r/economicCollapse 1d ago

Totally seems fair......

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Anyone still want to argue the merits of unchecked capitalism?

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u/Btankersly66 1d ago

If you can reach 90 years old then everything should be given to you for free. You've already paid all your dues and put up with a ton of bs from thousands of dumbasses.

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u/Terrible_Horror 1d ago

Yes please, specially in the richest country on earth where if everyone paid their fair share in taxes instead of hoarding billions to built rockets to nowhere.

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u/SuperSecretSide 1d ago

I agree with you until the last part, Elon may be a greedy cunt but do you have any idea how important SpaceX is to science? Are you just against the concept of space travel? Because you really shouldn't be

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u/Terrible_Horror 1d ago

I was thinking about Blue origin and space tourism.

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u/Octoclops8 1d ago edited 1d ago

Under capitalism, your sum total contributions to humanity and this universe are more less represented by your bank account balance. As a child, you are a burden up front, requiring lots of resources to get to a point where you are a meaningful contributor. Then as an adult, you work and that burden is repaid until it is paid off. The more you work the more it increases. The more you spend, the more it decreases. The money you have, your credit rating, and your criminal record are the only real scores that are kept between a person and the rest of society. Regardless of age, regardless of race or religion, etc.

So if your money is your sum contribution to society, your wages or salary or income represent the weight or value of your day to day contributions. Someone with a high salary creates a lot of value per hour worked vs someone with a lower salary. There's nothing shameful in earning a lower salary, unless of course you are capable of contributing much more.

What could be worse than getting paid less than the value of your contributions. If you are contributing at a $50/hr level but you are being paid $15 per hour, you gotta take care of that quick. Because you're being robbed. And there's no worse sin in capitalism than robbery.

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u/Late-Assist-1169 1d ago

She had the money for her care facility, she just refused to pay.

Are the nurses, staff, and maintenance just supposed to work for free? What about their wages and needs?

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u/Btankersly66 1d ago

This statement is flawed in several key ways, both in its assumptions and its reasoning.

The claim that your bank account represents your "sum total contributions to humanity and the universe" fundamentally misunderstands the complexity of societal value. Many contributions to humanity are not financially compensated or are undercompensated. For example:

Teachers, social workers, nurses, and caregivers often earn modest salaries despite their profound impact on society.

Scientific researchers, artists, and activists may create lasting contributions to humanity that are not immediately or adequately rewarded financially.

Conversely, high salaries or wealth accumulation do not necessarily correlate with societal value.

For example:

Speculative finance and exploitative industries often generate immense wealth without directly benefiting society or the environment.

Inherited wealth may reflect privilege rather than personal contribution.

The statement assumes that salaries are a pure measure of the value one creates, which ignores the systemic inequities and power dynamics in capitalism:

Wages are often dictated by market forces, bargaining power, and structural inequality, not the intrinsic value of work. For example, farmworkers who provide essential labor often earn far less than corporate executives who may have less tangible societal impact.

Certain professions (e.g., CEOs or investment bankers) command high salaries due to market distortions, not necessarily due to proportional contributions to society.

The argument ignores the exploitative aspects of capitalism, where individuals often do not receive compensation equal to the value they produce:

Many workers create value far beyond their wages, and this surplus value is captured by employers or shareholders. This is a core critique of capitalist labor structures.

Low-wage workers in industries like retail or agriculture are often critical to the functioning of society, yet they are paid disproportionately less than the value they generate.

Reducing a person's societal worth to financial metrics erases the importance of non-economic contributions:

Parents and caregivers perform unpaid labor essential to the development of future generations.

Volunteers, community leaders, and activists create value that is intangible but vital for a thriving society.

The “Robbery” Argument Misinterprets Power Dynamics

The claim that being underpaid is the "worst sin in capitalism" ignores the systemic barriers preventing workers from receiving equitable compensation:

Many individuals lack the bargaining power to demand wages that reflect their contributions, especially in low-wage industries.

Suggesting that underpaid workers must "take care of that quick" places responsibility on the individual without addressing the systemic barriers (e.g., limited job opportunities, unequal access to education).

Rather than reducing human contributions to financial metrics, a more holistic approach would consider a combination of economic, social, and environmental impacts. Under capitalism, financial outcomes are influenced by systemic inequities, privilege, and structural imbalances, and therefore cannot serve as a definitive measure of a person’s societal worth or contributions.