And there is a legitimate conversation to be had about how to best motivate people to do difficult/crucial jobs under socialism. For example, being a doctor is extremely difficult and also extremely crucial. If no one ever had to worry about themselves or their children being hungry or homeless, many people would still become doctors because they want to help others, but some folks who would choose to become doctors under capitalism might choose to do something else.
i feel that this issue resolves itself. i will never take seriously the concern that a significant group of humans will just neglect things which need to be done. that has never been true of any society in the history of this world, it simply is not how our species operates. if we need food, we will acquire food. if we need more medical experts, people will become medical experts. if we need to build a dam, we will build a dam. someone will do it.
just because capitalism has disrupted this process does not mean it won't be true once we dismantle capitalism
i will never take seriously the concern that a significant group of humans will just neglect things which need to be done.
I mean, look at how we "handled" Covid. A huge percentage of the population couldn't be fucked to do bare-minimum stuff like not going to superspreader events. I think we're a lot less responsible than you describe. You can also look at rural America, where there are shortages of all sorts of services, and get a picture of how willing people are to spontaneously provide these things.
Capitalism is surely to blame for a good chunk of this -- if you had your basic needs guaranteed, a lot more people would work in rural America and provide those services -- but I don't think it's entirely to blame. A lot of people generally follow the path of least resistance, and humans have a lot of psychological tools for rationalizing away the suffering of others. None of these are insurmountable problems, but I don't think we can count on them resolving themselves.
This is absolutely a base/superstructure problem created by the capitalist mode of production. Changing the mode of production will in turn change the superstructure of our society and resolve a lot of these contradictions.
For example, being a doctor is extremely difficult and also extremely crucial. If no one ever had to worry about themselves or their children being hungry or homeless, many people would still become doctors because they want to help others, but some folks who would choose to become doctors under capitalism might choose to do something else.
Education and training that's not commodified seems to more than cancel that out, going off how the doctors-per-capita ratio is much higher in socialist states. Attempts at complete wage flattening in the USSR were counter-productive in general, but their primary effect seems to have been indirectly encouraging corruption and semi-legal capitalist activity, not discouraging participation in education or difficult fields like medicine.
Even in Cuba, where the highest income comes from jobs related to the tourist industry, they have the highest number of doctors per capita out of any country.
"for all those who work" gotta love that eugenics vibe. Work will set you free indeed.
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My bad. The "super-capitalism" made me think ancap.
And there is a legitimate conversation to be had about how to best motivate people to do difficult/crucial jobs under socialism. For example, being a doctor is extremely difficult and also extremely crucial. If no one ever had to worry about themselves or their children being hungry or homeless, many people would still become doctors because they want to help others, but some folks who would choose to become doctors under capitalism might choose to do something else.
i feel that this issue resolves itself. i will never take seriously the concern that a significant group of humans will just neglect things which need to be done. that has never been true of any society in the history of this world, it simply is not how our species operates. if we need food, we will acquire food. if we need more medical experts, people will become medical experts. if we need to build a dam, we will build a dam. someone will do it.
just because capitalism has disrupted this process does not mean it won't be true once we dismantle capitalism
I mean, look at how we "handled" Covid. A huge percentage of the population couldn't be fucked to do bare-minimum stuff like not going to superspreader events. I think we're a lot less responsible than you describe. You can also look at rural America, where there are shortages of all sorts of services, and get a picture of how willing people are to spontaneously provide these things.
Capitalism is surely to blame for a good chunk of this -- if you had your basic needs guaranteed, a lot more people would work in rural America and provide those services -- but I don't think it's entirely to blame. A lot of people generally follow the path of least resistance, and humans have a lot of psychological tools for rationalizing away the suffering of others. None of these are insurmountable problems, but I don't think we can count on them resolving themselves.
This is absolutely a base/superstructure problem created by the capitalist mode of production. Changing the mode of production will in turn change the superstructure of our society and resolve a lot of these contradictions.
Education and training that's not commodified seems to more than cancel that out, going off how the doctors-per-capita ratio is much higher in socialist states. Attempts at complete wage flattening in the USSR were counter-productive in general, but their primary effect seems to have been indirectly encouraging corruption and semi-legal capitalist activity, not discouraging participation in education or difficult fields like medicine.
Even in Cuba, where the highest income comes from jobs related to the tourist industry, they have the highest number of doctors per capita out of any country.
Strikes me more as a "from each according to their ability" vibe.
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Guess I disagree with him there. No one should go hungry just because I don't find them useful.
Agreed. We have enough food now, we will always have enough food. No one should ever go hungry, for any reason.
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Lenin obviously made exceptions for the old and young. I think we can make more and dream bigger.
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