I agree that every effort to humanize capitalism is bound to fail. Rule by the wealthy is a product of the might makes right worldview of our individual and collective infancy. As I like to say, capitalism can't be fixed.
If I understand your argument then, by extension, we should also not attempt to regulate corporations because doing so…
I agree that every effort to humanize capitalism is bound to fail. Rule by the wealthy is a product of the might makes right worldview of our individual and collective infancy. As I like to say, capitalism can't be fixed.
If I understand your argument then, by extension, we should also not attempt to regulate corporations because doing so doesn't address the underlying issues and gives too much power/responsibility to the state.
My view is that we should embrace every attempt to humanize and/or fix capitalism as that is all we are going to get until the day comes that we collectively shake off the delusion that private ownership of the means of production is natural, reasonable, and/or ordained by God. Until then, limiting the damage and ameliorating the suffering is good work. Leaning hard into the public benefit corporation as the preferred model for both entrepreneurship and wage labor is my recommended fix not because it is better than UBI but because I think it is an easier win and because it opens a civic arena within which the peaceful transfer of power from the privateers to the champions of the public good can play itself out.
I appreciate the intentions of anyone trying to make the world better, and I understand the impulse to want to soften the sharp edges of capitalism, and make conditions better for others while it still exists.
However, I fear that attempts to 'fix' or 'humanise' capitalism often end up being absorbed, neutralised or attacked by the capitalist system itself, as if it is an untameable monster or a hydra which regrows a new head if we manage to cut off one of them. It's within its nature to survive on the life-force of humans, and can't exist long without sucking the life out of some of them.
If I was making a choice between who to work for or buy products from then a public benefit corporations might be better, but if they still exist to make a profit and have shareholders then there is a good chance they will be subverted, whatever their original intentions or mission statement.
So on an individual level we have to do whatever we think is best for our own consciences, but in terms of effectiveness I really think that if we want substantial change then all the other causes would be solved faster and more effectively by focusing on building non-capitalist alternatives (prefiguration / dual power / mutual aid).
Thanks for engaging. I agree that building alternatives is essential. As I said, capitalism can't be fixed.
I also agree that, when push comes to shove in the public benefit model, capitalists will never allow profit to be subordinated to the public good. Just as apparently now capitalists are snubbing Anthropic's public benefit vision for AI in favor of companies whose commitment to public safety is less stringent or absent altogether. It still seems beneficial to have that drama play out in a legally defined arena.
And, most people I know are so busy trying to survive in the default world that building alternatives is mostly a utopian daydream for them. Every fix and regulation we can install gives people a bit more breathing room to actually do the richly rewarding yet hugely challenging day-to-day work of prefiguration. 🌼
I agree that every effort to humanize capitalism is bound to fail. Rule by the wealthy is a product of the might makes right worldview of our individual and collective infancy. As I like to say, capitalism can't be fixed.
If I understand your argument then, by extension, we should also not attempt to regulate corporations because doing so doesn't address the underlying issues and gives too much power/responsibility to the state.
My view is that we should embrace every attempt to humanize and/or fix capitalism as that is all we are going to get until the day comes that we collectively shake off the delusion that private ownership of the means of production is natural, reasonable, and/or ordained by God. Until then, limiting the damage and ameliorating the suffering is good work. Leaning hard into the public benefit corporation as the preferred model for both entrepreneurship and wage labor is my recommended fix not because it is better than UBI but because I think it is an easier win and because it opens a civic arena within which the peaceful transfer of power from the privateers to the champions of the public good can play itself out.
I appreciate the intentions of anyone trying to make the world better, and I understand the impulse to want to soften the sharp edges of capitalism, and make conditions better for others while it still exists.
However, I fear that attempts to 'fix' or 'humanise' capitalism often end up being absorbed, neutralised or attacked by the capitalist system itself, as if it is an untameable monster or a hydra which regrows a new head if we manage to cut off one of them. It's within its nature to survive on the life-force of humans, and can't exist long without sucking the life out of some of them.
If I was making a choice between who to work for or buy products from then a public benefit corporations might be better, but if they still exist to make a profit and have shareholders then there is a good chance they will be subverted, whatever their original intentions or mission statement.
So on an individual level we have to do whatever we think is best for our own consciences, but in terms of effectiveness I really think that if we want substantial change then all the other causes would be solved faster and more effectively by focusing on building non-capitalist alternatives (prefiguration / dual power / mutual aid).
Thanks for engaging. I agree that building alternatives is essential. As I said, capitalism can't be fixed.
I also agree that, when push comes to shove in the public benefit model, capitalists will never allow profit to be subordinated to the public good. Just as apparently now capitalists are snubbing Anthropic's public benefit vision for AI in favor of companies whose commitment to public safety is less stringent or absent altogether. It still seems beneficial to have that drama play out in a legally defined arena.
And, most people I know are so busy trying to survive in the default world that building alternatives is mostly a utopian daydream for them. Every fix and regulation we can install gives people a bit more breathing room to actually do the richly rewarding yet hugely challenging day-to-day work of prefiguration. 🌼