: Look, anyone with any sense of history can see that capitalism has been the best thing to happen to the human race since opposable thumbs.Well, yes, and capitalism has also been the worst thing to happen to the human race. Check out the World Scientists' Warning to Humanity to read the short list of plagues capitalism has aided and abetted. A good, larger source to understand capitalism as an ecologically destructive force is Clive Ponting's GREEN HISTORY OF THE WORLD.
: We produce more goods with less work than ever before. Even the poorest in capitalist countries are much better off than the poorest of the old pre-capitalist empires and feudal states.
Millions are still starving, of course, becuse of an economy that produces a glut of "goods" (some of which, like cigarettes, deserve to be called "evils") but can't use them properly. A quote from Ladislau Dowbor, at the beginning of Paulo Freire's PEDAGOGY OF THE HEART, helps me unsnarl this contradiction:
"Capitalism does not bring us only product, but also forms of social organization that destroy our ability to use it adequately. We powerlessly watch the stupefaction of children and adults in front of the television and the fact that we spend more and more time intensely working to buy more things designed to save us time. By the same token, we see the amazing advancement of available potential, and we are unable to turn it into a better life."
: The question is, what's our next move? We still have pretty bad problems with the environment and with income distribution.
: Why not consider ways of making the current system more fair, rather than some mad revolution, peaceful or not? Wouldn't it be possible to restructure taxes and prices in such a way as to smooth out some of the system's rough edges?
"Making the system more fair" is still a revolutionary idea, because the main source of pride for the operators of the current system is the great efficiency with which they separate you from your money and your work, for the sake of capital accumulation. A system oriented toward fairness and not toward capital accumulation would radically alter capitalism as we know it. Or, rather, such a system would radically alter capitalism as it continues on its current downward slide toward eco-disaster.
: Things aren't perfect. But I'm unwilling to scrap all we've gained so far and start from scratch.
There's no need to do anything in that regard. The current system will scrap itself. All you need to do is... live to see it!
: - nat
None.
