this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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What would you do if Capitalism didn't curb your potential and force you to sell most of your time? (lemy.lol)
submitted 1 year ago by matcha_addict@lemy.lol to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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I often daydream about how society would be if we were not forced by society to pigeon hole ourselves into a specialized career for maximizing the profits of capitalists, and sell most of our time for it.

The idea of creating an entire identity for you around your "career" and only specializing in one thing would be ridiculous in another universe. Humans have so much natural potential for breadth, but that is just not compatible with capitalism.

This is evident with how most people develop "hobbies" outside of work, like wood working, gardening, electronics, music, etc. This idea of separating "hobbies" and the thing we do most of our lives (work) is ridiculous.

Here's how my world could be different if I owned my time and dedicated it to the benefit of my own and my community instead of capitalists:

  • more reading, learning and excusing knowledge with others.
  • learn more handy work, like plumbing and wood working. I love customizing my own home!
  • more gardening
  • participate in the transportation system (picking up shifts to drive a bus for example)
  • become a tour guide for my city
  • cook and bake for my neighbors
  • academic research
  • open source software (and non-software) contributions
  • pick up shifts at a café and make coffee, tea and smoothies for people
  • pick up shifts to clean up public spaces, such as parks or my own neighborhood
  • participate in more than one "professions". I studied one type of engineering but work in a completely different engineering. This already proves I can do both, so why not do both and others?

Humans do not like the same thing over and over every day. It's unnatural. But somehow we revolve our whole livelihood around if.

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[–] Mudface@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (18 children)

Why is there so much communist content on lemmy?

[–] darq@kbin.social 20 points 1 year ago (26 children)

Not every criticism of capitalism is communism.

But also, is it any wonder that a platform built without a profit incentive and centred around the concepts of mutual voluntary interaction rather than hierarchical control would attract a more anti-capitalist userbase?

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[–] Zippy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Apparently one of the instances is extremely pro communism.

Even though communism has been proven historically to be detrimental by nearly every metric. Detrimental economically, detrimental environmentally, detrimental socially, and very much against basic human rights.

[–] Mudface@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The pro-communists call normal people the extremists

[–] Zippy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Well they can move to Russia and check out the result of the USSR experiment.

[–] matcha_addict@lemy.lol 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I love how the mere idea of thinking about a better world away from capitalism immediately says "communism!" to you people, and you don't see the irony of it

[–] Mudface@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s pretty obvious by the language you’re using that you’re a communist ‘selling your time to capitalists’ isn’t really very subtle

[–] SynopticVision@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's called "describing the reality of capitalist economy" not "being a communist"

[–] Mudface@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The reality of capitalist economies has turned out to be: Living in the freest and richest nations the world has ever seen. If you’re too hot you can set the thermostat to cool down and if you’re too cold you can just turn the heat up.

You have ample choices for food, leisure and activity. More than anyone else has ever had in all of human history.

You only need to work a fraction of an hour for a meal, instead of all day long (and often working for days on end and not ever bringing home anything to eat)

You’re the most comfortable any human has ever been. Surviving is so easy for you, you feel the need to complain that ITS NOT EASY ENOUGH.

[–] nicktron@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Tell everyone you’ve never had to experience hardship without telling everyone you’ve never had to experience hardship.

Millions of Americans have to choose between feeding themselves and housing themselves. You are hardly the “freest” country, haha. Richest? Sure just like every other wealthy country, the vast majority of the wealth is held by the people who tell you how to live your life.

Get a grip pal.

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[–] irmoz@reddthat.com 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Those advances were not created by capitalism.

They were created during capitalism. Huge difference.

Slavery didn't create agriculture.

Feudalism didn't create brickwork.

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[–] matcha_addict@lemy.lol 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you’re too hot you can set the thermostat to cool down and if you’re too cold you can just turn the heat up.

I sure am thankful for HVAC technology, and the development of science and human technology in general that has been happening since way before capitalism.

You have ample choices for food

I love the agricultural revolution from hundreds of thousands of years ago! And tractors.

You only need to work a fraction of an hour for a meal, instead of all day long

Okay now, pre-industrial societies did not work an entire day for a single meal lmao. That's something you'd see in capitalism or slavery. The vast majority of human history did not involve that much work.

You’re the most comfortable any human has ever been.

Thanks for technological advancements and not-capitalism!

. Surviving is so easy for you, you feel the need to complain that ITS NOT EASY ENOUGH.

What a boomer statement lmao. Isn't it ironic that you complain about other people critiquing society, and lash out in caps lock? What if I told you that people have critiqued society since antiquity? I highly recommend you pick up a book. You'll learn something or two!

[–] iegod@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just a heads up you are both discussing in bad faith and neither of you will make any strides with the other.

[–] matcha_addict@lemy.lol 0 points 1 year ago

You can summarize my argument in two:

  • no, these things are not attributed to capitalism. They were not a direct cause of capitalism. They occurred during capitalism (and some did before).
  • complaining about people complaining about society is not even an argument worth responding to, let alone arguing it's some recent phenomenon when you can easily verify it has happened for as long as we've had writing.
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