Van Sixx]

Socialism seemed to be working in Europe until the Euro debt crisis.

European "socialism", when you get right down to it, is still fundamentally capitalist because the commanding heights of the economy remain in private hands. Being a mixed economy with a strong social safety net is not socialism when private interests still make the most significant decisions in the economy.

Watch Star Trek and you'll know there is an alternative to capitalism.

I think that's one reason I'm more of a Star Trek fan than a Star Wars fan. Also, because outside the original trilogy there's not a lot to love in the official SW canon.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Also, because outside the original trilogy there's not a lot to love in the official SW canon.

Why do you gotta rub salt in the wound

 

[demitri_vampiro]

Socialism is probably one of the most idiotic forms of an economic system that man has ever created. It's laughably hilarious that people actually believe in it. Utopia will never, can never exist. When people get that fantasy out of their head then Socialism would no longer exist. The only reason Socialism still has any relevance is because the people with hardly anything dream to have more. Despots come in and promise to give them that. Look at all the Socialistic countries in the world from the past and the present.

thats where you are wrong. socialism is a very good system. in the past it never got a fair chane, because it was boycotted by the US. and even if utopia will never exist, that doesnt mean you shouldnt strive for it so one day you can get as close to it as possible.

 

[Axl Van Sixx]

thats where you are wrong. socialism is a very good system. in the past it never got a fair chane, because it was boycotted by the US. and even if utopia will never exist, that doesnt mean you shouldnt strive for it so one day you can get as close to it as possible.

Hells yeah. t:

Wish Francis Fukuyama could read this column...

The Revenge of History

“Marx was right!” For Marxists, this is not a particularly profound revelation. We have long known that the German revolutionary's analysis of capitalism was as fundamentally sound as the capitalist system itself is fundamentally unsound. But let's face it: for decades, we've been in a small minority, fighting against the stream and against the odds. After spending a long time in the “wilderness,” that is beginning to change. The fact that the more serious capitalist economists are forced to admit the correctness of ideas they once ridiculed is an important symptom of a transformation in public consciousness./(Editorial for Socialist Appeal USA Issue 65/)


This is confirmed by a Pew Research Center poll which found that 49% of Americans between 18 and 29 favor socialism, versus 43% who view it unfavorably. The poll also found that 55% of African Americans have a favorable view of socialism. In other words, those with the least to lose under capitalism are the most open to a new form of society, a society based on genuine democracy and equality of opportunity for all.

Because in the final analysis, Marx has been proven “right,” not in the abstract, not in the halls of academia, but in the living experience of millions of working Americans. Five new research studies have confirmed what we’ve instinctively known all along: not only are the rich getting richer, but they are more likely to stay rich. As for the “less fortunate” members of our society, not only are they getting poorer, but the vast majority aren’t climbing the “golden ladder” out of poverty no matter how hard they work or tighten their belts. These studies explode the perverse and pervasive myth of American “upward mobility.”

With no future under capitalism, hundreds of thousands of Americans from all walks of life erupted into the streets and “Occupied” hundreds of cities from coast to coast. The movement has temporarily retreated in most parts of the country. In spite of its creativity, hard work, and sacrifice, Wall Street continues to dominate the country and the planet. However, the experience of the last few months has not been for nothing. As Occupy activists reflect on their experience, many are discovering that the problems we face today are the same ones faced by workers over 160 years ago when Marx and Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto. By studying these and other classic writings, a new generation is coming to a better understanding of how and why the world is as it is, and more importantly, how we can change it. There is a growing thirst for ideas and knowledge. No wonder www.Marxist.com had a record number of visitors last year. No wonder David Harvey’s online video lectures on Capital are being studied by thousands.

Like a glowing ember, the Occupy movement is smoldering, waiting for a fresh breeze of the class struggle to fan the flames. If the labor movement joins its colossal forces with Occupy, a truly unstoppable movement could be born, both on the streets and in politics. The Arab Revolution, which began just one year ago, is also a bed of glowing coals, which can burst back into open flame at any moment. The same goes for Europe, where the crisis is far from over. The world is full of combustible material. As the saying goes, “watch this space!”

Here in the U.S., we have well and truly entered the hypocritical circus of the absurd otherwise known as the 2012 electoral cycle. On the one hand, the “anyone but Romney” Republicans are falling over each other to accuse Mitt of being a “corporate” politician—as if they were any different. On the other, the Democrats are working furiously behind the scenes and leaning on the unions in an effort to co-opt the Occupy movement. They even use the same language, calling on a vote for the Democrats as a way to “occupy Congress for the 99%.” To this cynical attempt to derail the movement we say: “Occupy Congress and the White House with a labor party! Fight for socialist policies!”

So yes, Marx was right about the capitalist crisis. He is getting his “revenge” and the last laugh. But he wouldn’t be satisfied with this. After all, Marx also understood that the struggle between the classes would eventually lead to the revolutionary transformation of society and the end of class exploitation once and for all. Once the working class majority has gained political and economic power, once society is organized on the basis of collective needs and not private greed, a whole new world of opportunity opens up. Therefore, to truly prove the correctness of Marx’s ideas, we must continue building the forces that can ensure this revolutionary transformation takes place. As the WIL enters its 10th year of existence, we invite you to join us in the struggle for a better world. There is no time like the present to make Marx’s ideas a reality.

 

[Axl Van Sixx]

Al-Jazeera > American media

Being a Communist in 2012

It is precisely in its great weakness as a political force that communism can be recuperated as an authentic alternative to capitalism. But the fact that it has virtually disappeared from Western politics, that is, as an electoral programme, does not imply it is not valuable as a social motivation or alternative. The point I wish to make is that being a communist (or a protester) today is not only necessary given the existential threats posed by capitalism, but also actually possible because of the failure of Soviet communism.

I also like this quote from the comments section:

Most of human history is spent in a state of communism – “primitive communism” by Marx’s terminology. Nearly all hunter-gatherer’s societies are communist societies, as well as innumerable number of small religious communities throughout history.

Most relationships between family members, friends and lovers are quite communist in strictly Marxist sense even on the Wild West. When you mother bakes you an apple pie and doesn’t send you a bill it is very communist of her. You probably don’t know what communism is all about.

The sticky point in our discussion is your “worked better” phrase. Worked better for what? Creating cars? Creating bombs? Creating sustained equilibrium? Creating stable families? Creating human happiness?

I grew up in communist society and after living more than 20 years in the US I miss many, many aspects of it. It was not all rosy, by any stretch of imagination, but people were incomparably closer to each other and that what mattered most. The problem with communist societies was that they were not communist enough.

 

[redhawk23]

The vast majority of human history was absent of the concept of property. To say that capitalism is "human nature" is preposterous.

That we interact is natural. The various ways we choose to interact are just that, a matter of choice, a social construction, not predetermined by some "natural" order.

 

[Axl Van Sixx]

The vast majority of human history was absent of the concept of property. To say that capitalism is "human nature" is preposterous.

That we interact is natural. The various ways we choose to interact are just that, a matter of choice, a social construction, not predetermined by some "natural" order.

Damn! Great comment. It's refreshing to see people take a critical look at capitalism when too many who would benefit from its overthrow are unwilling to look beyond it.

Almost every time I get into an argument about capitalism on this forum, people like to say that "communism doesn't account for human nature" - which implies human nature is to be greedy and selfish. What an insult to the human race!

People forget that capitalism has not existed forever and that there were other modes of production before it. It is not the be-all, end-all: there are other ways of organizing an economy. Anyone who thinks that the current cluster**** of a system we live under represents "the end of history" should have their head examined. For the vast majority of the human race, capitalism offers nothing but poverty, hunger, war, inequality, and environmental destruction.