this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2023
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Mostly for myself.
The pointing i'm failing to make is you speak of Capitalism the same way others speak of Communism, of an ideal stateof mind where everyone plays nice and does what they're supposed to. But few people do. Most play dirty and don't respect these definitions. Like you say, the imagination is nice, however it's reality that annoys and people come to hate and harm each other when profit is more important that coexistence.
I don't think there is an inherent ethical value ascribed to capitalism...it's just a description of an economic system. It can be good or bad. It's a broad description at that too.
It is apt to say capitalism inherently lacks ethics. And in a world where competition is the main attribute describing society, that lack is what breeds success. Which is why one could even exaggerate and say that capitalism fosters sociopathy. Individuals that grow to lose their sense of ethics are favoured and more likely to succeed in positions of power, while those restricted by their morals are quickly pushed aside. So while we say capitalism can be good or bad, it is more likely that it leans towards the bad.
I defend capitalism because I don't want to live under communism. That doesn't however mean that I'm a huge fan of the status quo either. Ofcourse I want more fair distribution of wealth, and that factories stop dumping waste into rivers etc. What I don't want, however, is that we throw out the baby with the bathwater. I don't advocate for that we just pull the plug on capitalism, whatever that even means. I'd much rather try and fix what's wrong with it with better rules and regulations. Even if you think that's impossible, it still sure is easier that rebuilding the whole thing from the ground up, and thinking you'll succeed on the first try.
Capitalism depends on the selfishness of the individual and their ability to extract the highest value with the lowest cost. Communism depends heavily if not fully on ethics. We are definitely not an ethical people. So you are correct the former is more preferable to the latter, because it's easier to implement. You cannot depend on ethics unless those ethics create the highest value at the lowest cost for the individual. So the key would be to make restrictions that inspire the ethical approach over cutting corners. If that is possible, then whichever system is used, they are more likely to be better than the alternative.