• rah@feddit.uk
    ·
    8 months ago

    increasing profit growth at all costs

    You're conflating growth of particular capitalists' wealth, "profit", and growth of the entire economy. Capitalism's goal is profit but profit doesn't depend on growth of the entire economy. There are capitalists who profit even while the economy shrinks.

    OP's meme was referring to growth of the economy, not profit. Again, capitalism doesn't depend on growth (of the economy).

    • QueerCommie [she/her, fae/faer]
      ·
      8 months ago

      Many capitalists are losing their investments when the economy shrinks though, even if some benefit. The system as a whole needs growth, as all the propertied are expecting to continue accumulating constantly, as physical resources dry up, and workers can hardly be exploited any more.

      • rah@feddit.uk
        ·
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        Many capitalists are losing their investments when the economy shrinks though, even if some benefit.

        That doesn't contradict what I said.

        The system as a whole

        The system as a whole isn't capitalism.

        • QueerCommie [she/her, fae/faer]
          ·
          8 months ago

          It literally is though. In the middle ages would you have said "it's not all feudalism, there's actually some merchants too!"

          So the current global market, as counted by GDP isn't capitalism?

          an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

          Oh, wait, you're right. China's socialist, so not the whole international system. Any given imperialist country still relies on growth to keep capitalism alive, though.