Seems like everything good would have been invented by people anyway, and lots of the bad things are done in the name of profits. Maybe they would have also happened in another system, but the point stands.

What, like, Double Stuffed Oreo's? Can we even call those good?

  • garbology [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I think you could argue that industrial-scale production wouldn't have happened without a profit motive. Not sure I'm gonna call that "good"

    • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Not sure I’m gonna call that “good”

      :a-guy:

      I think it's been undeniably good. Look at modern medicine -- it's straight-up magic compared to what existed even one century ago. A lot of that is rooted in industrial-scale production (widespread availability of antibiotics, for instance).

      The problems are:

      1. Who is benefiting from all of this amazing industrialized technology (under capitalism: the few), and
      2. Whether we can keep this amazing industrialized technology from destroying the planet (under capitalism: no).
      • garbology [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        A lot of that is rooted in industrial-scale production

        I'm not opposed to technology or mass production, I was unclear and meant that we could have done the industrial revolution without the filthy slums, black smog belching smokestacks, and meat-grinder factory floors if the profit motive hadn't been the primary concern.

    • Soap_Octopus [any]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      yeah, fair point. all the ideologies really do blur together if you zoom out far enough, tho. like, why did they build the giant pyramids and how is it different than this

      • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        As wasteful as capitalism can be, there's a difference between building an extravagant office/research park and building an extravagant mausoleum. I would rather we direct society's resources towards upgrading the means of production than towards erecting a mountain in a desert.