• Vampire [any]
    ·
    4 months ago

    Marxist theory can give you insights on how to play the capitalist game. If you read it like a psychopath.

    • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      I joke that Capitalists would get the most value (figuratively and literally) from Marx, but are ideologically allergic to the reading.

      • GaveUp [she/her]
        ·
        4 months ago

        I've seen quite a few statements from big Wall St. people who have clearly read Marx

        I think a lot more capitalists understand Marxist theory than most would think

        • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          In principle I agree, but in many ways Wall Street types are Capital's greatest slaves. Since they are dealing with other's money, they also must meet their client's literal unwitting demands. All the analysis in the world won't placate the client screaming "AI! AI! BUY AI!"

          • GaveUp [she/her]
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            Big money managers (large hedge funds and asset management firms like Citadel and Blackrock) make their own decisions/strategies and clients rarely if ever have any input. It's only the small local bank branch types that listen to their clients

            The loud ones (Elon, Trump) are the morons who lucked their way into everything. A lot of quiet ones are really good at intentful exploitation

            • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
              ·
              4 months ago

              What I mean by "unwitting demands" is the implicit "make me more money, or I will go somewhere else" that unconsciously pervades even Blackrock. They don't actually have to physically listen to understand the investment flow is going towards one market or another. They are excellent surfers, but they aren't making the waves.

              • GaveUp [she/her]
                ·
                4 months ago

                Big money makes all the waves and other big money will react to that how they want

                See: SoftBank causing a massive tech rally by buying boatloads of call options

                http://ft.com/content/75587aa6-1f1f-4e9d-b334-3ff866753fa2

          • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
            ·
            4 months ago

            in many ways Wall Street types are Capital's greatest slaves.

            They're really, really not.

            Taking specific job-related actions, which are not particularly demanding and are firmly within the confines of the job you are hired to do, which pays you very well and transfers lots of the spoils of empire to you, and which you can comfortably quit at any time with no adverse consequence, does not make you a slave.

            There are still tens of millions of actual slaves around the globe, people who are trafficked, blackmailed, restricted, or otherwise coerced into labor that they will never be paid comfortably for.

            Let's not dilute the depravity of capitalism with something that may seem vaguely affectively equivalent for a couple hours a day.

      • RNAi [he/him]
        ·
        4 months ago

        Smart vampires do read and understand marxist theory. They apply it to become more powerful ghouls.

        • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          Absolutely agree, but they aren't making the waves they ride. They are still subsumed in the general thoughtlessness of market forces.

          EDIT: When I think of a class that is conscious of Marx, I unironically think of modern China's CCP. When they say they are still transitioning to socialism I believe them. From my standpoint (take with huge grains of salt) is that their program is capturing Capitalism in a kind of Nuclear Reactor. Just enough class antagonisms (capitalist success, hires more workers, worker wages going up incentivize productivity investment, rinse repeat) to increase productivity while using their placement on company boards as a kind of Control Rod to prevent those antagonisms from spiraling into class conflict/warfare.

      • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        4 months ago

        Hillary Clinton gave a speech talking about how we need to seize the means of production back from China.

        • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          Hillary changes her views more often than a chameleon that I wonder if the Lizard People conspiracy nerds are on to something.

          • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            4 months ago

            You need both a public and a private position.

            Her private positions have usually been pretty consistent.

            https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/nor-a-lender-be/

    • Owl [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      I can't remember where, but I've seen Peter Thiel give business advice that's very clearly Evil Marxism.

  • sub_ubi@lemmy.ml
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    Matt Bruenig has a great and short tutorial on personal finance and investing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efr2UORgO2w

    the graphic at 17:30 summarizes the hierarchy of savings (1. Emergency fund 2. employer-matched retirement 3. high-interest debt 4. other tax-advantage accounts 5. low-interest debt 6. taxable brokerage account) - he notes that he and most others will never make it to 6.

    The graphic at 31:00 summarizes common pitfalls to avoid, unless you have a deep passion. 1. individual stocks 2. crypto 3. house flipping/renting (don't be landlord ... for financial reasons!) 4. expensive homes 5. private k-12 education

    • mayo_cider [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      I unironically love federation

      Your post is clearly in good faith so I won't shit post or try to dunk, just so you know this instance is full of tankies and anarchists, investing is antithetical to our beliefs and any post about investing you see from this community is mocking the whole concept

      • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        4 months ago

        investing is antithetical to our beliefs

        I don't believe the Proletariat having a 401k and/or a Roth IRA in order to survive retirement is antithetical to leftist belief, but I am willing to be convinced otherwise. Even Marx speculated in the stock market. Ultimately, Leftists refusing to invest will do nothing at all to further expedite the end of Imperialism and eventually Capitalism, all it will create is homeless leftist seniors (if America lasts that long).

        • space_comrade [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          It's not about doing it or not doing it as an individual, it's about the very concept being ridiculous. It's almost like a magick ritual to people that buy into all the market bullshit.

          • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            4 months ago

            Marx sometimes envisioned Capital as a Real God, in the sense that its will is served regardless of the beliefs or individual actions of those in Capitalism, and in that manner sustains "itself" and ensures "its" existence.

            Of course, this was based in Materialism, it was always a metaphor.

        • mayo_cider [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          For me the difference is between survival and personal gain, those funds are a forced compromise

          • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            So then, where is the barrier? Is this an argument based in Moralism, or Materialism? The Proletariat can and must do whatever it can to improve its own conditions, and in the absence of a state that provides for it, this must be done via the Market.

            I agree that Workers, especially Marxists, should try to reduce their harmful footprints as much as possible. Boycott union busters and supporters of genocide. However, when it comes to retirement savings, there exist no ethical ways to move forward, except to live entirely off the grid and refuse to use banking systems.

            Unfortunately, this can lead to reactionary behavior, a turning back of the clock to an earlier stage of Capitalism. That's why homesteading has a huge fascism problem.

            I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't think it's productive to say investing is antithetical to leftism, considering the context. That would be like saying purchasing video games is antithetical to leftism, as they are for personal enjoyment yet support Capitalists. I try to think in terms of Dialectics and what materially benefits the proletariat, and ultimately if it becomes a matter of purity testing I believe we lose sight of the goals of Communism.

            I dunno, this became a bit of a ramble. I'll end this with a fun quote:

            “The moment anyone started to talk to Marx about morality, he would roar with laughter.”

            • mayo_cider [he/him]
              ·
              4 months ago

              I guess I haven't been clear enough in this thread, I completely agree with you

              Retirement funds are an example of unavoidable participation in capitalism, but that doesn't mean that it's compatible with a socialist world view

              Investing is and will always be antithetical to the immortal science, the goal is to make gains from other people's work

              I have money on pension and insurance funds that use all available investment vehicles to maximize their profits, I have to compromise my values to get a (significant) portion of my produced value back because some libs thought that everyone should be an investor instead of feeding and housing old people as a right

              • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                ·
                4 months ago

                Investing is and will always be antithetical to the immortal science, the goal is to make gains from other people's work

                Yes, in principle, however in the context of the western proletariat who must engage with the market to ensure their own existence, I do not consider it anti-leftist to give investment advice. Only if it supports landlordism or business ownership outright.

                I have money on pension and insurance funds that use all available investment vehicles to maximize their profits, I have to compromise my values to get a (significant) portion of my produced value back because some libs thought that everyone should be an investor instead of feeding and housing old people as a right

                I don't believe this structure is because of Liberal ideas, but an attempt by Capitalists to tie Workers' futures to the same mechanism that enriches Capitalists, therefore reducing revolutionary pressure. This is a consequence of Imperialism, it's an effort to turn the Proletariat into complicit Labor Aristocracy.

                • mayo_cider [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  Yes, in principle, however in the context of the western proletariat who must engage with the market to ensure their own existence, I do not consider it anti-leftist to give investment advice.

                  I completely agree, the whole point I've tried to make in this thread is that A) investment is antithetical to leftist thought and B) most of us are still forced to participate in it

                  If you try to optimize your forced investments, I will look down on you

                  • sub_ubi@lemmy.ml
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    4 months ago

                    So you can have retirement accounts, but moving money in those accounts to a better fund is immoral?

                    • mayo_cider [he/him]
                      ·
                      4 months ago

                      Any capital gains from the work of others is immoral, the forced participation in investments is (currently) unavoidable

                      Billionaires and politicians have addresses

          • RION [she/her]
            ·
            4 months ago

            i really do not understand how you're making that distinction. is it "anything specifically earmarked for retirement" is okay and all other investments beyond that aren't okay? what about college funds for children?

            another point: it's perfectly conceivable to invest for the future outside a retirement account and still use those proceeds for survival. What if you need expensive medical treatment in your old age and that's the only way you're able to pay for it?

            • mayo_cider [he/him]
              ·
              edit-2
              4 months ago

              Oh, if it's for your kids' college fund, invest in whatever you want, they obviously deserve more off the value the workers produce than the workers, they are so cute

              • RION [she/her]
                ·
                4 months ago

                ???? do you think that if someone doesn't invest in a company that share of surplus value is just given back to the worker? it's never going to the worker in the first place under capitalism.

                • mayo_cider [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  do you think that if someone doesn't invest in a company that share of surplus value is just given back to the worker?

                  100% of the value the worker produces belongs to the worker, this is at least my basis for Marxist thought

                  it's never going to the worker in the first place under capitalism.

                  And this is the first reason for our activism, it should

                  • Kolibri [she/her]
                    ·
                    4 months ago

                    I don't know if you have read Marx's Critique of the Gotha Programme, but if not I want to quote this part that feels relevant to what your saying. Mainly just that even under a socialist state, the value produced by the worker isn't gonna 100% belong to them.

                    Do not the bourgeois assert that the present-day distribution is "fair"? And is it not, in fact, the only "fair" distribution on the basis of the present-day mode of production? Are economic relations regulated by legal conceptions, or do not, on the contrary, legal relations arise out of economic ones? Have not also the socialist sectarians the most varied notions about "fair" distribution?

                    To understand what is implied in this connection by the phrase "fair distribution", we must take the first paragraph and this one together. The latter presupposes a society wherein the instruments of labor are common property and the total labor is co-operatively regulated, and from the first paragraph we learn that "the proceeds of labor belong undiminished with equal right to all members of society."

                    "To all members of society"? To those who do not work as well? What remains then of the "undiminished" proceeds of labor? Only to those members of society who work? What remains then of the "equal right" of all members of society?

                    But "all members of society" and "equal right" are obviously mere phrases. The kernel consists in this, that in this communist society every worker must receive the "undiminished" Lassallean "proceeds of labor".

                    Let us take, first of all, the words "proceeds of labor" in the sense of the product of labor; then the co-operative proceeds of labor are the total social product.

                    From this must now be deducted: First, cover for replacement of the means of production used up. Second, additional portion for expansion of production. Third, reserve or insurance funds to provide against accidents, dislocations caused by natural calamities, etc.

                    These deductions from the "undiminished" proceeds of labor are an economic necessity, and their magnitude is to be determined according to available means and forces, and partly by computation of probabilities, but they are in no way calculable by equity.

                    There remains the other part of the total product, intended to serve as means of consumption.

                    Before this is divided among the individuals, there has to be deducted again, from it: First, the general costs of administration not belonging to production. This part will, from the outset, be very considerably restricted in comparison with present-day society, and it diminishes in proportion as the new society develops. Second, that which is intended for the common satisfaction of needs, such as schools, health services, etc. From the outset, this part grows considerably in comparison with present-day society, and it grows in proportion as the new society develops. Third, funds for those unable to work, etc., in short, for what is included under so-called official poor relief today.

                    Only now do we come to the "distribution" which the program, under Lassallean influence, alone has in view in its narrow fashion – namely, to that part of the means of consumption which is divided among the individual producers of the co-operative society.

                    The "undiminished" proceeds of labor have already unnoticeably become converted into the "diminished" proceeds, although what the producer is deprived of in his capacity as a private individual benefits him directly or indirectly in his capacity as a member of society.

                    Just as the phrase of the "undiminished" proceeds of labor has disappeared, so now does the phrase of the "proceeds of labor" disappear altogether.

                    Within the co-operative society based on common ownership of the means of production, the producers do not exchange their products; just as little does the labor employed on the products appear here as the value of these products, as a material quality possessed by them, since now, in contrast to capitalist society, individual labor no longer exists in an indirect fashion but directly as a component part of total labor. The phrase "proceeds of labor", objectionable also today on account of its ambiguity, thus loses all meaning.

                    Critique of the Gotha Programme

                    • mayo_cider [he/him]
                      ·
                      4 months ago

                      A single worker doesn't produce 100% of the value, but 100% of the value is produced by the workers and 0% by the investors

                      • Kolibri [she/her]
                        ·
                        edit-2
                        4 months ago

                        I think you're missing my point. I'm not arguing value isn't produced by the workers. I'm more saying if you think that surplus value is gonna go back into the workers that made it, that not entirely correct. Since as Marx points out, there would be deductions made and such like for the total working class, but someone making surplus-value isn't gonna get 100% of it back. Also to point something else out. Nature is a source of value to just as much as labor is.

                        • mayo_cider [he/him]
                          ·
                          4 months ago

                          Sorry, reading back my reply it sounds way more antagonistic than I intended

                          I agree with everything you said, my point was just that the current investment market is not the same as paying back a portion of the value you produce

                          • Kolibri [she/her]
                            ·
                            edit-2
                            4 months ago

                            Okay, sorry for being aggressive and yea it def. isn't the same

              • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]
                ·
                4 months ago

                lol what a mature way of dealing with active questions that play a factor in our daily life, and could be the thing blocking a parent from being a communist.

                • mayo_cider [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  The parents couldn't be communists if they can't agree with the most basic tenets of Marxism

      • RION [she/her]
        ·
        4 months ago

        investing is antithetical to our beliefs

        curious-marx

        • mayo_cider [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          Are you saying that personal gain from the work of others fits in the socialist world view?

          • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            4 months ago

            Depends, are you a believer in means/ends unification a la Anarchism, or are you more of a Marxist? Socialism will not be brought about by personally abstaining from retirement accounts and whatnot, and the State does not provide enough of a welfare net to avoid this issue. Workers must invest to survive, as they must consume products of Capitalism.

            • RION [she/her]
              ·
              4 months ago

              have been trying to write a reply but both of yours ITT make the point much better than I can stalin-approval

            • mayo_cider [he/him]
              ·
              4 months ago

              The forced participation in the investment market is a way to make people believe like they own capital while only giving back a pittance from the stolen value

              • mayo_cider [he/him]
                ·
                4 months ago

                I'm not saying that having a 401k makes you a bad communist, I'm saying that it's against our beliefs

                • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  4 months ago

                  In the absence of a real alternative, I don't think offering investing advice goes against leftist beliefs. After the Revolution, we can do away with investing altogether. But that Revolution is not yet here, and neither is the welfare of Retirement that brings.

                  • mayo_cider [he/him]
                    ·
                    4 months ago

                    If you are willing to leech from other workers, go for it

                    • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                      ·
                      4 months ago

                      All Workers must leech from each other to survive in Capitalism, so long as it exists, unless their wages are high enough that they may ensure their future subsistence through savings alone.

                      I agree that we must move against it, but participation is a necessary sin.

                      • mayo_cider [he/him]
                        ·
                        4 months ago

                        That's what I've tried to say the whole time, some participation is impossible to avoid, but it's still against the principles

                        • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                          ·
                          edit-2
                          4 months ago

                          My point is more that what @sub_ubi@lemmy.ml was offering initially, ie Personal Finance advice, is the necessary sin. Capitalism has made it necessary that Workers in the Imperial Core engage with it ruthlessly to ensure their own existence, there is no path outside of this unless you earn so much individually that you can avoid it.

                          We agree in concept, but I believe you place more of an emphasis on Moralism. If you're arguing for Means/Ends unity, ie we must live and construct our goals in the same manner presently as we build them to ensure the ends match the means, then that's a separate argument.

                          Marx engaged in stock market speculation for his own personal enrichment. Marx isn't some moral guideline everyone must follow, of course, but it does call into question the position that leftists must avoid basic personal finance strategies.

                          • mayo_cider [he/him]
                            ·
                            4 months ago

                            All the financial guidance they offered lead to marginal gains from the back of the working class, I'd rather fight the people outside of the bucket instead of all my fellow crabs

                            All the basic personal finance strategies they offer force the working class to infighting while the ruling class skim the cream from the top

                            There's a difference between doing what you must and capitulating to the ruling class

                            • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                              ·
                              edit-2
                              4 months ago

                              What is it, to sin? Materially, I mean. Investing in the stock market enriches oneself on the backs of labor, but we must see these movements as aggregates. From the whole of Value contributed, a Proletarian that eventually makes enough to retire has taken back what has been taken from them. Investing for a Proletarian is a means of taking from the system of Capital the value taken from their labor.

                              Individual acts do not exist. Everything is in motion, guided by the past, shaping the future. A proletarian investing in the context of Capitalism is ultimately still contributing far more to Capitalists than they have taken back for themselves. A Bourgeois investor who does no labor and instead seeks accumulation is not the same as a Proletarian who, bit by bit, claws back the Value they have created and had stolen from them.

                              Again, aggregates and totals. A proletarian will not reach the level of their oppressors without extreme effort, and though this sum investment comes from the workers, they themselves are a worker and are clawing back what was taken. You are asking them to not claw anything back, but be beaten and stomped for the sake of solidarity. This mere self-flaggelation is not an act of leftism, but Moralism.

                              Moralism is a dead end, materially. We must all do what we can, but we must acknowledge the Material reality of why Capitalism itself is unjust, yet Marx avoided moral arguments for it.

                              I'll leave this with a great quote about Marx: “The moment anyone started to talk to Marx about morality, he would roar with laughter.”

                              • mayo_cider [he/him]
                                ·
                                4 months ago

                                You either haven't read my posts or are intentionally misreading them

                                There's things we must do to survive, and there's things we can do ignoring the survival and well-being of others

                                If the only way to win is to become the oppressors, we lose by default

                                • booty [he/him]
                                  ·
                                  4 months ago

                                  What you don't seem to be understanding is that no matter how much you nobly refuse to invest in stocks, none of those stocks you're refusing to invest in are going to go to the workers.

                                  • mayo_cider [he/him]
                                    ·
                                    4 months ago

                                    And what you don't seem to be understanding is that none of the money you invest or gain from those investments is going towards the revolution, it's just stolen from other working class people

                                    Capital gains are antithetical to Marxism and I'll fight anyone on this

                                    • booty [he/him]
                                      ·
                                      4 months ago

                                      it's just stolen from other working class people

                                      True, but I'm not the one who stole it from them and no amount of investing will make it so that I am. It was already stolen, and nothing I have the power to do will return it to its rightful owners. However, any value I can extract from it is a little more in the hands of the working class that it was stolen from and a little less in the hands of the ruling class who stole it. That is the least harmful thing I have the power to do with regard to the value tied up in the stock market.

                                • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                                  ·
                                  edit-2
                                  4 months ago

                                  You either haven't read my posts or are intentionally misreading them

                                  On the contrary, I have dutifuly tried to engage as forthright and honestly with you as possible. I respect you as a fellow leftist, I just disagree with your attatchment to Moralism. Sadly, you haven't taken the time to respond to the points I have made, at least not directly.

                                  There's things we must do to survive, and there's things we can do ignoring the survival and well-being of others

                                  Then tie Proletarian's meager investments, which pale in comparison to the oceans of wealth taken from the Proletariat, to ignoring the survival and well-being of others. A proletarian taking a meager bucket back from the wealth stolen from them does not change their position with respect to their fellow Proletarians, nor does it impact the dialectical contradiction between the Proletariat and Bourgeoisie.

                                  If the only way to win is to become the oppressors, we lose by default

                                  Not a single person here is claiming that the path to Socialism is via Proletarians individually investing, neither does investing so that you may eventually retire mean you are no longer a wage slave.

                                  Never forget that Communism is the Doctrine of the Conditions of the Liberation of the Proletariat. The Proletariat will use the tools at its disposal to its advantage, regardless of individuals with "principles" rejecting them. Communism is not a guideline on how to be a proper Worker within Capitalism, but a path to move beyond Capitalism. Harm reduction is good, but focusing on vague, arbitrary levels of acceptability based on nothing other than vibes is missing the forest for the trees.

                                  I think you should step away from the keyboard for a bit, I think you've gotten pretty heated in this thread and seem to be replying to everyone. I think it would be beneficial for you to take a break and come back later, though don't confuse this for me telling you what to do. I don't know what you've got going on right now.

                        • booty [he/him]
                          ·
                          4 months ago

                          I completely disagree. Doing what you must to survive is not against any of the socialist principles that I follow. In a similar way, as a vegan, I don't think it is against the principles of veganism to kill and eat a wild animal (or a fellow human) if you are in a situation where that is literally the only way to survive. Every person, and every thing on this planet, has the fundamental right to fight for their own existence even at the detriment of others, and to me that principle outweighs all else. It is in the absence of necessity that other principles, such as those that say murder is wrong and that it is wrong to benefit from the work of others, come into play.

                          • mayo_cider [he/him]
                            ·
                            4 months ago

                            Doing what you must to survive is not against any leftist principle, but trying to maximize your personal profits from someone else's work is, that's my whole fucking thesis

                            • booty [he/him]
                              ·
                              edit-2
                              4 months ago

                              But maximizing your personal profits is doing what you must to survive, and even then it might not be enough. No matter how efficiently you optimize your investments, at least on my income or equivalent, or (as horrific as it is to imagine) less income than me, one bad ambulance ride can put you into crippling debt from which you will never recover. Under capitalism, you're never secure unless you're literally a capitalist. A worker like me cannot amass enough of a safety net to be 99% safe such that further optimization of income ceases to be justifiable as necessity and becomes unnecessary seeking of profit.

                              • mayo_cider [he/him]
                                ·
                                4 months ago

                                I'm not going to stop you if you want to profit from the work of others, I'm too busy stealing from my employer

                                But it doesn't change the theory, maximizing your personal profits without working for it is antithetical to socialism

            • thoro@lemmy.ml
              ·
              edit-2
              4 months ago

              I don't necessarily disagree and have retirement accounts myself.

              But how do we draw the line between this and buying property to rent to others? Is being a landlord acceptable as a communist if we realize we are forced to participate in the system and need the extra income?

              • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
                ·
                4 months ago

                But how do we draw the line between this and buying property to rent to others? Is being a landlord acceptable as a communist if we realize we are forced to participate in the system?

                Directly and purposefully shifting from Proletarian to Bourgeoisie is probably not a good move for a Communist. Materially, one could become a Landlord and intentionally take no profit, which would benefit the Proletariat, but would merely be charity work within a dying system. Instead, joining a Renter's Union or owning your own home outright is better, the former helping all of your local proletarians and building up power.

                When it comes to investing, it's important to think of aggregates. A Proletarian clawing back some of the wealth stolen from all of the Proletariat does not mean said Proletarian has taken back more Value than they have had taken from them in the first place.

                Finally, we must consider what it means to behave Morally in Capitalism. Yes, we all can and should boycott the worst of the system, but unfortunately, we are forced to engage with it. The only path out is to organize, no amount of self-flaggelation and rejection of wealth will change this process. Moralism is a dead-end, Materially.

                It's a complicated subject philosophically, so you must consider what your goals are, and why. Communism isn't about being the most morally upstanding victim of Capitalism, but a path to eliminate and replace the system altogether.

              • sub_ubi@lemmy.ml
                ·
                edit-2
                4 months ago

                Seems a rather harsh comparison for a state-owned index fund that's operated for the benefit of society!

                • mayo_cider [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 months ago

                  Market socialism is just social democrats in a bad makeup

      • sub_ubi@lemmy.ml
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        You're welcome to dunk, I don't mind.

        Assuming you engage in wage labor (despite it being antithetical to all of our beliefs) and your employer offers you a greater portion of the fruits of your labor via a matched savings account, is it wrong to accept it? I think it's not wrong at all, and workers should accept and make the most of their 401k.

        Bruenig's video is a framework for understanding personal finance from a leftist perspective, or the "personal welfare state" as he calls it. These are things the state should handle, but instead has created a mess of rules we have to decipher.

        • mayo_cider [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          Assuming you engage in wage labor (despite it being antithetical to all of our beliefs)

          I do, and it's not antithetical to my beliefs, it's the only acceptable form of wealth accumulation offered to me right now

          is it wrong to accept that?

          Yes, it's called solidarity

          Bruenig's video is a framework for understanding personal finance from a leftist perspective

          It would work better if they actually had a leftist perspective

          • PauliExcluded
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            Most employers offer a match on 401(k) contributions. For example, you contribute $500 per paycheck and the employer contributes $250. By turning down this money, you are literally letting the company you work for keep extra money that would otherwise go to you. Fuck companies. Accept the match, so they can’t keep that extra money. You worked for it.

            I’m a Marxist and want the downfall of capitalism. However, I’m investing in total market index funds in case capitalism remains the dominant economic system for the rest of my life, because I don’t want to be a wage slave when I’m tired, old woman.

            • mayo_cider [he/him]
              ·
              edit-2
              4 months ago

              You are free to do whatever you want, and you are not a bad leftist if you invest

              But if you claim that you are not going against the most basic principles of socialism while investing is just sad

              • PauliExcluded
                ·
                edit-2
                4 months ago

                The most basic principles of socialism like checks notes letting your employer keep extra value from you by turning down extra money and having to work as a wage slave when you’re 80.

              • space_comrade [he/him]
                ·
                4 months ago

                But if you claim that you are not going against the most basic principles of socialism while investing is just sad

                A whole lot of things in our lives go against basic principles of socialism, not sure how this is that much different.

          • sub_ubi@lemmy.ml
            ·
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            Thanks for explaining. I won't be joining you in the boycott of retirement accounts, but I understand your issue of profiting from other's work.

            • mayo_cider [he/him]
              ·
              4 months ago

              I'm not boycotting retirement accounts, I have one myself, I just wanted to try to explain my ideology

              Thanks for a good faith reading of my comment

      • Chronicon [comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago
        spoiler

        some people here absolutely invest, you see it come up occasionally, always goes along the lines of "well you should at least do index funds for retirement/etc. or you're just losing your money to inflation".

        I've always felt a bit reticent about those style posts. Also the person you're replying to probably thinks of themselves as on the left, given the citing Matt Bruenig. Shame that bruenig actually really sucks (iirc?)

        • M68040 [they/them]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          In an ideal world I wouldn't have to mess around with weird abstract passive income in general since the concept and the means mostly just irritate me, but I do already have a 401k as a job perk and I may need supplementary income.

        • mayo_cider [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          Living in the imperial core it's almost impossible to avoid being involved in investments, be it pension or social security funds

          It's the age old question of ethical consumption under capitalism, personally I draw the line between surviving with the cards you were dealt and trying to gain advantage

      • adultswim_antifa [he/him]
        ·
        4 months ago

        We live in a capitalist economy, at this point it is absolutely dominated by finance and speculation rather than real growth and production, and it is pretty hard to survive long term without investing, particularly if you ever want to buy a house. House prices tend to rise faster than inflation, so you're losing on both inflation and appreciation. I don't think this should be the way it is, but it is the way it is. House prices and the rental market are linked by future cash flows so there's no escaping it unless you are homeless.

        • mayo_cider [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          I'm not talking about survival, I'm talking about principles of the ideology

          Investments are like haram in Islam, you don't wrong anyone if you are forced to it

        • mayo_cider [he/him]
          ·
          4 months ago

          Could be, but I won't assume bad faith if they haven't given me a reason

  • carl_marks_1312 [comrade/them]
    ·
    4 months ago

    I'm ready to get dunked on but here we go

    spoiler

    I'm engaging in speculative trading (meaning: buying and holding stocks for 3-5 years) and betting on the rise of a multipolar world. In practice this mean for me: I pick a stock in the Chinese market that I think will eventually outperform a western company (e.g. EV, semiconductor, fusion, renewables, etc. - actually I picked a company that's on the US blacklist) and buy an amount where I'm ready to lose the money (I'm aware of the privilege) and just hold it. I follow the news mega so I get a good dose of financial press to keep up.

    • asante [comrade/them]
      ·
      4 months ago

      07 to contributing to the fall of the US hegemony and the rise of a multipolar world

    • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      4 months ago

      Check out this person over here, thinking they can be a communist like this. Everyone knows communists need to forsake all wealth and worldly possessions to achieve enlightenment!

      • carl_marks_1312 [comrade/them]
        ·
        4 months ago
        spoiler

        I don't want to go into very specifics for various reasons, but can elaborate on the approach/process and thinking. Also the risk involved.

        We are in decades weeks times and there's a lot of geopolitical shifts happening. This means lots of investment/speculation opportunities. Dialectical and historical materialism let's you understand the laws governing these shifts and helps you find investment opportunities easier™ (This felt soo dirty to type lol)

        Following the news mega and reading the coping and seething in WSJ, CSIS, FT etc. articles in regards to China, reading our comrades very insightful comments to contextualize I have been able to get a sense of what industries are interesting to look at.

        As a starting point I took the US entity list/blacklist of Chinese companies that you're not allowed to trade. Since I'm euro based, this doesn't apply to me so I took it from there. Must be a reason why they're forbidden fruit, right? This is a major risk though. Euros are cucked by US foreign policy and might follow suit. Your assets can be frozen, stock can be worthless, etc.

        First of all it'll require lots of reading and research on the industry/company you'd like to invest in. Find out what they're making and what their strategy is. Also take into consideration what the CPCs strategy is i.e. don't buy evergrande when the CPC has been signaling not to

        Once you have a pick (ideally basket of picks to diversify risk), stick with it for 3-5 years. Any news that comes out will have a major impact on the stock price, so you'll need to have nerves of steel. You're not doing day trading after all (which is pure casino).

        There's significant financial risks involved, so be prepared to lose it all. Just look at the Russian sanctions how far things can go. The geopolitical rift between china and the US is heating up so never know how it can go.

        Good luck stonks-up

          • carl_marks_1312 [comrade/them]
            ·
            4 months ago

            Unless you look for companies that are not on the blacklist but in a geostrstegic industry. You'd still have the risk that they could end up on the blacklist..

  • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    4 months ago

    Kinda? The Proletariat in western countries is forced to invest to retire, unless you can get pensions or a large safety net. The stock market has already been "solved," the answer is broad market-cap weighted globak funds with low expense ratio. Anything else is mysticism and gambling.

    • barrbaric [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      Yep, invest in index funds. If the entire market crashes, then either a) you have much bigger more immediate problems or b) we just did communism.

  • M68040 [they/them]
    ·
    4 months ago

    I'm skeptical that one could, but intrigued one may.

  • allthetimesivedied [they/them, she/her]
    cake
    ·
    4 months ago

    Tbhbbq if it generates income, which can be spent on Good™️ stuff, and doesn’t hurt anyone in the process, I don’t have a problem with it—like that brief moment in time I had $4,000 and I spent close to $1K just giving money to my other homeless friends, including helping my junkie friends stay well here and there.

    • Allero@lemmy.today
      ·
      4 months ago

      The communist investment is you and your friends buying out a factory and just working there

      Workers' ownership of the means of production!

    • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      4 months ago

      Basically the point I am trying to make, Workers clawing back their stolen value from the stock market is fundamentally different from mass accumulation from the bourgeoisie.