this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2023
669 points (80.9% liked)

Showerthoughts

29244 readers
1245 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

Rules

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (5 children)

If we take into consideration the destruction of the ecosystems necessary to sustain human life, capitalism is a net-negative.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They draw the box around the part that is a net positive.

The destruction of the Commons is not accounted for.

The impacts outside their box are not accounted for.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

This is true but not a necessity of capitalism. Pigouvian can put the destruction of the commons back in that box.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s the tragedy of the commons, and you’ll find it’s true for basically every possible societal organization.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

the tragedy of the commons was a bit of British aristocrat propaganda to take the land peasants worked...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Before Capitalism Humanity drove mammoths into exctintion, and that was a hunter-gatherer society.

https://www.earth.com/news/humans-drove-woolly-mammoths-to-extinction/

What I mean with this is that the effect of humanity in the environment is an human issue independent to the economic system issue the humans use.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Incredible that you can say that seriously. Human development and civilization causes ecosystem destruction. The particular economic system may affect the specifics of how this happens not whether or not it does.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Capitalism means always looking for more profits. Endless efforts of private owners to expand and increase their profits leads to the perpetual circle of suproduction and overconsumption which destroy ressources and ecosystems.

This particular system is the main reason it's happening.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Do you honestly think a communist or socialist society which is wealthy would be any healthier for the environment than a capitalist one that is also wealthy?

We have been destroying the planet long before economy was a concept.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A socialist or communist society could be healthier. Not saying it automatically would be. The only people theorizing a sustainable economy are on the (far) left though.

And the last 50 years proved that sustainability is impossible in a capitalist system. It hinders profits, and the basis of capitalism is: always more profits.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

A socialist society would be better for the environment because all the people would starve /s