I think it's weird to think how democracy is so highly valued especially in developed nations, and yet the economic system---the system that dictates most areas of our lives---is not democratized
Would this be like Dutch democracy where redistribution occurs? Or like American? Because we are technically a representative democracy which is entirely separate from an individual free marketplace.
@@dailyright The economic system is authoritarian. Capital is held by the few, and they have all the power when it comes to the economy. So a supposedly democratic country where the politicians are bought out and bow down to the authoritarians in the economy. That's what's so weird about the economic system in America, for all the freedom we claim to have, the economy is authoritarian.
Yes and it would also be fascinating to see what would occur in a capitalist system with no government regulation or interference I’ve often wondered if without government bailouts and subsidies etc would provide higher wages since goods would have to actually cost what they cost to produce, I remember reading the Polland book “Omnivores dilemma” and he outlined how much a bushel of corn actually cost to produce vs what it is sold for due to subsidies
I love when poverty is defined by the exact amount you need to survive. As if we wouldn't call someone poor just because they haven't died of poverty yet.
Well, its what is called Absolute poverty, there's also another term called Relative poverty, which is defined as the line below which people do not get access to needs deemed easy to acquire by societal standards
Except it's not even that, because any non-commodified or public good, any informal income that helps makes ends meet is discounted. Yet worse, prices of products that don't at all affect an impoverished person's ability to support themselves are counted. The prices of diamonds and ferraris count towards the poverty line just like food and water.
There is also another massive problem with statistics 'measuring' GDP in non-market economies. If a commercial farmer grows a thousand bushels of wheat and sells that to an industrial bakery, that economic transaction is recorded and feeds into the nation's gross domestic product statistics. If, however, a family of subsistence farmers grows a hundred bushes of wheat, threshes and grinds that into enough flour to last them a year, that activity is not recorded and catalogued within GDP. An 'advanced' market economy will always appear wealthier than a pre-capitalist non-market economy where people are self sufficient.
Guys it's easy, a system has to be predicated on transparency, logical thought, and good faith. . None of these words Like socialism or capitalism mean anything in a non transparent system....... But we all know that already. After this years end the world will know (complete data sets for algorithm that run systems will be exposed) its all of our fault.
Add traditional women’s work nurturing children and running households, unpaid and therefore devalued by capitalistic metrics, so much actual value is exploited while simultaneously being ignored as having none.
@@colinburns8854most people in the world depend on it. in Eastern Europe, especially Bulgaria, if you live outside cities and don't use your land to grow some food like tomatoes you won't make it through the winter.
If anyone is hopeless, don't be, don't give in to what they want. All acts of resistance no matter how small are a step in the right direction. You are billions
@@katarinalacorporatization too. Recently my Government in the UK held an election. In this election labour won by a landslide taking hundreds of constituencies from the more right wing Conservative party. People generally felt dissolutioned, even hard-line conservative voters due to countless terrible decisions, like Brexit, that contributed to an economic crisis Britain is still currently stuck in. What was concerning is those right wing voters voted in favour of a new party headed by the absolute joke of a human being, Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage is the previous leader of the party UKIP, now legally called "UKIP Ban all illegal immigration". He was the representative for the UK in the EU and would regularly miss EU summits due to holidays in France or elsewhere in Europe. Perhaps the most politically serious thing he's done can be found by searching "Nigel Farage big chungus". Reform is a limited company - a corporation. They do not have donors, they remove that middleman and have shareholders. People are voting corporations. Labour votes have dropped by a few million votes in a continuing trend. Labour did not take right wing seats, unilateral dissolution of the conservative party have let reform make massive gains. Splitting the right wing vote, allowing a labour victory. Nigel Farage described Reform as a party filling the centre right. They are not. Reform is the far right. But worse than that reform does not exist to serve the country. It exists as a company. It exists to make money. The worst case is that in 2029 the conservatie party will have merged with Reform, consolidating a growing right wing voterbase, and the UK becomes a nation explicitly ruled by Corporate interests (not that it isn't already with influence from oil, pharmaceuticals, and the US) with the public voting them in despite wearing that openly. Imagine the precedent set. The public welcoming a corporation to be their government. Multiple times Nigel Farage has taken milkshakes to the face. It would be terrible if something a little more hazardous were to be thrown at him. Not that cutting off one head kills a hydra. It adds a new meaning to the reformation Vs revolution debate though
@@stevecarter8810 Rich people should be scared of socialism. They work hard for their success. Why should they have to give their hard earned dollars to somebody that hasn't earned it?
@@devinstucky6948 I think you missed my point. When taxpayer money bails out banks or other companies "too large to fail" then they are suddenly dropping their free market idealism for "the good of all". i.e. the banks are suddenly advocating for a socialist solution to their free market screwup.
@@devinstucky6948But that's not how socialism works. Profits are privatized and losses are socialized. A huge bureaucratic system keeps the status quo.
@@peekaboo1575 I'm sure if you gave a huge bureaucracy the power to socialize and allocate funds that they totally wouldn't abuse that for their own selfish gain... As they totally never did in various actual real world examples... And that said bureaucracy would totally stay efficient... What the US and many other countries are seeing, is the result of failing capitalism because they don't actually follow capitalist doctrine. There is too much lobbying, too much regulation (regulation that prevents small businesses from competing with government-made monopolies.) To say that's the fault of capitalism... Well that's like saying the USSR proves communism doesn't work. They didn't actually follow the doctrine, but they still used it as a power grab and as a rallying point. All it really did is prove that there are plenty that seek to use communism and socialism for selfish means. Could the same not be true for those who claim to be capitalist? Could they perhaps not be following capitalist doctrine just as Stalin and Mao didn't follow the communist manifesto exactly? Whether or not the manifesto is good doesn't matter for this point, because the point is that there are so many factors outside of the manifesto that influenced things that it's dishonest to make a blanket statement about its usefulness. And as such, critiques of it cannot be formulated based off of end results alone, because there needs to be discussion and understanding of the actions that lead to said results, not just "ooh monopoly appeared, capitalism don't work" or "haha people starve socialism no work," you can argue certain intrinsic principles of each system lean towards one effect more than the other, but there needs to be an actual analysis, not a God-of-the-gaps fallacy every time. (Even though technically socialism is worse with monopolies because the state is the monopoly and it is state mandated... In capitalism monopolies are usually state lobbied.) To point at what is happening now and scream "late-stage capitalism!" That completely ignores government corruption and the variety of factors that contribute to all of this, that would just as easily destroy any one of these people's socialist utopias... And has destroyed them in the past. There is a lack of accountability. And I'm sure that the powers that be are thrilled we are sitting here screaming about which economic system is the boogeyman, while completely ignoring the fact NEITHER will ever work under the corrupt leadership that is able to twist either system to their liking. Even if we converted to socialism tomorrow, the oligarchs would not care because they could still game the system in their favor. And guess what? The governments are in on it.
I always loved self-regulating systems. Originally from engineering, these systems can be found in sociological environments as well. An example: Split a piece of cake between two children fairly. If you do it, they will complain abut you not being fair, regardless of what you do. To avoid this, you present them with a knife and say: "one of you cuts the piece and the other one is first in line to choose one of the halves". The child cutting the cake is now forced to think, assuming that the other one will take the larger one if the halves are not the same size. It will therefore split the piece exactly in half and both will agree that they were treated fairly. Capitalism has the opposite effect: It's an instable system, in which wealth enables the growth of more wealth, which enables the growth of more wealth and on and on, even though our real resources are finite. Until somebody comes up with an intrinsically self-regulating system, I don't see much change happening. Due to popular demand: guys, i get it. We all scroll down after watching this video, emotionally charged and most likely anxious about the future, understandably so. I did not provide an analogy. None of these children nor the parent are a metaphor for states, companies or the common person, they were a real example taken from pedagogy to underline self-regulating mechanisms using a parent-children dynamic as example. If we can put our heads into creating a real self-regulating system within politics and/or economics, then we might spark a chance of changing things for the better.
Capitalism already has self regulating features in it, you're just used to them that you don't understand how they do not arise naturally and cannot imagine life without them: Capitalism turns greed and envy into productivity. It also gives you a clear path to climb the pyramid of needs. Without it, most societies stagnate. There's plenty of examples. Also, do not fall into the currently-popular trap presented into this video. Gift-giving, hand-holding societies DO NOT SCALE. Sure, tiny village, couple of families, all well. As soon as you don't know the whole neighborhood by first name, the pleasantries end, you can't keep up with everyone and they keep rotating so your standing is never enough.... but money is still good. Another trap presented here is equating capitalism to resources. Countries do not go to war over capitalism. They go to war over resources. These are VERY different things.
"Split a piece of cake between two children fairly. If you do it, they will complain abut you not being fair, regardless of what you do" do they ? Frankly this analogy of yours, regarding entire nations, it's a little simplistic don't you think ?
@@raccoon_from_heavenneeds go beyond physiology. if you're in a situation where you're taught worth is defined by wealth, and virtually everything, including social interactions, love, belonging, safety, etc. is defined by wealth, then obviously you're going to resort to whatever is emotionally numbing. humans are social creatures. we are not content just to "survive". capitalism deprives us of all of these and attempts to put a material/monetary value on them, which is why drug use is such a huge issue, and designer brands are bought to fulfill desperate consumer culture, because people will do anything to look or feel like they're wealthy, and people will do anything to make their lives feel worth living.
Thank you for talking about how the British killed Indians. History is truly written by the winners because people so easily gloss over the horrors of colonial rule. Hitler is condemned by Germany, but Churchill is celebrated in the UK (a man arguably responsible for as many if not more, deaths than Hitler). It’s quite disturbing how history has been warped. Let’s keep in mind that it’s barely been 70 years since we got our independence. This isn’t a thing of the distant past. Colonialism & the cruelty of the British empire is recent. People in UK are protesting immigration because apparently “it’s so unfair” that foreigners have the audacity to come to their country. One can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Greed & selfishness continue to get rewarded. I like to be optimistic. I like to believe that people have the capacity to do good, but the world we live in doesn’t reward kindness the same way it rewards cruelty. It’s also easier to keep exploiting people when they’re too busy fighting each other instead of fighting against the real evil i.e people in positions of power who hoard all the wealth.
Not to defend Chruchill or to disagree with you, but just to make sure that nobody misunderstands your statement: Hitler was condemned for a reason. He was responsible for about 50 million deaths directly related to the war and another 13 million during the Holocaust. Sure, he wasn't the only psychopath, but he was the main brain behind it. And yes, Churchill isn't a hero either... In war everyone loses...
@@MrHuddelchenThe Bengal Famine was an artificially induced catastrophe, where millions of Bengalis were coerced into growing cash crops and paying heavy taxes, while the British diverted grain from other parts of India to support their war efforts. When informed about the famine, Churchill’s heartless response was, "Hasn't Gandhi died yet?" This disaster alone caused the deaths of around 10 million Indians. For Indians, Churchill is regarded in much the same way as Hitler is by Jews. The effects of these British-induced famines persist, with the repeated famines under British rule leading to genetic changes that have increased the prevalence of diabetes in India today. Moreover, 30-35 million Indians perished in 24 artificially induced famines during British rule. Yet, according to you, we should somehow excuse Churchill because, unlike Hitler, he didn’t put us in gas chambers-he simply allowed us to die of hunger and disease. Bravo.
I've been saying this for a long time. Nothing is particularly 'unique' about Hitler's crimes- except that he committed them against other white people. Had it been against Africans, and literally no one would give a fuck. You can quite literally see this in action by gauging the German government's reaction to paying reparations to victims of the Holocaust vs paying reparations to thr victims of the Herero and Namaqua genocide- Germany was immediately apologetic for the Holocaust and has paid billions to victims and their descendants. For the Hereros/Namaquas in the other hand, it took them nearly a century to even ISSUE an apology, and they still refuse to grant them reparations. If I'm not mistaken not a single member of the von Trotha family has faced any consequences for that genocide. But yet we're supposed to believe the bullshit these countries talk about when they say shit like "never again"
@Cupcake0228 In Kenya we also had to deal with the English as well. I am not trying to make comparisons to the atrocities visited upon our people. Just to say I hear and understand.
@@Nebula.Space.Cadet.01 Its good to draw comparisons; not in a sense of "who had it worse" but so we can come to a global understanding, solidarity, and unity. As someone with Sierra Leonean heritage, I too have a special distaste for British and American colonialism.
Always bothered me how at least in the US (and so increasingly the world) the economic system was based on the presumption that humanity was evil and greed ruled all motivation, but the government was based on the presumption that humanity was virtuous and that we could trust all people to come together to make the right decisions. How did people fall for that???
That's not necessarily true, the Federalist papers discuss in depth that "men are no angels" and cannot be made to govern themselves without a system if checks and balances that turn their natures against one another for the benefit of the system. Not saying it always works, but the founders definitely were not blind or celebratory about man's natural tendencies for greed and power
@@DavserbanHard disagree, and you view the world through the lens you craft. Humanity is capable both of unfathomable cruelty and indescribable kindness. All is not lost, even if it sometimes seems that way, and if you feel the world should be different and less cruel it is important to work towards making it that way.
@@pivomanslovensko I think it's worth examining the question of whether we are selectively breeding greed and lack of empathy. Financial Darwinism is the idea that in a capitalist system, only those who can make money will survive. The poor will be less likely to be selected as a partner, less likely to have children, if they have the means to make that choice, less likely to pass on their qualities in general, not only genetically but in the culture as a whole. A similar pressure has arguably always existed, but tribal society meant that everyone would be taken care of if there were enough resources to do so. If wealth was genuinely relational to intelligence I might be okay with that, but it seems more like wealth is correlated to greed, sociopathy, and lack of empathy in general. It's not a good direction for humanity.
Middle class is a term which no longer has any meaning. Theres only those that work and those that provide jobs. 90% of the world were farmers before the industrial revolution. Corporations like black rock have been buying every single family home they can. Most of us dont actually produce anything but money for the corporations that have shackled us. The fda performs aggressive raids on anyone that provides actual organic unprocessed food. Theyre working on taking our ability to save currency. When the world moves to digital currency whats stopping them from limiting how much you can have, how much you can spend and where. We will be pushed into a credit based system where we own nothing. Its in the works right now.
@ReadParenti right if you go over that amount they take your benefits. You're kept in poverty barely scraping by with the amount they give you. With people that can't work it's a harsh life.
Man, growing up in this state of the world order just feels numbing. I don't parcticulary see a bright or a dark future ahead of us (or egotistically me). But to put put it in the matter of colours, it basically just feels grey. In my younger years I've always had tendencies to anxiety. But with me growing older and understanding more and more about our world, it gets worse over time. My inital tought during and after this video was "Why not just end it all, so you I don't have to endure all of what's ahead." And I know that this is a very very dangerous thought, yet it was the first "rational" and impulsive thought that I had. After writing this short paragraph, I noticed how silly it sounds. Initially it has not much to do with the topic in this video (great video btw.). Maybe my current state of mind is partly influenced by the consequence of Capitalism. I thought about deleting the paragraph and just moving on with my daily life, but I will just leave it there. On the other side I don't know the effects that my comment will have on other people reading this. However at the same time, I don't really care, because I feel immensly powerless in the big sceme and disconnected from the world around me. I apologize if I'm come a across as egocentric, rude and naive.
Sounds like you're discovering nihilism. You're not far, you should make the jump to absurdism. For me, its proved to be a healthier mindset than nihilism.
Some days I feel absurd, other days I feel hopeless. Get plenty of rest and take care of yourself best you can in the system you've been born into. Unfortunately, unless we all band together (which will never happen thanks to the upper end constantly pitting us against each other) then we are powerless to change the world we live in. Circumstances may be bleak, but on an individual level they are not hopeless. We have access to food, water, decent infrastructure, and a mostly safe community depending on where you are located. That's a lot more than majority of the places in the world can say. I understand the hard work of anyone's day to day is numbing to their body and soul, but if you bite the bullet and you truly understand the system you live in then you can game it to put yourself into a better position than you are now. It'll be slow and you will NEVER reach the state of those who used foulplay or were born into money, but you will be comfortable and content with what you've earned as it truly is yours. Take pride in what you have and don't stop dreaming. You have the rest of your life ahead of you and I promise you don't know what it has to offer, you could end up anywhere doing anything and if that thought scares you then living must not be for you. Edit: In the same vein as OP I don't know how people will take this as it's just the way that I've come to view things. Expectations lead to disappointment, and disappointment can often lead to depression. I hope that what you take away from this is that sometimes you have to just accept that life is stupid and ridiculous and way beyond your control. Enjoy what you can and enjoy what you want, otherwise what's the point?
Thanks for all the anwers guys. Yes it's true, that compared to a lot of other people lifes mine is technically great. And often I try to remind myself of exactly that. It definetly helps, but I'm kind of stuck between being motivated to, as you say, biting the bullet and trying to get rest to relieve myself from the stress I've been giving myself recently. It's hard do describe, because of the many factors playing together to form my anxiety-driven mind. At this exact moment I would say that I'm doing quite well, and I hope you guys may feel that way too. In fact, I spoke to some friends of mine about this topic of being "hopeless for the future" (they are between the ages of 20-25) and at some point someone asked "Or is our generation just some kind of whining-generation"? To be honest I think that this statement is not completely wrong, because some of us (even myself) seem pretty spoiled. Yet when a whole generation of people are saying something along the way of our topic, there must be something wrong. And I think we are not to blame, because we were way to young to have any major influence on it (whatever "it" is).
watching this without premimum bc you don't think it'd be a good idea to pay another $14 a month and being interuptted by ads really enriches the experience of this video
@@basement_culture something something "we should improve society somewhat" "yet you participate in society, curious!" meme something something. like yes..... but also i'm sure this guy still has to like. eat. we don't really know the state of his life.
The only comfort I find in climate change is that hopefully it will force the world to confront the evils of our global economic system and how it got us into this mess. The next 100 years are going to be really messy and I'm not psyched to live through them, but I only hope our grandchildren come out of it wiser than we are now
Sir, I IMPLORE YOU to research getting your own land if at all possible. Being self-sufficient and able to grow, hunt, forage and provide for yourself will be extremely important to your survival.
@@eueumesmoaquelecara4638"As things stand, I believe that the root of all evils is capitalism" - Albert Einstein, from his essay, "Why Socialism?" published in Monthly Review 1949
Man my mind was just screaming Kafka, Kafka, Kafka before you came out and used the word 'Kafkaesque' yourself....I think he was the first writer who really captures this feeling of absurdity and pointlessness and the feeling of being trapped that today's world evokes in many of us....
I've been saying this for years now, modern humanity doesn't fight against scarcity but against abundance. Every aspect of modern life is a quest to waste as much resources as possible consuming the most amount of time and energy.
By the way, the term 'creative destruction' was written about extensively by an economist called Joseph Schumpeter and his book and his arguments are very elegantly structured. I loved reading his work in college (I did Economics Honours as my bachelors degree in India) and we also read some of the writings of Adam Smith and Karl Marx....no matter what you end up convinced about, there is no doubt that the works of these people are very elegantly written and are a joy to read for a curious, developing mind....Unfortunately, people tend to dismiss great works with just two sentence criticisms on social media (I dont mean you)...like I have seen Marx being trashed all my life and yet, if you read him you realise how much depth, originality and intellectual force there was in his work and writing.... Myself, I am quite confused but I know one thing for sure- The present system is broken and its just not working....If you look at my country India, we don't have the kind of neo-colonialist presence and domination of our economy by western interests (and even the Chinese now) that places like Africa have. However, we have increasing religious radicalization and a hollowing out of democratic institutions sponsored by what? You guessed it- a couple of corporates who finance the elections and the media brainwashing required to turn people into religious bigots and unthinking zombies....In return, the companies literally capture all of India's resources and get awarded every big contract in every sector.....At least, they are not foreign companies like in Africa but that is small consolation....Anyway, I am currently in Norway and I really respect this country and society....according to me, the scandinavian countries are the last existing paradise on earth....
@@thebat4977I think it's important to point that out, but I disagree with how you frame it. the fact that their place in the world economy places them in a privileged position in comparison to the heavily exploited people of the global south doesn't invalidate their political ideals.
What? Marx is a terrible writer, had terrible ideas, and couldn't explain them for shihh. The communist manifesto is basically sci fi garbage. Pseudo intellectualism is disgusting. Don't attach yourself to figures that loved to wax poetic. Attach yourself to strong ideas. Jeezus!
I come from an engineering background but I did have to take some business related classes in university, from that experience I can only say what I was wholly repilsed and that business people believe their own lies. The experience that stuck withme the most was when my HR teacher praised Nike's (I think) "workforce outsourcing to south east asia", where we in the real world know they use child slavery.
Nike does outsource their work to east asia there was a documentary about it yet the adults that work these jobs are in very poor conditions not to say its any better yet i feel inclined to argue due to the fact that east asia doesnt have workers rights like in the us
@@xberserker7892the workers rights we've got in the US, like anti-child labor laws, a minimum wage, a 40 hour work week, etc were all won in long and bloody fights between organized labor and the owning class. Not a product of capitalism running unchallenged, but concessions from the factory owner to direct resistance by the factory workers
@@ethicsxcPeople these days have the collective memory of a gnat. People truly believe if capitalism ran unrestricted we’d have an amazing economic system. I’d like to point them to late 1800s/early 1900s América, where we actually had this. Child labor, 100 hour workweeks, deaths at work, company towns. Hell even the food went unregulated - you had people making bread with plaster and bleach to stretch the ingredients and make it look “perfect”. That’s what unfettered capitalism looks like, and it’s fucking horrible for us peons.
I am loving your videos. There are some broad thoughts that I've only scratched the surface of but my own defeatist attitude saying "what's the point?" has prevented me from ever making the effort to justify so they just became idle thoughts... Its nice to hear someone more educated expand on and give proper voice and reason to them.
Educate yourself! Horses is citing from the philosophers Mark Fisher and Frederic Jameson among others. Fisher is easily accessible in terms of much of his work being available online but also in terms of his clear and straightforward writing style. Don’t be defeatist, join a socialist org like DSA and fight capitalism. “The tiniest event can tear a hole in the grey curtain of reaction which has marked the horizons of possibility under capitalist realism. From a situation in which nothing can happen, suddenly anything is possible again.”-Mark Fisher
@@IisLasagna It's the easiest thing in the world to be depressed when you depend your happiness on societies bs. Ask yourself what you would be doing during your perfect world and dedicate as much time you have to it.
I absolutely love your message of empowerment that everything dies. I've been preaching this for years that doesn't matter if you're as big of as a sun or small as a blade of grass you have a moment in time where you don't exist then you are being made then you get to live and then you die. Every single entity within this physical realm adheres to that truth.
@@C12341 I was born in a lower middle class family, but I know. I remember. No matter what reality or the facts presented…people praised “me” or said that I was “going to make it”(think general success). Since birth. Im not particularly good at any academia, business, sports, arts, or anything human really…but everyone saw it (literally even the people who’ve gone legit psychotic). It took time to realise that I was “going to make it” regardless and I didn’t have a choice. Like there was a much elder part of me that my younger mold had yet to comprehend. Though the transgender experience is riddled with much more hate and complexity, I have to say that I relate to extents.
Our morals are stuck in 1880’s while our technology is stuck in 2030’s while our education is stuck in 1980’s while our legislation is stuck in 1930’s while our economy is stuck in the 1970’s while our military Industrial complex is stuck in the 1990’s while the rest of the world decides how to divide us up into its dinner.
2:24 This feels a little misleading. *First:* It seems to confuse money (the concept) with currency (the object used as money). *Second:* Money has appear independently in post farming and pre writing societies in all continents through history. *Third:* In the reference, («The Myth of the Barter Economy» in The Atlantic) the claim is that what has not been observed in itself is barter economy, but systems like gift economy have. From here, money still appears as a logical consequence of the limitations of systems (not barter but) like Gift Ecoomy. For example, is interesting to note that the article adds that «exchange isn’t impersonal», which would cast doubts of its efficiency at macro levels.
Yeah he seems to ignore evidence altogether, despite it being nunerous. It's a shame because some of videos are so well researched and others just seem to parrot his political/economic views whilst entirely ignoring the weath of historical evidence that debunks them.
Around a year ago, I stopped participating in the consumer culture. I realised I didn't understand why I would buy many od the things, and I just kind of stopped buying unneeded products. Yet, whenever I tell people, I am seen as a "weirdo", because I don't go out and buy things I already own or things I can't use. I don't understand why I am the bizarre one, when that is just as bizarre
@boredgirl1196 I guess part of it is acting the way you want to be. Getting unused to it first. I noticed for me, with a lot of things like cake and such too, I don't really think beforehand. After I do, I realised I don't really think it's a good taste (not that it tastes bad). Also just got unused to a lot of things, then it becomes easier
@boredgirl1196 I'm not sure if this helps, but in my case, I found spite to be a really good motivator. The thought "stop feeding the rich with your money" crossed my mind, and then it became a lot harder for me to justify spending anything I didn't have to. Why should I feed what little I have to those who would pick off of my plate, then blame me for starving?
I agree , everywhere I go everyone acts like everything is okay , wtf man isn’t there people in Africa digging up diamonds just for fucking iPhones right now 😔
This video is brilliant and encapsulates my melancholy feelings about the state of world affairs. This channel in its entirety is a gem btw one of if not the best I've seen
@@adrian15041994agree wholeheartedly!!! I’ve shouted “EXACTLY!!!” & “that is SO true!!!” more times than I can count and I’m only a few minutes into the video. 😂😂😂😂😂
Feels like many aspects of religions' origins are a guide to avoid as well as warning about capitalism. Capitalist behaviour goes directly against most of the 10 commandments for a start
yes, it is like this for most religions, too bad, the capitalist religious institutions love to go against all other forms of systems because they love exploiting people by using religion...
Yup. I actually came back around to Christianity when I had the epiphany that Jesus was sacrificed for healing and feeding people without demanding profit. I realized that Satan was a real person who monopolized resources and made others bend to his will. Jesus was sacrificed for undermining the monopoly, because Satan propagandizes others to guard his fortune. And God is just what we don't know. We don't know where all this came from, but we know it's wrong to exploit others for selfish gain. The most noble thing you can do is sacrifice your life fighting against exploitation. If Jesus was a based commie, that kinda changes how I feel about Christianity, like it's been corrupted rather than being intrinsically corrupt. But it's corrupted easily because it isn't very scientific. So, yea.
@@MichelleHellexactly how I feel about Christianity as a Christian. I feel like so many people these days believe in a twisted version and are misled by false prophets - I am not exempt either.
@@MichelleHell I guess many people struggle to see that point of view since most socialist countries in the past have been hostile to Christians if not mandating outright atheism.
I can't tell you just how realistic the first minute is, there are people in my life that I can hardly hold a conversation with because all they do is complain about what's on the news or whatever, id rather sit in silence
I’ve been trying to explain this system my whole life and my conclusion is we’ve haven’t seen anything better and creating something better will take a global shift that will be catastrophic
I think the global shift will happen first and we will be determined to create something different so we don't repeat the same mistakes. Not positive a better system will be created though. As we can see with nuclear weapons, the fundamental problem isn't the economic system but human nature. Competition and self-preservation is in our DNA and those instincts will always drive us to secure more resources and try to dominate others for our own security. Looking for a "perfect" system is illusory imo We are smart but also deeply flawed and will thus always find ways to circumvent it
It is the time of the Kali Yuga, so might as well give it a shot. Things are going to change, just how. Are we going to be assimilated into the capitalist system to the point that it is physically in our brains, or are we going to make a system that fits our bodies and the needs of the planet? Like getting a new car, you don’t rebuild the old one, you ditch it and get a different one. We start planning and building the new system now, so when the old one breaks down we can abandon it with glee and ride along in a system the meets our needs much better. Just can’t wait too long to start building the new one. Then the people with power have control over you.
@@uchiigtanaI think it keeps getting passed down the line because not enough people are revolutionaries, not because people don’t want to bear the toll. I think people are in fact very willing to pay the price for a better world. I think it’s just that, currently, society as a whole would view some sort of revolution as radical and extremist. That opinion will gradually shift as more people suffer and the ones who have been suffering suffer worse. That’s how it usually goes at least looking at revolutions of the past.
This channel is so refreshing, like a respite from the things i see day to day that dont make sense to me and make me feel insane. Everything here makes sense.
Bravo. I've recently subscribed to your videos due to a low point in life and they provided some much-needed perspectives. You continue to frame many of my thoughts in such a way that I feel comforted that there's content like this to reflect on and strengthen my ideas. Thanks for making, creating, and sharing such thought-provoking work @Horses.
How about this for a strong idea: build a system to replace capitalism as a wiki MMORPG sort of like The Sims meets GitHub, and when enough folks are on board, and enough kinks ironed out, we can say, screw you guys, we're going over here. We can't escape it unless we have somewhere to escape TO.
These videos seem most appealing to cynical, misanthropic Leftists who own cats. Do you own a cat? If you want to strengthen your ideas, start by researching his 'figures' on British India. Even Indian nationalists don't make such idiotic claims.
@@tomjohnson9833 , nope, don't own cats. Been thinking of adopting one recently though & a dog. Also, what's wrong with cats? Are you allergic? Did you have a run in with a feline who ruined a part of your childhood? Some traumatic experience with a kitty that's rocked your world? Most creatures are cool, some are a**holes though - like people, like you. You're a strange guy with outlandish interpretations of complete strangers on the net, fella. Check yourself ✓
@@tomjohnson9833 if a person start anything they have to say by "every problem has one cause/one solution and it's this", just get ready to read/listen to a bunch of bs lol
@@tomjohnson9833your mindset seems the most appealing to self righteous shut-ins who love to deny factual truths and own guns. Do you own a gun? I'm Indian and was raised on Indian history, and since growing up I've done a short amount of reading into what kife in colonial India was like, and this video is absolutely on point with it. The figures line up roughly with other sources, in addition, the Brits stole upwards of a trillion dollars worth of natural resources from India to benefit themselves. You've got no close what you're talking about, and are only doing it to preserve your smooth little brain from having to think critically for a moment.
“In the 1800’s Smith saw people trading goods in exchange for profit, and said it was always this way. He made that up.” @horses says about Adam Smith FRSA (baptised 16 June [O.S. 5 June] 1723[5] - 17 July 1790)
Also, he claims capitalism did not exist before that, and then attributes many horrors to capitalism that happened well before when he claims capitalism started.
I don’t know your name, Horses content creator. I am grateful for an even clearer look behind the curtain of our capitalist reality. While you yourself earn your “measly profit” from doing so I hope and indeed assume that that profit isn’t the motivation that sustains you in doing so. I hope that the hope you hold onto and make mention of in this video essay is a flame that finds the oxygen and fuel necessary to spread. Such a flickering flame in me is fed. Thanks again.
no economic system or political setup will guarantee people will be good to each other, what brings all these systems down inevitably is humanity itself.
look up the acali raft. People of different cultures, believes and backgrounds were put on a raft for a year, completely isolated. They started loving each other despite being completely different. They shared everything, were like a happy family We are good in nature. It's hierachies, authorities, greed that make us go bad
@@juannaym8488 well the truth is juan 2% of people are sociopaths and 1% are psychopaths. When they're are people who are hungry for power and wealth those guys are the ones that try the hardest to get to the top and those people at the top control you. That's the truth
the belief that the human condition is inherently evil and greedy and destructive is one that makes me incomprehensibly sad. be hopeful always - a brighter future will come when we come together
eh, in my experience people are as good as they are bad. it's just that the "bad" end of the spectrum is incredibly hard to get out of, since a big part of "evil" is lack of self-control, which is the exact thing you need to get out of it.
Its probably true though?, so how do you deal with the cognitive dissonance between having a positive outlook and the reality of what humans actually are? I never managed to figure out a way to trick myself into believing something that I don't think is true just because it feels good.
Yea, people can put up with a ton and the ones who can't are world changers since most are introverts and off themselves, I've been getting "signs" is it really up to me?
While it may be exhilarating and seem enlightening to tear down the current system, doing so with no clear goal in mind to build a better tomorrow is akin to Kaczinsky’s eco-terrorism. All politics are egoism; to what end do we build this better tomorrow? There is purpose, there is reason, there is order. Our malaise is errant, what we have discovered and we writhe against is only our inevitable deaths. We go forward, that while the future might invalidate us it may also deliver us.
I think that eventually something so atrocious will happen that it physically cannot be ignored by the people. I don't think anybody can really predict it, as it could be a number of different things, but eventually it will.
I hope you are right. My fear is that in America the current global hegemony and enforcer of capitalism. The middle class can be continually bought off with commodities or propagandized to accept any cost to ensure their lifestyle remains the same. Anyone under the middle class will be too burned out and tired to even care. I could be just as wrong as I could right though.
This is an awful video filled with logical fallacies. If you don't see them, perhaps you are pondering things for so long precisely because you don't know HOW to think, rather than what to think.
The creator of this video can hamster is way into thinking capitalism is bad all he wants, and you’re free to latch on to his ideas. But my guess is you haven’t truly studied economic and political systems, you simply did some quick googling. And were exposed to someone else’s anti-capitalism thoughts in the past, essentially mind control (we are all at the mercy of mind control). But the fact remains, look at how past socialist and communist societies ended up. That’s all you need to know
Friendly reminder that the most effective way RIGHT NOW to fight against corporate greed is to UNIONIZE!! Find a union that matches your job, and if non-existant, reach out to existing unions, they will help you create one!!!
This video encapsulates so many of my own feelings in such a neat and beautiful way. I will share it with anyone who will take time to consider. VENTING... I myself am stuck in a soulless corporate job and feel like I have very little to complain about because I'm reasonably comfortable and so are most of the people around me but I so wish I could have more freedom in what I do and not always have to consider money and productivity. That combined with the knowledge that most people don't have it as well as I do and I'm stuck with a feeling of intense guilt to add to my dissatisfaction. Can't wait for the revolution. Much love from Ireland.
I feel like this too, and so do many of my colleagues. Absurd to think we should be grateful both for being comfortable AND better than many and yet we fail.
there is something oddly calming about taking a step back to look beyond yourself and your life and to see that as a whole, humanity will progress into better and worse times over and over for a much longer time than you will live. even though my life sucks and i hate living in this would, after i die, humans will continue to live and progress and evolve past what we are living in now. it probably wont look the way it does in my head but im sure it will be just as great
One of the best videos ive ever watched. One of the best channels, ive only watched 3 of your videos but im pretty sure all of them are profoundly great.
Anyone with a shred of intelligence, critical thinking and interest in the world sees that Capitalism is a nonsensical and dangerous system. I love this channel so much, your visuals, script and - crucially - ideas always deliver.
Bro your videos are so good. The quality and consistency is crazy. I can watch this while I play games or I can put my whole attention on it and it's still great.
Incredibly well done. And I especially appreciated the ‘it’s not if, but when’ statement. Might not be in my time, but there is a hope for future generations.
That's precisely how evangelical christians delude themselves into believing they are correct. It's also why people point out what you are doing is a religion. As a former member myself, good luck out there.
@@willytodd2750 Well evangelical Christians believe in questionable set of events that were fainltly recorded via second hand sources that turned into a an absolute fan-fiction mess. This is more of a "Generally speaking regardless of wtf happens, systems rise and fall, empires crumble under the weight of time like night and day, so it's hard to imagine this will last forever, as even our civilization probably won't to begin with...maybe in the future it will be changed..." Basically it's just a thought that isn't even believed that strongly but a likely theory. That's hardly a religion that's just a bloody hypothesis and a intense thought experiment.
anyways, great video. I didn't really know this much about how systems worked and used to go by my life ignorant. But in the last 2 years, now that I will be finishing highschool, I started checking out universities and it blew my mind how much they costs. And I can't even get a decent job considering the place I live without a certificate or experience. And i can't get experience without doing something which I can't since I don't have a certificate. This put me in this immensely terrifying place because I worked all my life for good grades so that I can get into good unis, which I can't even do all because I don't have the funds for that. So videos like this helped with my perspective on truly how things work.
I really connect with all your essays. Great articulation, such ease and flow, not too fast, the visuals used in a truly contemporary design, and you probably use a good amount of ai. Keep up the good work, and hopefully you inspired me to create my own video essays. cheers.
Hopefully you do a bit more research on your own videos before making them public, rather than just regurgitating baseless anti-western gibberish as Horses has done here.
I think you make some good points. However, I really do think that capitalism has been a net gain overall for many societies. I know it has to die at some point, but, if anything, it’s an important milestone in the advancement of human civilization. It’s not like these future systems are going to get rid of every aspect of capitalism, neither. We should keep the parts that work(encourages ingenuity through patents, the freedom of citizens to benefit their communities through private charities, the incentive to provide services and luxuries to the common household, etc). I think it would be a grave mistake to end capitalism completely. Still a great video, though. It made me think instead of making me mad, so great work.
You are starting to edge close to the historical materialism understanding of history. At one time, capitalism was a progressive force. So too was feudalism over slave societies, and slave societies over “primitive” communities. However, just as slave societies and feudalism became reactionary over time, producing the elements that led to their own destruction, so too has capitalism become similarly reactionary. With dialectal thinking, we can begin to see the truth of the world, utilizing concrete analysis of concrete conditions to shape our strategy and policy. If we want to advance humanity, we must accept that our mode of production must change, as it has in the past. What happens when the contradiction at the core of capitalist society, that being that one class owns the means of production, and another class can only sell their labor to those owners, is resolved? Either the owners remain in power, and we embrace barbarism in a ruined world, or the laborers break up and reshape the means of production, marrying the social labor organization that we experience today with social ownership of the means of production, and reshape society along with it. We cannot say exactly what that society will look like, nor will it be a total end to human misery, but just as capitalism launched us to great heights, so too can what comes next.
@@wizardunionizer I think that’s a decent way to put it. I just can’t shake the thought that people only tend to deal in absolutes when it comes to how societies should function. If every aspect of capitalism is upended, the progress brought by the new system would be completely outweighed by the shattering social effects that a lack of familiar structure would bring. I’m not saying anything about you implying this, however. I’m just saying that slow and steady wins the race. As much as social change is an integral part to healthy societies, it’s a fine balance between too much change and not enough. Not everyone is going to benefit from these changes, neither. It’s only a matter of time before anyone’s current economic views become obsolete and harmful to future generations.
@@wizardunionizerthis comment just changed my mind to how I perceive historical materialism. It comes across as a kind of Hegel phenomenology of the spirit idea but in terms of economics. Great comment.
Yeah that's a reasonable idea until you realize that if class had never existed and thus feudalism never existed human beings would be far, far, far more advanced now than we are today. History is not an independent factor, it is a narrative, a result of actual causes. It is not a cause in itself, there is no teleology to the development of societies. Capitalism is just a profoundly evil, harmful thing that unfortunately happened to humanity and there is nothing good about it and nothing about it we should keep.
Watching this video is one of the most defining moments in my worldview now. Thanks for changing my mind, anonymous youtuber. You've earned a loyal subscriber. I hope the world can look to the nations that "made it" and see that sometimes the grass really is greener when green paper plays second fiddle to human livelihood.
A key portion of the argument here, that capitalism is not natural, is actually not supported by humanity's habit of bartering pre-mint. Profit seeking methods have been used universally by us likely since the first trade between humans ever occurred, often including community-based organizations, even in less populated areas. There was a man touted as the first pre-Socratic Western philosopher in the BC who took advantage of poor farmers by buying their farming equipment during a dry year, then renting it back to them the next, which was a wet year, wringing himself initially into debt and recovering entirely, then making a profit. Whether that was in currency or trade, I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter. Capitalism as described here has existed for a very long time if you apply its actual function. Apart from that, the biggest issue I have with this video is that in none of the cases presented do we see true capitalism; much like true socialism/communism, fascism, or any other social/economic structure, it is nearly impossible to generate a true-to-life copy of the ideology. Corporations manipulate the government with money or blackmail in exchange for protections and advantages, hampering any attempts at what actual capitalism should look like. There is a definite and oligarchal rule over the US. Gov by corporations; but ultimately, the largest issues we see with any of these major ideological systems is not a result of the ideology - else they would work just as well in practice as they do on paper - but rather, human nature, which will always produce individuals willing to manipulate any system in place. The arguments against capitalism have the same root as the arguments against socialism, or etcetera. Capitalism's "effect" is so broadly seen because it spans so widely and is almost intrinsically tied in modern day to the reach of American corporations. The ultimate issue lies within our own hearts, and we are the first step in solving it. Only by being the best humans we can be, regardless of the struggles our experience throws at us, will the issue be mitigated. There is much work to do, but little of it involves removing the concepts of specific systems from our lives, for they are almost all applicable on a personal basis, and none of it involves the hatred of each other.
The Individual is NOT the fundamental unit of analysis. I believe in Free Will, for sure, but the idea that your appeal to people's better natures is a higher priority than the overarching system that structures our very interfacing with the world is frankly laughable.
Very well put, specifically that education on understanding our own mind and emotions is most important. Because from that will automatically emerge the knowledge to create better societal structures, and will also give us peace of mind.
I'm glad at least one person brought this up. It seems for as long as there has been civilization people were bartering goods. The world's richest man made his fortune in the bronze age for god's sake. With that in mind it's really ridiculous to toss thousands of years of history aside and say there's no anthropological evidence without further elaboration. You could certainly make the claim that trade on the scales we see today is unnatural, and for that we are in pain, but the claim as stated in the video is just false. Furthermore, the people in this comment section wondering "how people could agree to partake in such an unfair system in the first place" are lacking in knowledge of how brutal and unfair the world was before the modern era and capitalism. You could ask the same question about agriculture and the answer would be the same. People agreed because to this system seemed to take advantage of our worst nature and make it a good thing. It is exactly as you said, until people can change their ways and act out a better world these systems of evil, exploitation, and oppression will continue to persist.
I remember as a kid I thought of becoming a business man one day. I said, "It's easy. Just sell stuff. I'll buy a bag of candy that will cost me $5 and resell everything separately, and I'll have $10." But I kept doing math. Well, I have to go to the store, factor in my time, having money ahead of time, and possibly NOT being able to sell everything. So, i needed more money. So I got a job. And the job paid $6 per hour, but I PRODUCED $100 of stuff. And I realized the only one really making huge profits were the ones that sold not bars of candy, not bags of candy, not boxes of candy, not pallets of candy, but the one that owned the factories that make the bags, the ones that own the factories that make the boxes, the one that owned MANY factories and he would underpay everyone beneath him. And so, I stopped believing, because almost everything I touch is stained with some poor worker that was underpaid while they over produced and the owners of many factories skimmed the profits of many, many workers for their own riches. And these owners pretend they're being "fair."
There’s a retarded kid in my moms town who started his own business fixing bikes He’s got 2 things going for him: strong work ethic, he isn’t poisoned by leftism
@@Cringe_department_15 It's on the other end of the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" spectrum of determinism/free will. It's just as disingenuous and moronic, honestly.
Yeah. Market economies are phenomenal. Market economies where the largest players monopolize all new market opportunities and suppress wages as low as possible are horrible.
@@TheSpecialJ11 I didn’t mention free market, just the basic concept of capitalism. I agree with you and all of this is facilitated by corruption, lobbyists and a lack of transparency.
nope that's the standard answer they give so you won't question things further but against scientific research none of that stands up What is "corruption"? When a company has an agreement behind closed doors with the government? In the USA that's just called lobbying and they'll lobby and ellect the politicians they want no matter what and there's nothing we can do Protest? They'll use the full might of the police to bash our heads in. They've done it before. There's no fairness. They have all the money, we have nothing. Who's they? It's the rich, the burgeoisie. The owners of the HUGE farms, the factories, the machines, source codes, the data. and so on.
@@binbows2258 well, the problem with social democracy is that it doesn't remove the mechanism that allows the rich to remain rich. Aka. Private property of the means of production. Since they remain rich they have economical power. And economical power is political power. So, they have the incentive and the power to revert all the achievements of the working class in a social democracy. They use all the power to do things like: privatization of healthcare, privatization of transportation, destruction of labour safety regulations, eliminate the minimum wage, paid leave, maternity leave, etc. The only way to maintain the welfare is by having popular power.
In regards to gift-giving, there is still a profit motive. People who manage to give fewer/cheaper gifts than they receive get richer. It's still essentially bartering, just with poor record-keeping about each transaction.
Yeah, but unless they're also really charismatic, people will likely respond in kind for anything except maybe the basic necessities as soon as they cotton on. Being selfish in a system built on altruism can shoot you in the foot of you're not careful.
Another incredible video! thanks for put some light on this issue, it feels so obvious and at the same time so hard to explain, and you made it incredible well!
I think our problem is that we are trying to find some uniform system that should satisfy all our needs. A capitalist or socialist system (or some combination of both), but to the end. In practice, I don't see a good reason for this. In a general way, instead of getting married to one idea, you can look at these approaches as tools that can be used as needed according to the need in the general system.
Homie put the old videogame RAMPAGE into a video about world problems. Forgot about that childhood classic, and it made me realize just how good Horses is at connecting with peoples sense of childlike (Not to be confused with naive) interest with everything observable. Every single video is a banger, I genuinely feel Horses is worthy of being the person who makes these specialized videos on important and interesting topics. If even stripped to nothing else this guy is a case study in the endurance of the human spirit. Reminds me why even through all the nasty stuff, humans are still creatures of hope.
This video is hilarious! I watched the whole thing! I loved the last part “what will replace Capitalism.” Yeah, in the future we are going to barter for goods- instead of just paying for them- like…oh I don’t know…maybe Capitalism? It’s funny, because I can see that you know about China having to save itself from starvation (by the tens of millions) by allowing capitalism.
Great video, man. i hope more people can see this. We really need some action done soon, or we are done, we are basically already toast rn. The "americas" are in their worst position in years
Moral of story: like any other type of oppressive societal systems, the ones suffering are left with a lingering hope than ONE day it’ll all end… while I was not part of any of those revolutions in the past, I hope to finally be part of this revolution, the moment where we rise against new age feudalism (or ‘capitalism’). Only then will we feel joy and optimism for a better world. My fear is, like any other previous revolution, that time will do it’s thing and the oppressors will eventually find new means to oppress.
Not to be pessimistic, but most revolutions and systemic changes occur because of elite in fighting. The oppressed are just a convenient tool that can tip the balance in one elites favour, before being quietly shelved again.
@@bustinnutsinslutsbuttsWhat is human nature? People can only describe it in the most dire and negative possible terms. greed, fear, anger, hate, etc. Is it not human nature to Love? To nurture, care, create, hope, survive and strive eternally for new horizons? Human nature is shaped by your conditions. It is a cop out to end the argument at “human nature” as it ultimately doesn’t mean anything beyond a justification to continue to do evil.
“New oppressors” is an interesting term. Oppressors of whom? The revolution you speak of would be started and finished by the workers, the 99%. This revolution would strive to completely destroy capitalism entirely. Uproot its very existence. The workers would be responsible for rebuilding and shaping whatever world would come after. Who would be oppressed other than the capitalists?
I'm new to your channel and I just want to say thank you for making such consistently excellent videos with cool artistic qualities, spanning many topics. Great work, especially with this concise little gem.
What people often gloss over about a possible gift giving society is that, those who ACTUALLY give, don't want anything in return. This idea that, I give you give, is a CONTROLLING idea. If I give you something you can't say no to, everyone will feel bad when you don't give them something in return. So then I tell them as a controlling person "you HAVE to give me X thing now because I provided water". This is the life that oligarchs want us to believe in. This is the core reason why Karen's exist. (In the meme sense of the name). Money has just become a form of "I did X type of work for X amount of time, I earned this much $$$ (control tokens). Now you HAVE to do what I ask. Society expects you to." Worst (or best part of you're a politician or oligarch) is that, the employee is under full control of the boss because most people are already living paycheck to paycheck (as designed). You can't say no. Welcome to the most "free" country in the world ("for those with the power or uniform)")
Thanks for the quality content. Excellent writing, great speaking voice and i appreciate not being bombarded with requests for support. Decent people will support you without being harangued 😊 Subscriber, commenter and thumbs upper 🎉 Hopefully, financial supporter very soon🎉🎉🎉
Man when I graduated I tried to do my own thing cuz I didn't want to work for someone else or be stuck in a corporate setting. I tried for a while doing freelance in what I know and I even tried focusing on my hobby and making something that could be sold eventually. It was working for a while but you know shit hit the fan. So still I ended up needing to get a job and now I'm doing the same souless thing every day being expected to produce hundreds of dollars while I get paid nothing close to the value my labor provides. I will admit Im not doing as bad as others. While I feel trapped I do have some hope. I still have a couple options that'll improve my quality of life if they pan out. There's a few job offers tied to my hobby so if I manage to get in I'll have a better income though I'll still dislike the way my work is being used. Other option is to continue my studies which seems like a pretty doable thing. Been thinking about it for a while.
So you tried something it worked you had a setback and then you gave up and started complaining. under communism you would’ve done the same exact thing
What degree did you do and what freelance work did you do? The most common are probably tutoring, copywriting, video editing, graphic design, content creation, digital marketing & entrepreneurship. It's much easier if you move to a country with developed infrastructure yet remains cheap compared to a salary you can get freelancing, this decreases expenditure whilst maintaining income levels & also can decrease taxes dependent on location. Many people chose countries in EE, (Eastern Europe) SEA, (South East Asia) & South America.
It’s called two jobs one income…make time for yourself to get your own business going when you aren’t at work. This is where you either have the grind or you don’t. No excuses
The most basic and most important criteria that I personally use to asses the legitimacy of a system , a habit , a mindset a behaviour or anything is happiness, peace and joy if it decreases then the things not going as they are naturally meant to be and this world that's what happening all this rat race , hand to mouth and materialistic desire with no control over food security and so much isolation those main things ( happiness, peace, joy and feeling of contentment) are lacking making us empty sad and degenerate That's why I have decided to start a homstead just get self sufficient, escape this rat race and live a life in mindfullness with peace joy and contentment It has become so hard to afford land and although I would make it happen ❤ Want live a peaceful life with people of similar mindset 💞
@Shnarfbird Well, it's about fighting for your survival and your freedom, we have worker's rights because some people believed there was a way forward in that regard, do you think your paid vacation and sick days came from the goodness of the industrialist's heart? The sub-elite class will eventually have no bargaining chips with which to justify their existence and enforce their demands with the problems you are so afraid of will have to be faced head-on, I'm not saying it will be a utopia, but since the threat is existential, I think it would be for the better, both for the bottom 99.99% and eventually probably even the top 00.01% of humanity, they just have to delay their gratification for a little longer until we work out what the rest of us are going to do to survive.
“If the world does not unite after the second shaking of the earth (WWII) then the great spirit will shake the earth a third time, but this time, with not one, but both hands.”
I live in Brazil, I'm going to use Google Translate because I don't trust my English. But I want to talk a little about the socioeconomic situation here, not only in Brazil but in Latin America. On one side of the street, you will see a huge slum where a population that has been deprived of dignity lives. On the other side, high-end condominiums, beaches, a beautiful landscape, rich white people. When asking the population why this inequality occurs, most Brazilians will respond that the state is to blame. This answer makes a little sense, as in our constitution the government assumes the responsibility of ensuring dignity for all. But what would be the solution to this? More freedom for capitalism and less state? Now, Argentina is about to elect a president who will privatize education, health, security... And then, I assume, Argentina will show off its economy, without taking into account the situation of the lower classes. But who are they going to blame now? This is how I see the cycle that occurs here in Latin America. Sometimes more capitalism, sometimes more “socialism”. The state will not handle all the problems that capitalism creates, and so capitalism always comes back with more capitalism as the solution.
i thought maybe el salvador can be a good example in these times... i hope so because he is speaking about some important things but why is that not a better example to use for you? i grew up very poor in south africa so i know the things you are talking about and now i live in australia and it is the same but at least here they realize the people are crazy enough to rebel and that will cause problems for the property markets and in the bigger picture, the economy and potential investors from coming here people need to take back the land - no more can you own land if you are not going to live there. everybody must have enough land to do as much of their own farming as they can, with the ultimate goal for us to collectively overproduce for ourselves in sustainable and regenerative methods using modern technology that should all be open source if we can make capitalism happen then we can make this happen but we people seem to spend more time fighting than actually working hard and honestly
Critical point of Adam Smith - the free market needs regulation to function, just like a fish tank needs maintained! I believe the system works well on equal playing fields, but the system has been captured by the players influencing politics. Global trade adds more difficulty to the problem. Keep thinking 😁
I think it's weird to think how democracy is so highly valued especially in developed nations, and yet the economic system---the system that dictates most areas of our lives---is not democratized
Couldn’t agree more -Michael
Would this be like Dutch democracy where redistribution occurs? Or like American? Because we are technically a representative democracy which is entirely separate from an individual free marketplace.
@@dailyright The economic system is authoritarian. Capital is held by the few, and they have all the power when it comes to the economy. So a supposedly democratic country where the politicians are bought out and bow down to the authoritarians in the economy. That's what's so weird about the economic system in America, for all the freedom we claim to have, the economy is authoritarian.
@@Alexander_Grant that's why the USA is not considered a democracy at all, but an oligarchy - or plutocracy.
Yes and it would also be fascinating to see what would occur in a capitalist system with no government regulation or interference
I’ve often wondered if without government bailouts and subsidies etc would provide higher wages since goods would have to actually cost what they cost to produce,
I remember reading the Polland book “Omnivores dilemma” and he outlined how much a bushel of corn actually cost to produce vs what it is sold for due to subsidies
I love when poverty is defined by the exact amount you need to survive. As if we wouldn't call someone poor just because they haven't died of poverty yet.
Well, its what is called Absolute poverty, there's also another term called Relative poverty, which is defined as the line below which people do not get access to needs deemed easy to acquire by societal standards
@@shiromusk4236in the EU relative poverty is defined as the half of the mean spending (yes, spending, not salary).
Except it's not even that, because any non-commodified or public good, any informal income that helps makes ends meet is discounted.
Yet worse, prices of products that don't at all affect an impoverished person's ability to support themselves are counted. The prices of diamonds and ferraris count towards the poverty line just like food and water.
How would you define it?
@@tlatolcalli682 I don't know what would be useful as a metric for policy decisions. To me, its a lack of security.
There is also another massive problem with statistics 'measuring' GDP in non-market economies. If a commercial farmer grows a thousand bushels of wheat and sells that to an industrial bakery, that economic transaction is recorded and feeds into the nation's gross domestic product statistics. If, however, a family of subsistence farmers grows a hundred bushes of wheat, threshes and grinds that into enough flour to last them a year, that activity is not recorded and catalogued within GDP. An 'advanced' market economy will always appear wealthier than a pre-capitalist non-market economy where people are self sufficient.
Guys it's easy, a system has to be predicated on transparency, logical thought, and good faith. . None of these words
Like socialism or capitalism mean anything in a non transparent system....... But we all know that already. After this years end the world will know (complete data sets for algorithm that run systems will be exposed) its all of our fault.
Add traditional women’s work nurturing children and running households, unpaid and therefore devalued by capitalistic metrics, so much actual value is exploited while simultaneously being ignored as having none.
Yooo i get it!
I agree that anyone that thinks our current economic system is bad should give subsistence farming a go and see how much they like it.
@@colinburns8854most people in the world depend on it. in Eastern Europe, especially Bulgaria, if you live outside cities and don't use your land to grow some food like tomatoes you won't make it through the winter.
If anyone is hopeless, don't be, don't give in to what they want. All acts of resistance no matter how small are a step in the right direction. You are billions
Resistance to what?
@@AJRfanboy904 to hopelessness
@@AJRfanboy904late stage capitalism, imperialism, colonialism
@@katarinalacorporatization too.
Recently my Government in the UK held an election. In this election labour won by a landslide taking hundreds of constituencies from the more right wing Conservative party. People generally felt dissolutioned, even hard-line conservative voters due to countless terrible decisions, like Brexit, that contributed to an economic crisis Britain is still currently stuck in. What was concerning is those right wing voters voted in favour of a new party headed by the absolute joke of a human being, Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage is the previous leader of the party UKIP, now legally called "UKIP Ban all illegal immigration". He was the representative for the UK in the EU and would regularly miss EU summits due to holidays in France or elsewhere in Europe. Perhaps the most politically serious thing he's done can be found by searching "Nigel Farage big chungus".
Reform is a limited company - a corporation. They do not have donors, they remove that middleman and have shareholders. People are voting corporations.
Labour votes have dropped by a few million votes in a continuing trend. Labour did not take right wing seats, unilateral dissolution of the conservative party have let reform make massive gains. Splitting the right wing vote, allowing a labour victory.
Nigel Farage described Reform as a party filling the centre right. They are not. Reform is the far right. But worse than that reform does not exist to serve the country. It exists as a company. It exists to make money.
The worst case is that in 2029 the conservatie party will have merged with Reform, consolidating a growing right wing voterbase, and the UK becomes a nation explicitly ruled by Corporate interests (not that it isn't already with influence from oil, pharmaceuticals, and the US) with the public voting them in despite wearing that openly. Imagine the precedent set. The public welcoming a corporation to be their government.
Multiple times Nigel Farage has taken milkshakes to the face. It would be terrible if something a little more hazardous were to be thrown at him. Not that cutting off one head kills a hydra. It adds a new meaning to the reformation Vs revolution debate though
@katarinala All of it is bad. Your list does not encompass the problem, merely products of it. All of these ideologies are here to divide the people
When taxpayers money is uses to bailout companies that should fail then the whole system is screwed.
When rich people are at risk, We're suddenly socialists
@@stevecarter8810 Rich people should be scared of socialism. They work hard for their success. Why should they have to give their hard earned dollars to somebody that hasn't earned it?
@@devinstucky6948 I think you missed my point. When taxpayer money bails out banks or other companies "too large to fail" then they are suddenly dropping their free market idealism for "the good of all". i.e. the banks are suddenly advocating for a socialist solution to their free market screwup.
@@devinstucky6948But that's not how socialism works.
Profits are privatized and losses are socialized. A huge bureaucratic system keeps the status quo.
@@peekaboo1575 I'm sure if you gave a huge bureaucracy the power to socialize and allocate funds that they totally wouldn't abuse that for their own selfish gain... As they totally never did in various actual real world examples... And that said bureaucracy would totally stay efficient...
What the US and many other countries are seeing, is the result of failing capitalism because they don't actually follow capitalist doctrine. There is too much lobbying, too much regulation (regulation that prevents small businesses from competing with government-made monopolies.)
To say that's the fault of capitalism... Well that's like saying the USSR proves communism doesn't work. They didn't actually follow the doctrine, but they still used it as a power grab and as a rallying point.
All it really did is prove that there are plenty that seek to use communism and socialism for selfish means. Could the same not be true for those who claim to be capitalist? Could they perhaps not be following capitalist doctrine just as Stalin and Mao didn't follow the communist manifesto exactly?
Whether or not the manifesto is good doesn't matter for this point, because the point is that there are so many factors outside of the manifesto that influenced things that it's dishonest to make a blanket statement about its usefulness. And as such, critiques of it cannot be formulated based off of end results alone, because there needs to be discussion and understanding of the actions that lead to said results, not just "ooh monopoly appeared, capitalism don't work" or "haha people starve socialism no work," you can argue certain intrinsic principles of each system lean towards one effect more than the other, but there needs to be an actual analysis, not a God-of-the-gaps fallacy every time. (Even though technically socialism is worse with monopolies because the state is the monopoly and it is state mandated... In capitalism monopolies are usually state lobbied.)
To point at what is happening now and scream "late-stage capitalism!" That completely ignores government corruption and the variety of factors that contribute to all of this, that would just as easily destroy any one of these people's socialist utopias... And has destroyed them in the past.
There is a lack of accountability. And I'm sure that the powers that be are thrilled we are sitting here screaming about which economic system is the boogeyman, while completely ignoring the fact NEITHER will ever work under the corrupt leadership that is able to twist either system to their liking. Even if we converted to socialism tomorrow, the oligarchs would not care because they could still game the system in their favor. And guess what? The governments are in on it.
I always loved self-regulating systems. Originally from engineering, these systems can be found in sociological environments as well. An example: Split a piece of cake between two children fairly. If you do it, they will complain abut you not being fair, regardless of what you do. To avoid this, you present them with a knife and say: "one of you cuts the piece and the other one is first in line to choose one of the halves". The child cutting the cake is now forced to think, assuming that the other one will take the larger one if the halves are not the same size. It will therefore split the piece exactly in half and both will agree that they were treated fairly. Capitalism has the opposite effect: It's an instable system, in which wealth enables the growth of more wealth, which enables the growth of more wealth and on and on, even though our real resources are finite. Until somebody comes up with an intrinsically self-regulating system, I don't see much change happening.
Due to popular demand: guys, i get it. We all scroll down after watching this video, emotionally charged and most likely anxious about the future, understandably so. I did not provide an analogy. None of these children nor the parent are a metaphor for states, companies or the common person, they were a real example taken from pedagogy to underline self-regulating mechanisms using a parent-children dynamic as example. If we can put our heads into creating a real self-regulating system within politics and/or economics, then we might spark a chance of changing things for the better.
that's a really clever mechanism to teach fairness. Do you have any other rules/mechanism that leads to agents optimizing?
Capitalism already has self regulating features in it, you're just used to them that you don't understand how they do not arise naturally and cannot imagine life without them:
Capitalism turns greed and envy into productivity. It also gives you a clear path to climb the pyramid of needs. Without it, most societies stagnate. There's plenty of examples.
Also, do not fall into the currently-popular trap presented into this video. Gift-giving, hand-holding societies DO NOT SCALE. Sure, tiny village, couple of families, all well. As soon as you don't know the whole neighborhood by first name, the pleasantries end, you can't keep up with everyone and they keep rotating so your standing is never enough.... but money is still good.
Another trap presented here is equating capitalism to resources.
Countries do not go to war over capitalism. They go to war over resources. These are VERY different things.
"Split a piece of cake between two children fairly. If you do it, they will complain abut you not being fair, regardless of what you do"
do they ? Frankly this analogy of yours, regarding entire nations, it's a little simplistic don't you think ?
@@thomasdupont7186 his analogy has nothing to do with entire nations, he was using it to describe self regulating systems.
Where does the cake come from to be split evenly?
Telling poor people to cut costs and pinch pennies is like telling a starving man to eat less food
Especially when you consider how expensive it is to be poor
Nobody tells poor people to cut costs unless the poor are spending money on buying things they don't need. Like alcohol, drugs, expensive brands etc.
@@raccoon_from_heavenneeds go beyond physiology. if you're in a situation where you're taught worth is defined by wealth, and virtually everything, including social interactions, love, belonging, safety, etc. is defined by wealth, then obviously you're going to resort to whatever is emotionally numbing. humans are social creatures. we are not content just to "survive". capitalism deprives us of all of these and attempts to put a material/monetary value on them, which is why drug use is such a huge issue, and designer brands are bought to fulfill desperate consumer culture, because people will do anything to look or feel like they're wealthy, and people will do anything to make their lives feel worth living.
@@raccoon_from_heaventv’s, refrigerators, air conditioning, cell phones, cars, clothes, food, children, childcare and education….
YES!!!!
Thank you for talking about how the British killed Indians. History is truly written by the winners because people so easily gloss over the horrors of colonial rule. Hitler is condemned by Germany, but Churchill is celebrated in the UK (a man arguably responsible for as many if not more, deaths than Hitler). It’s quite disturbing how history has been warped. Let’s keep in mind that it’s barely been 70 years since we got our independence. This isn’t a thing of the distant past. Colonialism & the cruelty of the British empire is recent. People in UK are protesting immigration because apparently “it’s so unfair” that foreigners have the audacity to come to their country. One can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
Greed & selfishness continue to get rewarded. I like to be optimistic. I like to believe that people have the capacity to do good, but the world we live in doesn’t reward kindness the same way it rewards cruelty. It’s also easier to keep exploiting people when they’re too busy fighting each other instead of fighting against the real evil i.e people in positions of power who hoard all the wealth.
Not to defend Chruchill or to disagree with you, but just to make sure that nobody misunderstands your statement: Hitler was condemned for a reason. He was responsible for about 50 million deaths directly related to the war and another 13 million during the Holocaust. Sure, he wasn't the only psychopath, but he was the main brain behind it. And yes, Churchill isn't a hero either...
In war everyone loses...
@@MrHuddelchenThe Bengal Famine was an artificially induced catastrophe, where millions of Bengalis were coerced into growing cash crops and paying heavy taxes, while the British diverted grain from other parts of India to support their war efforts. When informed about the famine, Churchill’s heartless response was, "Hasn't Gandhi died yet?" This disaster alone caused the deaths of around 10 million Indians.
For Indians, Churchill is regarded in much the same way as Hitler is by Jews. The effects of these British-induced famines persist, with the repeated famines under British rule leading to genetic changes that have increased the prevalence of diabetes in India today. Moreover, 30-35 million Indians perished in 24 artificially induced famines during British rule. Yet, according to you, we should somehow excuse Churchill because, unlike Hitler, he didn’t put us in gas chambers-he simply allowed us to die of hunger and disease. Bravo.
I've been saying this for a long time. Nothing is particularly 'unique' about Hitler's crimes- except that he committed them against other white people. Had it been against Africans, and literally no one would give a fuck. You can quite literally see this in action by gauging the German government's reaction to paying reparations to victims of the Holocaust vs paying reparations to thr victims of the Herero and Namaqua genocide- Germany was immediately apologetic for the Holocaust and has paid billions to victims and their descendants. For the Hereros/Namaquas in the other hand, it took them nearly a century to even ISSUE an apology, and they still refuse to grant them reparations. If I'm not mistaken not a single member of the von Trotha family has faced any consequences for that genocide. But yet we're supposed to believe the bullshit these countries talk about when they say shit like "never again"
@Cupcake0228 In Kenya we also had to deal with the English as well. I am not trying to make comparisons to the atrocities visited upon our people.
Just to say I hear and understand.
@@Nebula.Space.Cadet.01 Its good to draw comparisons; not in a sense of "who had it worse" but so we can come to a global understanding, solidarity, and unity. As someone with Sierra Leonean heritage, I too have a special distaste for British and American colonialism.
Always bothered me how at least in the US (and so increasingly the world) the economic system was based on the presumption that humanity was evil and greed ruled all motivation, but the government was based on the presumption that humanity was virtuous and that we could trust all people to come together to make the right decisions. How did people fall for that???
Because most are evil and greedy, there you go, not everyone is like you.
That's not necessarily true, the Federalist papers discuss in depth that "men are no angels" and cannot be made to govern themselves without a system if checks and balances that turn their natures against one another for the benefit of the system. Not saying it always works, but the founders definitely were not blind or celebratory about man's natural tendencies for greed and power
@@DavserbanHard disagree, and you view the world through the lens you craft. Humanity is capable both of unfathomable cruelty and indescribable kindness. All is not lost, even if it sometimes seems that way, and if you feel the world should be different and less cruel it is important to work towards making it that way.
@@DavserbanIf you are raised in a society that rewards evil and greed, many people will become evil and greedy.
@@pivomanslovensko I think it's worth examining the question of whether we are selectively breeding greed and lack of empathy. Financial Darwinism is the idea that in a capitalist system, only those who can make money will survive. The poor will be less likely to be selected as a partner, less likely to have children, if they have the means to make that choice, less likely to pass on their qualities in general, not only genetically but in the culture as a whole. A similar pressure has arguably always existed, but tribal society meant that everyone would be taken care of if there were enough resources to do so. If wealth was genuinely relational to intelligence I might be okay with that, but it seems more like wealth is correlated to greed, sociopathy, and lack of empathy in general. It's not a good direction for humanity.
5 and a half min into the video I got one of those "want to hear how I made $2 million dollars?" ads and laughed so hard 😂
Lmaooo💀💀💀💀
I got an ad at the end of the video in Spanish about ordering food from uber eats 😅
😂🤣
I got an ad from a bank before the video started 💀💀
I hate this country 😭
“If capitalism works then why is it so costly” a sentence has never hit me so hard
The same reason why socialism doesn’t work… corruption
im 14 and this is deep
@@PacoCotero1221don't buy into this shit
@@PacoCotero1221 god forbid anyone is sincere on the internet!
So true
The best thing about statistics and figures is that if you don't like the results you can always move the goalposts
Hence this video making very stupid assertions
He explained why it wasn't accurate. Do you have an issue with what he presented?
Yes
@@ArtemisSmith like?
Middle class is a term which no longer has any meaning. Theres only those that work and those that provide jobs. 90% of the world were farmers before the industrial revolution. Corporations like black rock have been buying every single family home they can. Most of us dont actually produce anything but money for the corporations that have shackled us. The fda performs aggressive raids on anyone that provides actual organic unprocessed food. Theyre working on taking our ability to save currency. When the world moves to digital currency whats stopping them from limiting how much you can have, how much you can spend and where. We will be pushed into a credit based system where we own nothing. Its in the works right now.
100% this.
"those that provide jobs"
Don't fall for their language, they aren't providing the jobs,they are merely exploiting the ones who do the work.
There's an Owner Class, and everyone else.
Bit doomer but yeah
@ReadParenti right if you go over that amount they take your benefits. You're kept in poverty barely scraping by with the amount they give you. With people that can't work it's a harsh life.
Man, growing up in this state of the world order just feels numbing. I don't parcticulary see a bright or a dark future ahead of us (or egotistically me). But to put put it in the matter of colours, it basically just feels grey.
In my younger years I've always had tendencies to anxiety. But with me growing older and understanding more and more about our world, it gets worse over time. My inital tought during and after this video was "Why not just end it all, so you I don't have to endure all of what's ahead." And I know that this is a very very dangerous thought, yet it was the first "rational" and impulsive thought that I had.
After writing this short paragraph, I noticed how silly it sounds. Initially it has not much to do with the topic in this video (great video btw.). Maybe my current state of mind is partly influenced by the consequence of Capitalism. I thought about deleting the paragraph and just moving on with my daily life, but I will just leave it there. On the other side I don't know the effects that my comment will have on other people reading this. However at the same time, I don't really care, because I feel immensly powerless in the big sceme and disconnected from the world around me. I apologize if I'm come a across as egocentric, rude and naive.
You are not alone not only me, bi I feel like a lot of people feel like that, some are just very good at hiding/ignoring it than others
Sounds like you're discovering nihilism. You're not far, you should make the jump to absurdism. For me, its proved to be a healthier mindset than nihilism.
Some days I feel absurd, other days I feel hopeless. Get plenty of rest and take care of yourself best you can in the system you've been born into. Unfortunately, unless we all band together (which will never happen thanks to the upper end constantly pitting us against each other) then we are powerless to change the world we live in. Circumstances may be bleak, but on an individual level they are not hopeless. We have access to food, water, decent infrastructure, and a mostly safe community depending on where you are located. That's a lot more than majority of the places in the world can say. I understand the hard work of anyone's day to day is numbing to their body and soul, but if you bite the bullet and you truly understand the system you live in then you can game it to put yourself into a better position than you are now. It'll be slow and you will NEVER reach the state of those who used foulplay or were born into money, but you will be comfortable and content with what you've earned as it truly is yours. Take pride in what you have and don't stop dreaming. You have the rest of your life ahead of you and I promise you don't know what it has to offer, you could end up anywhere doing anything and if that thought scares you then living must not be for you.
Edit: In the same vein as OP I don't know how people will take this as it's just the way that I've come to view things. Expectations lead to disappointment, and disappointment can often lead to depression. I hope that what you take away from this is that sometimes you have to just accept that life is stupid and ridiculous and way beyond your control. Enjoy what you can and enjoy what you want, otherwise what's the point?
This is pretty much what I think too.
Thanks for all the anwers guys. Yes it's true, that compared to a lot of other people lifes mine is technically great. And often I try to remind myself of exactly that. It definetly helps, but I'm kind of stuck between being motivated to, as you say, biting the bullet and trying to get rest to relieve myself from the stress I've been giving myself recently. It's hard do describe, because of the many factors playing together to form my anxiety-driven mind.
At this exact moment I would say that I'm doing quite well, and I hope you guys may feel that way too.
In fact, I spoke to some friends of mine about this topic of being "hopeless for the future" (they are between the ages of 20-25) and at some point someone asked "Or is our generation just some kind of whining-generation"?
To be honest I think that this statement is not completely wrong, because some of us (even myself) seem pretty spoiled. Yet when a whole generation of people are saying something along the way of our topic, there must be something wrong. And I think we are not to blame, because we were way to young to have any major influence on it (whatever "it" is).
watching this without premimum bc you don't think it'd be a good idea to pay another $14 a month and being interuptted by ads really enriches the experience of this video
you considered paying for premium?! 😂
@@afafafaafaf 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 i feel so silly for being so desperate for some peace to even consider, but yes. lmao. haven't given in yet though!
It’s ironic how this guy is thriving due to capitalism. He could have demonetized the video
@@basement_culture something something "we should improve society somewhat" "yet you participate in society, curious!" meme something something.
like yes..... but also i'm sure this guy still has to like. eat.
we don't really know the state of his life.
@@basement_cultureyou do realize that we still have to participate in this system 🤡
The only comfort I find in climate change is that hopefully it will force the world to confront the evils of our global economic system and how it got us into this mess. The next 100 years are going to be really messy and I'm not psyched to live through them, but I only hope our grandchildren come out of it wiser than we are now
Sir, I IMPLORE YOU to research getting your own land if at all possible. Being self-sufficient and able to grow, hunt, forage and provide for yourself will be extremely important to your survival.
Mfw the icecaps all melted in 2012 😐
Gotta rack our brain to act, not give in
Don't have children, you'll just making new people suffer in a world that'll be even worse than ours.
@@eueumesmoaquelecara4638"As things stand, I believe that the root of all evils is capitalism" - Albert Einstein, from his essay, "Why Socialism?" published in Monthly Review 1949
I don't remember where I heard it, but
"The fact that greed exists as a human trait is /no/ reason to build our entire world around it."
You will not reproduce
@@qoph1988buddy we are in a youtube comment section about the consequences of capitalism in decay. Non of us will.
!!!!!
@@qoph1988 and you _should_ not reproduce... yet these arbitrary rules are defied every day
What do you mean you don’t remember where you heard it? He literally says that in the video bonehead
Man my mind was just screaming Kafka, Kafka, Kafka before you came out and used the word 'Kafkaesque' yourself....I think he was the first writer who really captures this feeling of absurdity and pointlessness and the feeling of being trapped that today's world evokes in many of us....
Kafka biographic video coming soon 👀
@@HorsesOnYT Love it....can't wait!
The problem are the people that can't be named.
Read Zola
read gogol he was proto absurdism and surrealism
I've been saying this for years now, modern humanity doesn't fight against scarcity but against abundance. Every aspect of modern life is a quest to waste as much resources as possible consuming the most amount of time and energy.
Well spoken, well spoken.
The future is a one world global technocracy where every aspect of human life is monitored, gamified, and tokenized.
By the way, the term 'creative destruction' was written about extensively by an economist called Joseph Schumpeter and his book and his arguments are very elegantly structured. I loved reading his work in college (I did Economics Honours as my bachelors degree in India) and we also read some of the writings of Adam Smith and Karl Marx....no matter what you end up convinced about, there is no doubt that the works of these people are very elegantly written and are a joy to read for a curious, developing mind....Unfortunately, people tend to dismiss great works with just two sentence criticisms on social media (I dont mean you)...like I have seen Marx being trashed all my life and yet, if you read him you realise how much depth, originality and intellectual force there was in his work and writing....
Myself, I am quite confused but I know one thing for sure- The present system is broken and its just not working....If you look at my country India, we don't have the kind of neo-colonialist presence and domination of our economy by western interests (and even the Chinese now) that places like Africa have. However, we have increasing religious radicalization and a hollowing out of democratic institutions sponsored by what? You guessed it- a couple of corporates who finance the elections and the media brainwashing required to turn people into religious bigots and unthinking zombies....In return, the companies literally capture all of India's resources and get awarded every big contract in every sector.....At least, they are not foreign companies like in Africa but that is small consolation....Anyway, I am currently in Norway and I really respect this country and society....according to me, the scandinavian countries are the last existing paradise on earth....
Except when you understand the reason they got to that way is relient on the suffering of other peoples and nations.
Yeah it's nice what supporting American Imperialism and its capital system can buy you.
@@thebat4977I think it's important to point that out, but I disagree with how you frame it.
the fact that their place in the world economy places them in a privileged position in comparison to the heavily exploited people of the global south doesn't invalidate their political ideals.
What? Marx is a terrible writer, had terrible ideas, and couldn't explain them for shihh. The communist manifesto is basically sci fi garbage. Pseudo intellectualism is disgusting. Don't attach yourself to figures that loved to wax poetic. Attach yourself to strong ideas. Jeezus!
@@scotiacaper I think there's something to that idea for sure. that doesn't make those ideals wrong, though.
I come from an engineering background but I did have to take some business related classes in university, from that experience I can only say what I was wholly repilsed and that business people believe their own lies.
The experience that stuck withme the most was when my HR teacher praised Nike's (I think) "workforce outsourcing to south east asia", where we in the real world know they use child slavery.
Nike does outsource their work to east asia there was a documentary about it yet the adults that work these jobs are in very poor conditions not to say its any better yet i feel inclined to argue due to the fact that east asia doesnt have workers rights like in the us
@@xberserker7892the workers rights we've got in the US, like anti-child labor laws, a minimum wage, a 40 hour work week, etc were all won in long and bloody fights between organized labor and the owning class. Not a product of capitalism running unchallenged, but concessions from the factory owner to direct resistance by the factory workers
@@ethicsxcPeople these days have the collective memory of a gnat. People truly believe if capitalism ran unrestricted we’d have an amazing economic system. I’d like to point them to late 1800s/early 1900s América, where we actually had this. Child labor, 100 hour workweeks, deaths at work, company towns. Hell even the food went unregulated - you had people making bread with plaster and bleach to stretch the ingredients and make it look “perfect”. That’s what unfettered capitalism looks like, and it’s fucking horrible for us peons.
@@mikkelhansen3714how is democracy the worst lol
@@maxwellbarnhart1375 it’s the worst except for all the others
I am loving your videos. There are some broad thoughts that I've only scratched the surface of but my own defeatist attitude saying "what's the point?" has prevented me from ever making the effort to justify so they just became idle thoughts... Its nice to hear someone more educated expand on and give proper voice and reason to them.
Educate yourself! Horses is citing from the philosophers Mark Fisher and Frederic Jameson among others. Fisher is easily accessible in terms of much of his work being available online but also in terms of his clear and straightforward writing style. Don’t be defeatist, join a socialist org like DSA and fight capitalism.
“The tiniest event can tear a hole in the grey curtain of reaction which has marked the horizons of possibility under capitalist realism. From a situation in which nothing can happen, suddenly anything is possible again.”-Mark Fisher
Trying to explain to people why I’m depressed is absolutely exhausting.
Maybe stop being so depressed and it would be less exhausting.
God is not a dead man
If you know about Allah, you would know you lost your time with fear of future
To the two others in the replies; HOW ARE THESE SUPPOSED TO SOLVE DEPRESSION
@@IisLasagna It's the easiest thing in the world to be depressed when you depend your happiness on societies bs. Ask yourself what you would be doing during your perfect world and dedicate as much time you have to it.
@@ibrahimalharbi3358 Your prophet Muhammad married a 9 year old girl at the age of 53.
I absolutely love your message of empowerment that everything dies. I've been preaching this for years that doesn't matter if you're as big of as a sun or small as a blade of grass you have a moment in time where you don't exist then you are being made then you get to live and then you die. Every single entity within this physical realm adheres to that truth.
@@C12341could you expand?
@@C12341 It's called inherited wealth.
@@C12341nothing dies, it just transitions into a different lifeform.
Thanks for highlighting this. There is a sense of peace in this
@@C12341 I was born in a lower middle class family, but I know. I remember. No matter what reality or the facts presented…people praised “me” or said that I was “going to make it”(think general success). Since birth. Im not particularly good at any academia, business, sports, arts, or anything human really…but everyone saw it (literally even the people who’ve gone legit psychotic). It took time to realise that I was “going to make it” regardless and I didn’t have a choice. Like there was a much elder part of me that my younger mold had yet to comprehend. Though the transgender experience is riddled with much more hate and complexity, I have to say that I relate to extents.
Our morals are stuck in 1880’s while our technology is stuck in 2030’s while our education is stuck in 1980’s while our legislation is stuck in 1930’s while our economy is stuck in the 1970’s while our military Industrial complex is stuck in the 1990’s while the rest of the world decides how to divide us up into its dinner.
The us is still hegemonic, there is no carving. Yet.
What a comment! The aspects of our society you mention ARE really stuck in the respective decades you say. Spot on.
Our spirit was killed and replaced in Year 33 ad < proof is akin to gravity )
And our sexualities and mental software are still all caveman-mode
@@percivalyracanth1528hey I can read words AND music 😡
2:24 This feels a little misleading. *First:* It seems to confuse money (the concept) with currency (the object used as money).
*Second:* Money has appear independently in post farming and pre writing societies in all continents through history.
*Third:* In the reference, («The Myth of the Barter Economy» in The Atlantic) the claim is that what has not been observed in itself is barter economy, but systems like gift economy have. From here, money still appears as a logical consequence of the limitations of systems (not barter but) like Gift Ecoomy. For example, is interesting to note that the article adds that «exchange isn’t impersonal», which would cast doubts of its efficiency at macro levels.
Yeah he seems to ignore evidence altogether, despite it being nunerous. It's a shame because some of videos are so well researched and others just seem to parrot his political/economic views whilst entirely ignoring the weath of historical evidence that debunks them.
Around a year ago, I stopped participating in the consumer culture. I realised I didn't understand why I would buy many od the things, and I just kind of stopped buying unneeded products. Yet, whenever I tell people, I am seen as a "weirdo", because I don't go out and buy things I already own or things I can't use. I don't understand why I am the bizarre one, when that is just as bizarre
How do I gain a mindset like yours
I wish I could explore random old unused buildings with someone like you guys, you seem cool.
@boredgirl1196 I guess part of it is acting the way you want to be. Getting unused to it first. I noticed for me, with a lot of things like cake and such too, I don't really think beforehand. After I do, I realised I don't really think it's a good taste (not that it tastes bad). Also just got unused to a lot of things, then it becomes easier
@boredgirl1196 I'm not sure if this helps, but in my case, I found spite to be a really good motivator. The thought "stop feeding the rich with your money" crossed my mind, and then it became a lot harder for me to justify spending anything I didn't have to. Why should I feed what little I have to those who would pick off of my plate, then blame me for starving?
I agree , everywhere I go everyone acts like everything is okay , wtf man isn’t there people in Africa digging up diamonds just for fucking iPhones right now 😔
This video is brilliant and encapsulates my melancholy feelings about the state of world affairs. This channel in its entirety is a gem btw one of if not the best I've seen
I, too, feel my own thoughts being fed back to me in these videos. It is truly a reflexive experience.
Everyone is just comfortable and privileged so they complain like spoiled children
@@adrian15041994indeed
@@adrian15041994agree wholeheartedly!!! I’ve shouted “EXACTLY!!!” & “that is SO true!!!” more times than I can count and I’m only a few minutes into the video. 😂😂😂😂😂
Feels like many aspects of religions' origins are a guide to avoid as well as warning about capitalism. Capitalist behaviour goes directly against most of the 10 commandments for a start
yes, it is like this for most religions, too bad, the capitalist religious institutions love to go against all other forms of systems because they love exploiting people by using religion...
lmfao then how did monarchy came to exist? that's worse than capitalist lib democracy
Yup. I actually came back around to Christianity when I had the epiphany that Jesus was sacrificed for healing and feeding people without demanding profit. I realized that Satan was a real person who monopolized resources and made others bend to his will. Jesus was sacrificed for undermining the monopoly, because Satan propagandizes others to guard his fortune.
And God is just what we don't know. We don't know where all this came from, but we know it's wrong to exploit others for selfish gain. The most noble thing you can do is sacrifice your life fighting against exploitation.
If Jesus was a based commie, that kinda changes how I feel about Christianity, like it's been corrupted rather than being intrinsically corrupt. But it's corrupted easily because it isn't very scientific. So, yea.
@@MichelleHellexactly how I feel about Christianity as a Christian. I feel like so many people these days believe in a twisted version and are misled by false prophets - I am not exempt either.
@@MichelleHell I guess many people struggle to see that point of view since most socialist countries in the past have been hostile to Christians if not mandating outright atheism.
Damn I am that middle manager trapped in the system. It's even harder to break free when you have a kid.
We are all trapped just on different levels.
I can't tell you just how realistic the first minute is, there are people in my life that I can hardly hold a conversation with because all they do is complain about what's on the news or whatever, id rather sit in silence
I’ve been trying to explain this system my whole life and my conclusion is we’ve haven’t seen anything better and creating something better will take a global shift that will be catastrophic
Agreed. Will be better the sooner it happens though - but no generation wants to bear that toll so the buck keeps getting passed down the line
I think the global shift will happen first and we will be determined to create something different so we don't repeat the same mistakes.
Not positive a better system will be created though. As we can see with nuclear weapons, the fundamental problem isn't the economic system but human nature. Competition and self-preservation is in our DNA and those instincts will always drive us to secure more resources and try to dominate others for our own security.
Looking for a "perfect" system is illusory imo
We are smart but also deeply flawed and will thus always find ways to circumvent it
It is the time of the Kali Yuga, so might as well give it a shot. Things are going to change, just how. Are we going to be assimilated into the capitalist system to the point that it is physically in our brains, or are we going to make a system that fits our bodies and the needs of the planet? Like getting a new car, you don’t rebuild the old one, you ditch it and get a different one. We start planning and building the new system now, so when the old one breaks down we can abandon it with glee and ride along in a system the meets our needs much better. Just can’t wait too long to start building the new one. Then the people with power have control over you.
@@uchiigtanait may be the job of millennials and zoomers. We’re pretty fucked already so we don’t have much to lose.
@@uchiigtanaI think it keeps getting passed down the line because not enough people are revolutionaries, not because people don’t want to bear the toll. I think people are in fact very willing to pay the price for a better world. I think it’s just that, currently, society as a whole would view some sort of revolution as radical and extremist. That opinion will gradually shift as more people suffer and the ones who have been suffering suffer worse. That’s how it usually goes at least looking at revolutions of the past.
This channel is so refreshing, like a respite from the things i see day to day that dont make sense to me and make me feel insane.
Everything here makes sense.
Bravo. I've recently subscribed to your videos due to a low point in life and they provided some much-needed perspectives. You continue to frame many of my thoughts in such a way that I feel comforted that there's content like this to reflect on and strengthen my ideas. Thanks for making, creating, and sharing such thought-provoking work @Horses.
How about this for a strong idea: build a system to replace capitalism as a wiki MMORPG sort of like The Sims meets GitHub, and when enough folks are on board, and enough kinks ironed out, we can say, screw you guys, we're going over here.
We can't escape it unless we have somewhere to escape TO.
These videos seem most appealing to cynical, misanthropic Leftists who own cats.
Do you own a cat?
If you want to strengthen your ideas, start by researching his 'figures' on British India.
Even Indian nationalists don't make such idiotic claims.
@@tomjohnson9833 , nope, don't own cats. Been thinking of adopting one recently though & a dog.
Also, what's wrong with cats? Are you allergic? Did you have a run in with a feline who ruined a part of your childhood? Some traumatic experience with a kitty that's rocked your world?
Most creatures are cool, some are a**holes though - like people, like you.
You're a strange guy with outlandish interpretations of complete strangers on the net, fella. Check yourself ✓
@@tomjohnson9833 if a person start anything they have to say by "every problem has one cause/one solution and it's this", just get ready to read/listen to a bunch of bs lol
@@tomjohnson9833your mindset seems the most appealing to self righteous shut-ins who love to deny factual truths and own guns.
Do you own a gun?
I'm Indian and was raised on Indian history, and since growing up I've done a short amount of reading into what kife in colonial India was like, and this video is absolutely on point with it. The figures line up roughly with other sources, in addition, the Brits stole upwards of a trillion dollars worth of natural resources from India to benefit themselves. You've got no close what you're talking about, and are only doing it to preserve your smooth little brain from having to think critically for a moment.
I find fostering kindness to the best way to make people start thinking about the contradictions.
“In the 1800’s Smith saw people trading goods in exchange for profit, and said it was always this way. He made that up.” @horses says about Adam Smith FRSA (baptised 16 June [O.S. 5 June] 1723[5] - 17 July 1790)
Says it doesnt exist cause horses is kinda dumb
Also, he claims capitalism did not exist before that, and then attributes many horrors to capitalism that happened well before when he claims capitalism started.
I don’t know your name, Horses content creator. I am grateful for an even clearer look behind the curtain of our capitalist reality. While you yourself earn your “measly profit” from doing so I hope and indeed assume that that profit isn’t the motivation that sustains you in doing so. I hope that the hope you hold onto and make mention of in this video essay is a flame that finds the oxygen and fuel necessary to spread. Such a flickering flame in me is fed. Thanks again.
Even if it isn't everybody's gotta eat
Look behind the curtain of socialism this clown professes - there isn't anyone there because they are all dead.
Wish we could try capitalism, Keynesian is capitalism, it's socialism.
I’m sick of trying capitalism after every crash we try it again. I wanna give communism a shot like capitalism got
@blazzuris7219 You don't know what you're talking about.
no economic system or political setup will guarantee people will be good to each other, what brings all these systems down inevitably is humanity itself.
look up the acali raft. People of different cultures, believes and backgrounds were put on a raft for a year, completely isolated. They started loving each other despite being completely different. They shared everything, were like a happy family
We are good in nature. It's hierachies, authorities, greed that make us go bad
@@juannaym8488 well the truth is juan 2% of people are sociopaths and 1% are psychopaths. When they're are people who are hungry for power and wealth those guys are the ones that try the hardest to get to the top and those people at the top control you. That's the truth
@@noahsanchez5329 then we need a system were there's either no top or where the top's power is controlled by those by the bottom
@@juannaym8488and that kind of system has no example in our history.
@@juannaym8488that is what democracy was supposed to be. A system controlled by the people not by the ones in power.
the belief that the human condition is inherently evil and greedy and destructive is one that makes me incomprehensibly sad. be hopeful always - a brighter future will come when we come together
You are the best
God is not a dead man
Future is bright
Even with crazy men in white house
But the human condition ensures that we will never come together, so that brighter future is not actually possible.
Reality sucks, best get over it.
eh, in my experience people are as good as they are bad. it's just that the "bad" end of the spectrum is incredibly hard to get out of, since a big part of "evil" is lack of self-control, which is the exact thing you need to get out of it.
Its probably true though?, so how do you deal with the cognitive dissonance between having a positive outlook and the reality of what humans actually are? I never managed to figure out a way to trick myself into believing something that I don't think is true just because it feels good.
A study showed that people who have good coping mechanisms will allow bad things to happen longer. 😢
Yea, people can put up with a ton and the ones who can't are world changers since most are introverts and off themselves, I've been getting "signs" is it really up to me?
Is 'what' up to you?
@@SOLIDSNAKE. at the end of the day I think the only person responsible for the happenings and reactions is ourselves
@@crystalwebster2005 reactions sure but is it really not us at the hands of the unpredictable ocean that is life
i need source for research
The ads for Dolce & Gabbana that appeared midway through were a stroke of genius 😂
Your channel just tripled in subscribers, congrats! Really like your videos
While it may be exhilarating and seem enlightening to tear down the current system, doing so with no clear goal in mind to build a better tomorrow is akin to Kaczinsky’s eco-terrorism.
All politics are egoism; to what end do we build this better tomorrow? There is purpose, there is reason, there is order. Our malaise is errant, what we have discovered and we writhe against is only our inevitable deaths.
We go forward, that while the future might invalidate us it may also deliver us.
I think that eventually something so atrocious will happen that it physically cannot be ignored by the people. I don't think anybody can really predict it, as it could be a number of different things, but eventually it will.
I hope you are right. My fear is that in America the current global hegemony and enforcer of capitalism. The middle class can be continually bought off with commodities or propagandized to accept any cost to ensure their lifestyle remains the same. Anyone under the middle class will be too burned out and tired to even care. I could be just as wrong as I could right though.
are you saying we might get a "Soylent Green" moment?
“The poor will always be with us.” - Matthew 26
They thought leprosy would too.
They got that one right
@@courtjester8055leprosy still is with us though.
You’re my hero. I feel so much less crazy after hearing you perfectly articulate things I’ve pondered for years.
This is an awful video filled with logical fallacies. If you don't see them, perhaps you are pondering things for so long precisely because you don't know HOW to think, rather than what to think.
@@Scoleciteplease explain further as I thought aligned with the original comment
The creator of this video can hamster is way into thinking capitalism is bad all he wants, and you’re free to latch on to his ideas. But my guess is you haven’t truly studied economic and political systems, you simply did some quick googling. And were exposed to someone else’s anti-capitalism thoughts in the past, essentially mind control (we are all at the mercy of mind control).
But the fact remains, look at how past socialist and communist societies ended up. That’s all you need to know
Right thank you! Never had the knowhow to spell it out like he does!
@@Scolecitesays the bird stuck in its cage
Friendly reminder that the most effective way RIGHT NOW to fight against corporate greed is to UNIONIZE!! Find a union that matches your job, and if non-existant, reach out to existing unions, they will help you create one!!!
This might be my favorite video thats ever summed up my feeling of living under this system. You absolutely did an amazing job making this! Much love
Well, it's exactly that: a feeling. There's barely any real facts in this video.
@@raybrandt bootlicker spotted
Willful participation in you own ignorance is crazy. Ray Brandt
This video encapsulates so many of my own feelings in such a neat and beautiful way. I will share it with anyone who will take time to consider.
VENTING...
I myself am stuck in a soulless corporate job and feel like I have very little to complain about because I'm reasonably comfortable and so are most of the people around me but I so wish I could have more freedom in what I do and not always have to consider money and productivity.
That combined with the knowledge that most people don't have it as well as I do and I'm stuck with a feeling of intense guilt to add to my dissatisfaction. Can't wait for the revolution. Much love from Ireland.
We can't wait for the revolution, we need to make it. Good luck comrade.
Will come
Lmao
I feel like this too, and so do many of my colleagues. Absurd to think we should be grateful both for being comfortable AND better than many and yet we fail.
Let me ask you a question, do you believe in security? In regards to a person or a job?
Thank you. I needed the DEGROWTH ❤. I need something to help with the doom. I often have a more negative image of the future of human beings.
there is something oddly calming about taking a step back to look beyond yourself and your life and to see that as a whole, humanity will progress into better and worse times over and over for a much longer time than you will live. even though my life sucks and i hate living in this would, after i die, humans will continue to live and progress and evolve past what we are living in now. it probably wont look the way it does in my head but im sure it will be just as great
This video is so good wtf. I love the style of editing that the paintings :)))) Will definitely show my friends!
Thank you!
One of the best videos ive ever watched. One of the best channels, ive only watched 3 of your videos but im pretty sure all of them are profoundly great.
A really exceptional overview, far sighted, nuanced, wise and thought- and hopefully action- provoking. Brilliant analysis!
Anyone with a shred of intelligence, critical thinking and interest in the world sees that Capitalism is a nonsensical and dangerous system. I love this channel so much, your visuals, script and - crucially - ideas always deliver.
Bro your videos are so good. The quality and consistency is crazy. I can watch this while I play games or I can put my whole attention on it and it's still great.
yt recommended your arthur 9/11 vid only to find out it was copyrighted
Ty… we will see.
Incredibly well done. And I especially appreciated the ‘it’s not if, but when’ statement. Might not be in my time, but there is a hope for future generations.
That's precisely how evangelical christians delude themselves into believing they are correct. It's also why people point out what you are doing is a religion.
As a former member myself, good luck out there.
@@willytodd2750 Well evangelical Christians believe in questionable set of events that were fainltly recorded via second hand sources that turned into a an absolute fan-fiction mess. This is more of a "Generally speaking regardless of wtf happens, systems rise and fall, empires crumble under the weight of time like night and day, so it's hard to imagine this will last forever, as even our civilization probably won't to begin with...maybe in the future it will be changed..."
Basically it's just a thought that isn't even believed that strongly but a likely theory. That's hardly a religion that's just a bloody hypothesis and a intense thought experiment.
I mean Adam smith was also vocal about how landlords basically suck value outta society and pointed out clear issues with the system.
I have nothing to say apart from “amazing video”, just commenting to let you know and to boost this in the algorithm like it deserves
Another incredible video. Thank you for bringing this to light.
anyways, great video. I didn't really know this much about how systems worked and used to go by my life ignorant. But in the last 2 years, now that I will be finishing highschool, I started checking out universities and it blew my mind how much they costs. And I can't even get a decent job considering the place I live without a certificate or experience. And i can't get experience without doing something which I can't since I don't have a certificate. This put me in this immensely terrifying place because I worked all my life for good grades so that I can get into good unis, which I can't even do all because I don't have the funds for that. So videos like this helped with my perspective on truly how things work.
get ready for a 6 to 6 for the rest of your days buddy - its gonna be a long ride
I really connect with all your essays. Great articulation, such ease and flow, not too fast, the visuals used in a truly contemporary design, and you probably use a good amount of ai. Keep up the good work, and hopefully you inspired me to create my own video essays. cheers.
Hopefully you do a bit more research on your own videos before making them public, rather than just regurgitating baseless anti-western gibberish as Horses has done here.
@@tomjohnson9833 you seem to be upset, tell us what's wrong?
You have no idea how strongly this video affected me, perhaps a decision that changes the entire course of my life just got validated after this.
Could you perhaps share a little more about this if it isn’t something personal of course? I’m just genuinely curious
Same here
We simply must know
I think you make some good points. However, I really do think that capitalism has been a net gain overall for many societies. I know it has to die at some point, but, if anything, it’s an important milestone in the advancement of human civilization. It’s not like these future systems are going to get rid of every aspect of capitalism, neither. We should keep the parts that work(encourages ingenuity through patents, the freedom of citizens to benefit their communities through private charities, the incentive to provide services and luxuries to the common household, etc). I think it would be a grave mistake to end capitalism completely.
Still a great video, though. It made me think instead of making me mad, so great work.
A lot of those "parts" are basic freedoms though which could only be stopped through a tyrannical government.
You are starting to edge close to the historical materialism understanding of history. At one time, capitalism was a progressive force. So too was feudalism over slave societies, and slave societies over “primitive” communities. However, just as slave societies and feudalism became reactionary over time, producing the elements that led to their own destruction, so too has capitalism become similarly reactionary. With dialectal thinking, we can begin to see the truth of the world, utilizing concrete analysis of concrete conditions to shape our strategy and policy.
If we want to advance humanity, we must accept that our mode of production must change, as it has in the past.
What happens when the contradiction at the core of capitalist society, that being that one class owns the means of production, and another class can only sell their labor to those owners, is resolved? Either the owners remain in power, and we embrace barbarism in a ruined world, or the laborers break up and reshape the means of production, marrying the social labor organization that we experience today with social ownership of the means of production, and reshape society along with it. We cannot say exactly what that society will look like, nor will it be a total end to human misery, but just as capitalism launched us to great heights, so too can what comes next.
@@wizardunionizer I think that’s a decent way to put it. I just can’t shake the thought that people only tend to deal in absolutes when it comes to how societies should function. If every aspect of capitalism is upended, the progress brought by the new system would be completely outweighed by the shattering social effects that a lack of familiar structure would bring.
I’m not saying anything about you implying this, however. I’m just saying that slow and steady wins the race. As much as social change is an integral part to healthy societies, it’s a fine balance between too much change and not enough. Not everyone is going to benefit from these changes, neither. It’s only a matter of time before anyone’s current economic views become obsolete and harmful to future generations.
@@wizardunionizerthis comment just changed my mind to how I perceive historical materialism. It comes across as a kind of Hegel phenomenology of the spirit idea but in terms of economics. Great comment.
Yeah that's a reasonable idea until you realize that if class had never existed and thus feudalism never existed human beings would be far, far, far more advanced now than we are today. History is not an independent factor, it is a narrative, a result of actual causes. It is not a cause in itself, there is no teleology to the development of societies. Capitalism is just a profoundly evil, harmful thing that unfortunately happened to humanity and there is nothing good about it and nothing about it we should keep.
Watching this video is one of the most defining moments in my worldview now. Thanks for changing my mind, anonymous youtuber. You've earned a loyal subscriber. I hope the world can look to the nations that "made it" and see that sometimes the grass really is greener when green paper plays second fiddle to human livelihood.
A key portion of the argument here, that capitalism is not natural, is actually not supported by humanity's habit of bartering pre-mint. Profit seeking methods have been used universally by us likely since the first trade between humans ever occurred, often including community-based organizations, even in less populated areas. There was a man touted as the first pre-Socratic Western philosopher in the BC who took advantage of poor farmers by buying their farming equipment during a dry year, then renting it back to them the next, which was a wet year, wringing himself initially into debt and recovering entirely, then making a profit. Whether that was in currency or trade, I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter. Capitalism as described here has existed for a very long time if you apply its actual function. Apart from that, the biggest issue I have with this video is that in none of the cases presented do we see true capitalism; much like true socialism/communism, fascism, or any other social/economic structure, it is nearly impossible to generate a true-to-life copy of the ideology. Corporations manipulate the government with money or blackmail in exchange for protections and advantages, hampering any attempts at what actual capitalism should look like. There is a definite and oligarchal rule over the US. Gov by corporations; but ultimately, the largest issues we see with any of these major ideological systems is not a result of the ideology - else they would work just as well in practice as they do on paper - but rather, human nature, which will always produce individuals willing to manipulate any system in place. The arguments against capitalism have the same root as the arguments against socialism, or etcetera. Capitalism's "effect" is so broadly seen because it spans so widely and is almost intrinsically tied in modern day to the reach of American corporations. The ultimate issue lies within our own hearts, and we are the first step in solving it. Only by being the best humans we can be, regardless of the struggles our experience throws at us, will the issue be mitigated. There is much work to do, but little of it involves removing the concepts of specific systems from our lives, for they are almost all applicable on a personal basis, and none of it involves the hatred of each other.
The Individual is NOT the fundamental unit of analysis.
I believe in Free Will, for sure, but the idea that your appeal to people's better natures is a higher priority than the overarching system that structures our very interfacing with the world is frankly laughable.
@@ikkikita9665 You'll never change the system we're talking about with an attitude like that
Very well put, specifically that education on understanding our own mind and emotions is most important. Because from that will automatically emerge the knowledge to create better societal structures, and will also give us peace of mind.
Yes and no, one could argue these malicious practices align with the clear definition of capitalism hence profit is the goal
I'm glad at least one person brought this up. It seems for as long as there has been civilization people were bartering goods. The world's richest man made his fortune in the bronze age for god's sake. With that in mind it's really ridiculous to toss thousands of years of history aside and say there's no anthropological evidence without further elaboration. You could certainly make the claim that trade on the scales we see today is unnatural, and for that we are in pain, but the claim as stated in the video is just false. Furthermore, the people in this comment section wondering "how people could agree to partake in such an unfair system in the first place" are lacking in knowledge of how brutal and unfair the world was before the modern era and capitalism. You could ask the same question about agriculture and the answer would be the same. People agreed because to this system seemed to take advantage of our worst nature and make it a good thing. It is exactly as you said, until people can change their ways and act out a better world these systems of evil, exploitation, and oppression will continue to persist.
I remember as a kid I thought of becoming a business man one day.
I said, "It's easy. Just sell stuff. I'll buy a bag of candy that will cost me $5 and resell everything separately, and I'll have $10."
But I kept doing math. Well, I have to go to the store, factor in my time, having money ahead of time, and possibly NOT being able to sell everything.
So, i needed more money. So I got a job. And the job paid $6 per hour, but I PRODUCED $100 of stuff. And I realized the only one really making huge profits were the ones that sold not bars of candy, not bags of candy, not boxes of candy, not pallets of candy, but the one that owned the factories that make the bags, the ones that own the factories that make the boxes, the one that owned MANY factories and he would underpay everyone beneath him.
And so, I stopped believing, because almost everything I touch is stained with some poor worker that was underpaid while they over produced and the owners of many factories skimmed the profits of many, many workers for their own riches. And these owners pretend they're being "fair."
👏💯
Cringe comment detected
There’s a retarded kid in my moms town who started his own business fixing bikes
He’s got 2 things going for him: strong work ethic, he isn’t poisoned by leftism
@@Cringe_department_15 It's on the other end of the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" spectrum of determinism/free will. It's just as disingenuous and moronic, honestly.
That's basically what Marx criticized. Pretty ironic. 😅
A lot of these issues stem from corruption and lack of transparency not from the basic idea of “exchanging goods and services for capital”.
Yeah. Market economies are phenomenal. Market economies where the largest players monopolize all new market opportunities and suppress wages as low as possible are horrible.
@@TheSpecialJ11 I didn’t mention free market, just the basic concept of capitalism. I agree with you and all of this is facilitated by corruption, lobbyists and a lack of transparency.
nope
that's the standard answer they give so you won't question things further
but against scientific research none of that stands up
What is "corruption"?
When a company has an agreement behind closed doors with the government?
In the USA that's just called lobbying
and they'll lobby and ellect the politicians they want no matter what
and there's nothing we can do
Protest?
They'll use the full might of the police to bash our heads in. They've done it before.
There's no fairness. They have all the money, we have nothing.
Who's they? It's the rich, the burgeoisie. The owners of the HUGE farms, the factories, the machines, source codes, the data. and so on.
This is why social democracy is good. It retains the benefits of capitalism while also limiting the power of corrupt and self-serving capitalists.
@@binbows2258 well, the problem with social democracy is that it doesn't remove the mechanism that allows the rich to remain rich. Aka. Private property of the means of production.
Since they remain rich they have economical power. And economical power is political power.
So, they have the incentive and the power to revert all the achievements of the working class in a social democracy.
They use all the power to do things like: privatization of healthcare, privatization of transportation, destruction of labour safety regulations, eliminate the minimum wage, paid leave, maternity leave, etc.
The only way to maintain the welfare is by having popular power.
Hey I want to thank you for starting this YT channel. I hope you get the subscriptions you rightfully deserve. Keep up this wonderful work your doing!
Finally Americans are realising that their entire luxury is a money stolen from other people
In regards to gift-giving, there is still a profit motive. People who manage to give fewer/cheaper gifts than they receive get richer. It's still essentially bartering, just with poor record-keeping about each transaction.
Yeah, but unless they're also really charismatic, people will likely respond in kind for anything except maybe the basic necessities as soon as they cotton on.
Being selfish in a system built on altruism can shoot you in the foot of you're not careful.
It's done for owing a favour, not to amass wealth
And it only works on a small scale.
Another incredible video! thanks for put some light on this issue, it feels so obvious and at the same time so hard to explain, and you made it incredible well!
I think our problem is that we are trying to find some uniform system that should satisfy all our needs.
A capitalist or socialist system (or some combination of both), but to the end.
In practice, I don't see a good reason for this.
In a general way, instead of getting married to one idea, you can look at these approaches as tools that can be used as needed according to the need in the general system.
Homie put the old videogame RAMPAGE into a video about world problems. Forgot about that childhood classic, and it made me realize just how good Horses is at connecting with peoples sense of childlike (Not to be confused with naive) interest with everything observable. Every single video is a banger, I genuinely feel Horses is worthy of being the person who makes these specialized videos on important and interesting topics. If even stripped to nothing else this guy is a case study in the endurance of the human spirit. Reminds me why even through all the nasty stuff, humans are still creatures of hope.
I believe I found a gem when I found your channel, please continue to make more sir!
My favorite part was when he claimed capitalism immiserated feudal workers lol
Communists really are incredibly dumb
This video is hilarious! I watched the whole thing! I loved the last part “what will replace Capitalism.” Yeah, in the future we are going to barter for goods- instead of just paying for them- like…oh I don’t know…maybe Capitalism? It’s funny, because I can see that you know about China having to save itself from starvation (by the tens of millions) by allowing capitalism.
This kinda expressed some of my thoughts that I couldn’t quite put into words. Also learned some things thank you
Greed is human nature and consumer greed is the same as the greed that wants to profit from it.
glad im finding your content. this video essay format is great for learning theory
Great video, man. i hope more people can see this. We really need some action done soon, or we are done, we are basically already toast rn. The "americas" are in their worst position in years
Moral of story: like any other type of oppressive societal systems, the ones suffering are left with a lingering hope than ONE day it’ll all end… while I was not part of any of those revolutions in the past, I hope to finally be part of this revolution, the moment where we rise against new age feudalism (or ‘capitalism’). Only then will we feel joy and optimism for a better world. My fear is, like any other previous revolution, that time will do it’s thing and the oppressors will eventually find new means to oppress.
It's called human nature and it won't ever change
Oh definitely! People will invent a hundred new ways to oppress each other, but I’m still waiting on the downfall of capitalism.
Not to be pessimistic, but most revolutions and systemic changes occur because of elite in fighting. The oppressed are just a convenient tool that can tip the balance in one elites favour, before being quietly shelved again.
@@bustinnutsinslutsbuttsWhat is human nature? People can only describe it in the most dire and negative possible terms. greed, fear, anger, hate, etc. Is it not human nature to Love? To nurture, care, create, hope, survive and strive eternally for new horizons? Human nature is shaped by your conditions. It is a cop out to end the argument at “human nature” as it ultimately doesn’t mean anything beyond a justification to continue to do evil.
“New oppressors” is an interesting term. Oppressors of whom? The revolution you speak of would be started and finished by the workers, the 99%. This revolution would strive to completely destroy capitalism entirely. Uproot its very existence. The workers would be responsible for rebuilding and shaping whatever world would come after. Who would be oppressed other than the capitalists?
I may have struck content GOLD with this video. its what i have been looking for. SUBSCRIBED.
I'm new to your channel and I just want to say thank you for making such consistently excellent videos with cool artistic qualities, spanning many topics. Great work, especially with this concise little gem.
What people often gloss over about a possible gift giving society is that, those who ACTUALLY give, don't want anything in return. This idea that, I give you give, is a CONTROLLING idea. If I give you something you can't say no to, everyone will feel bad when you don't give them something in return. So then I tell them as a controlling person "you HAVE to give me X thing now because I provided water". This is the life that oligarchs want us to believe in. This is the core reason why Karen's exist. (In the meme sense of the name). Money has just become a form of "I did X type of work for X amount of time, I earned this much $$$ (control tokens). Now you HAVE to do what I ask. Society expects you to."
Worst (or best part of you're a politician or oligarch) is that, the employee is under full control of the boss because most people are already living paycheck to paycheck (as designed).
You can't say no. Welcome to the most "free" country in the world ("for those with the power or uniform)")
Cringest comment in the video
@@Cringe_department_15 Just the truth
This channel cranking out top shelf video essay material. Thank you for the hard work
I'm very glad I stumbled upon this channel. Thank you for what you do 🖤
Thanks for the quality content. Excellent writing, great speaking voice and i appreciate not being bombarded with requests for support. Decent people will support you without being harangued 😊 Subscriber, commenter and thumbs upper 🎉 Hopefully, financial supporter very soon🎉🎉🎉
Dude I’m loving your channel. Keep it up
Man when I graduated I tried to do my own thing cuz I didn't want to work for someone else or be stuck in a corporate setting. I tried for a while doing freelance in what I know and I even tried focusing on my hobby and making something that could be sold eventually. It was working for a while but you know shit hit the fan. So still I ended up needing to get a job and now I'm doing the same souless thing every day being expected to produce hundreds of dollars while I get paid nothing close to the value my labor provides.
I will admit Im not doing as bad as others. While I feel trapped I do have some hope. I still have a couple options that'll improve my quality of life if they pan out. There's a few job offers tied to my hobby so if I manage to get in I'll have a better income though I'll still dislike the way my work is being used.
Other option is to continue my studies which seems like a pretty doable thing. Been thinking about it for a while.
So you tried something it worked you had a setback and then you gave up and started complaining. under communism you would’ve done the same exact thing
What degree did you do and what freelance work did you do? The most common are probably tutoring, copywriting, video editing, graphic design, content creation, digital marketing & entrepreneurship.
It's much easier if you move to a country with developed infrastructure yet remains cheap compared to a salary you can get freelancing, this decreases expenditure whilst maintaining income levels & also can decrease taxes dependent on location. Many people chose countries in EE, (Eastern Europe) SEA, (South East Asia) & South America.
It’s called two jobs one income…make time for yourself to get your own business going when you aren’t at work. This is where you either have the grind or you don’t. No excuses
@@JackieChan-rk7mcyes keep grinding in the mines. and eventually you too can own your own mine!
The most basic and most important criteria that I personally use to asses the legitimacy of a system , a habit , a mindset a behaviour or anything is happiness, peace and joy if it decreases then the things not going as they are naturally meant to be and this world that's what happening all this rat race , hand to mouth and materialistic desire with no control over food security and so much isolation those main things ( happiness, peace, joy and feeling of contentment) are lacking making us empty sad and degenerate
That's why I have decided to start a homstead just get self sufficient, escape this rat race and live a life in mindfullness with peace joy and contentment
It has become so hard to afford land and although I would make it happen ❤
Want live a peaceful life with people of similar mindset 💞
Thank you for making this video with a calm voice, accessible info, no distracting bg music, and just few youtuber gimmicks.
Agreed
We need to shift to a new system and fast... wealth is accumulating at the top and stagnating at the top
How would one avoid the problems that enforcing an alternative creates? For such a problem is not endemic
@Shnarfbird Well, it's about fighting for your survival and your freedom, we have worker's rights because some people believed there was a way forward in that regard, do you think your paid vacation and sick days came from the goodness of the industrialist's heart?
The sub-elite class will eventually have no bargaining chips with which to justify their existence and enforce their demands with the problems you are so afraid of will have to be faced head-on, I'm not saying it will be a utopia, but since the threat is existential, I think it would be for the better, both for the bottom 99.99% and eventually probably even the top 00.01% of humanity, they just have to delay their gratification for a little longer until we work out what the rest of us are going to do to survive.
Excellent video, in every way possible. Extremely inspiring, thank you for doing what you do. This is the content we need
i love your videos and especially the editing style! they’re so 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
“If the world does not unite after the second shaking of the earth (WWII) then the great spirit will shake the earth a third time, but this time, with not one, but both hands.”
Who said/wrote this?
I live in Brazil, I'm going to use Google Translate because I don't trust my English. But I want to talk a little about the socioeconomic situation here, not only in Brazil but in Latin America. On one side of the street, you will see a huge slum where a population that has been deprived of dignity lives. On the other side, high-end condominiums, beaches, a beautiful landscape, rich white people. When asking the population why this inequality occurs, most Brazilians will respond that the state is to blame. This answer makes a little sense, as in our constitution the government assumes the responsibility of ensuring dignity for all. But what would be the solution to this? More freedom for capitalism and less state?
Now, Argentina is about to elect a president who will privatize education, health, security... And then, I assume, Argentina will show off its economy, without taking into account the situation of the lower classes. But who are they going to blame now?
This is how I see the cycle that occurs here in Latin America. Sometimes more capitalism, sometimes more “socialism”.
The state will not handle all the problems that capitalism creates, and so capitalism always comes back with more capitalism as the solution.
i thought maybe el salvador can be a good example in these times... i hope so because he is speaking about some important things but why is that not a better example to use for you?
i grew up very poor in south africa so i know the things you are talking about and now i live in australia and it is the same but at least here they realize the people are crazy enough to rebel and that will cause problems for the property markets and in the bigger picture, the economy and potential investors from coming here
people need to take back the land - no more can you own land if you are not going to live there. everybody must have enough land to do as much of their own farming as they can, with the ultimate goal for us to collectively overproduce for ourselves in sustainable and regenerative methods using modern technology that should all be open source
if we can make capitalism happen then we can make this happen but we people seem to spend more time fighting than actually working hard and honestly
incredible, the best summation of these points i have ever seen in video form
Critical point of Adam Smith - the free market needs regulation to function, just like a fish tank needs maintained! I believe the system works well on equal playing fields, but the system has been captured by the players influencing politics. Global trade adds more difficulty to the problem. Keep thinking 😁
But if the problem is the system being taken captive by people influencing government, how do more opportunities for government intervention help?