View Single Post
Old 07-03-2007, 11:53 AM   #3
Undertoad
Radical Centrist
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Cottage of Prussia
Posts: 31,423
OK! PH I think you are not railing against Capitalism, but against other various aspects of life: the daily grind, and your perception that people are behaving incorrectly according to what you feel is best.
Quote:
I have learned that it is pointless to look down on people that disagree or live a different lifestyle than me
But you will find that you are continuing to do this. In fact, it's the entire nature of your post: other people's faulty choices.

Quote:
It is much more efficient to focus on all the needs (I am not talking about basic needs, but all non-superfluous items) of people and not flooding them with unneeded consumerism.
Where "unneeded consumerism" is people choosing what they will choose when given a choice, and other people working to provide that for them.

You have now assumed that your neighbor's choices are not only inferior, but that they are harmful to society. But rather than "look down" upon him you suggest that the entire system within which he has been given this choice is incorrect. Maybe that's the long way around?

Before we even get to that point in your sentence, you've already said
Quote:
It is much more efficient
"Efficient" is sort of a key word in economics. Market efficiencies practically define Capitalism. It locates every efficiency it can. In fact Capitalism has spawned such mass "societal" efficiencies from time to time. You can collude with others to form a group to make purchases, if you can determine a more efficient way to do it than the people who want to sell you such things. For example, the AARP creates group plans for just about everything it cheaper to buy in bulk. But they will only do it for financial instruments and anything not physical product -- they don't sell AARP tires -- because Wal*mart and other such retailers have already mined every possible efficiency in buying in bulk, moving goods to people and selling it to them.
Quote:
Humans have evolved to be very social creatures that are focused around a community. We get our basic morals from society, we are happiest when we are close to others, we are altruistic, and there are many other reasons why humans work best with a community focus.
Speak for yourself.

And it's funny, you know, most people who self-describe as "socialists" really, really hate other human beings. Don't take my word for this, talk to them: the armchair socialists. They'll give you a half-hour on why public transportation is crucial, but they will not have taken a bus more than a handful of times, even if they live in an urban area. And if you ask them about the experience they will tell you how horrible it was. Public solutions yes; but the fucking public is intolerable.

(too long, continued in next post)
Undertoad is offline   Reply With Quote