"Anti-Capitalism" is Capitalist

Instead of bringing back Socialism, we could instead focus on the development of an objectively more advanced system?

Please!!! I know so many people who like to shit on capitalism while at the same time planning to get rich by becoming corporate lawyers. Like, bffr.

Anarchism is materialy problematic, the needs to survive of the working class limits our acess to thery, and without a socialist state to enforce the proletariat dictatorship we become way more fragile to succumb to foreiner or ideological threats. I can see the "potential problems" with ML organization too, but it generates more results, and the class struggle needs to be observed and fought INSIDE the party too, historicaly that was our best weapon

hope and direction, just what I needed this morning. Thanks for the education friend :)

Personally I think humans are prone to corruption and cannot govern themselves especially not at a global scale. Work, energy, and natural resources just flows upstream to a select few in the form of money. But there will always be another human willing to fill in a power vacuum. I believe we need a leviathan (philosopher Thomas Hobbes) - an AI with a very long lifespan and long term vision of stability and longevity and equilibrium and maybe even some equality. A chatbot personal Jesus who can know exactly what resources are available and where they are needed in larger global community. To help us build long lasting shared infrastructure and not just vehicles for investment. To reduce waste because waste is ultimately generated by exploiting people and the environment.

The backlash the “just stop oil” received was staggering. Like resistance gets annihilated.

I feel better about my stances by getting involved with my city planners. Like advocating for walkable neighbourhoods where commercial and residential uses are integrated. Like let people not be as dependent on cars and petrol infrastructure. Thrift and when buying new use local businesses and sustainable materials. Learn to repair stuff. Is there a way to support local regenerative agriculture? Buy less but only buy quality that doesn’t exploit people. Like even if you have to save up for new shoes.

I highly recommend leftists in the US consider joining their local DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) chapter or YDSA (Young Democratic Socialists of America) if you're a student. DSA is a multi-tendency big-tent, meaning that anyone on the left who wants to fight for a better world is allowed to join (from Democratic Socialists to Marxists and Anarchists). DSA chapters have won real material changes organizing in their local communities and workplaces. DSA is focused on organizing to build real working-class power that confront the power of the state/capital and transform the system.

Is it just me or does it seem you are doing in this video the same thing you criticize? You didn't really give us any actual alternative to capitalism, no way to fight it, no possible action that can be taken. I don't get it

2 years ago...

We are told that capitalism is better than anything else. So, we grow up and start to see all the flaws and contradictions within the system. But we shy away from considering other options. It’s what we’ve been taught. So, no matter what systemic problems we identify, the people in power wield the immutable threat that there is no alternative.

that Audre Lorde quote

putting maoism, leninism, hoism and titoism as "historically exploitative" when all of those movements were extremely radical and populist in their original form is laughable even for an anarchist

you captured it! that thing I wanted to say but didn’t know how. Thank you

I think a major part of this problem is the Red Scare. The United States was hit hard by it duiring the Cold War. It is still affected now albeit to a lesser extent. There is clearly an opposite to capitalism. That is socialism. If someone is "anticapitalist" then a good thing for them to focus on is socialism. Socialism has many different forms. However the basics are easy enough to understand and perhaps support. Unfortunately the Red Scare makes people afraid of socialism and communism. They don't want to touch such ideas. There is also some horrendous straw manning as well. When people think of any definite ideology to oppose capitalism, they automaticly think of the horrifying extremes of famines, gulags and that kind of thing. That is really unfair for socialists or anybody that opposes capitalism. Most Democrats support some kind of socialism without saying the word out right. Yet they can still get strawmanned and red baited by Republicans. That is messed up. Bernie Sanders is a rare case of an American politician who is a self proclaimed socialist. The video critisizes anticapitalism for being too aimless and passive. I can see why this view is valid. However it is strange for people to ignore such a clear way to oppose capitalism. The only way for this to happen is for Americans to hide and stigmatize it on purpose. That is just what happens in the Red Scare. This hiding needs to stop. Focusing on an actual ideology will be more effective into making change happen.

I think the economic spectrum is skewed. Communism is the word for extreme socialism. Capitalism doesn't really have a word for its extreme. My favorite ideology is democratic socialism. However despite the name, it isn't very "socialist". It has both private buissiness and a social safety net, so it is more of a mixed system. I can see why the video would call this a nicer version of capitalism. I am not sure if there is a difference between social democracy and democratic socialism. They seem really similar at least in the names. Maybe socialism is used as a middle ground between capitalism and communism. That would explain why a mixed system has "socialism" in the name. I think there should be a name for extreme capitalism. I think the best name is plutocracy. That shifts the middle to where it belongs. Then there are five systems in a sprectrum. Here they are from conservative to liberal. They are plutocracy, capitalism, mixed system, socialism and communism.

You are so necessary! Thanks for your words, you warmed my "soul". And your voice is sooo relaxing.

I'm an anti capitalist that actively supports communism and socialism but doesnt call himself a communist or socialist, because i see no other alternative to capitalism, even though its difficult for me to accept and trust socialism or communism as viable on a scale as large as the united states, i still support it, since the options are either change or don't. I don't necessarily consume media specifically because of it being anti capitalist either. (Aside from things made by individual or indie creators on this platform). Am I still likely to unintentionally support capitalism more than absolutely necessary with no additional information about specific habits?

Thank you for bringing this up. There's so much talk about the bad stuff, yet nothing about actions we legitimately can do to help take down the machine. How can we fight for a future where capitalism doesn't exist when many can't even describe what that future should look like to aim for.

Exactly. Wall-E was a critique of consumerism, Not capitalism. Not allowed to slam capitalism in the movie industry. Not even allowed to name it.

if that tier list reflects your opinion you're an actual liberal

Sweet. Awesome video. Summed up my feelings entering grad school

We need to give Mark Fischer his flowers. His lectures and talks on capitalism, culture and social structures were far ahead of its time. RIP

Gonna send this one to my SIL. She's coming around on a lot of things, and I think this'll help lay the groundwork for some future discussion.

I think if the "influencer" has enough sway, especially with an overlapping audience, this kind of video is helpful to clear your positions up (though they seem pretty clear to me here). I'm also fairly certain Vaush will see this video, and this is a very useful critique for him to hear. I like Vaush too, but when he resorts to ad homs or dismisses folks without providing evidence (at least outside of debates with clear bad faith actors), he should do better, and this may help.

Being "anti-" something doesn't really provide any useful information about what values you hold and ideals you have... what's the point in knowing you don't like something if you don't even know or understand the alternative. That's why I like second thought - while it is mostly debunking stuff, there is the occasional "this is the alternative" actually being discussed.

Is there a video about the ideology-tierlist?

I know this won't apply to everyone, but the main issue I stumble with when it comes to meaningful activism is the requirement of it to be a "collaborative, comprehensive political project", or more specifically the collaborative bit

I rolled terrible social stats and didn't begin life with any inherent understanding of social rules or norms, and only in the last year or two as I'm entering my 30s have I even started to feel like I have the basic, fundamental toolset for social interaction. This naturally makes it so that I don't particularly have the ability to initiate a collaborative project myself
So naturally the next option is to join such a project that exists locally. A great idea if I knew how to look for them (provided that the backwater city I live in even has them)

But hey, I've been on my brain meds for over a year now, so I'm starting to struggle less to just keep myself afloat, so maybe I'll see some personal change that will solve the above in the near future

If you don't get the images in your head out into the world they will drive you mad. And boy are we ever living in a time of madness.

So begin to break away from liberal coopting of revolutionary concepts - and actually enacting the concepts not just rhetorically watering them down back into the thing they were designed to counteract. "Anti-Capitalism" isn't radical enough to actually abolish capitalism because it functions on the liberal fallacy that reform can fix everything. Would Radical Socialist Realism be a better term? Genuinely curious, because i always thought anti cap was like all encompassing for wanting capitalism gone and dismantled. Words mean things for a reason tho, and abstracting meaning is something liberals are just amazing at.

You're not doing anything either though?

is social democracy and democratic socialism not different?

This channel embodies this critique.
I want to see real commons sprouting. Show us.

fuck. 2 years later and every line slaps you in the thigh. "there being no ethical consumption under capitalism " but that doesn't mean we can't buy as ethically as we can. anti capitalism is only pro capitalism if you are not working to dismantle the system while you work

Creating militant social movements works to create structures of revolution whose hierarchies are centered in ‘the fight’ or ‘the struggle’ placing at its’ pinnacle those who fulfill a false idealism of the aspired social end: in this way: manipulation and smoke and mirrors as well as brutal or highly hierarchical power structures endure beyond the movement of it is accepted into the mainstream.

Media and political co-opting of social movements occurs due to the level of trust those social institutions have over mass opinion (and the process of social norm creation and reinforcement as an extension of national identity).

In this way: if you wish to end cooptation:

1.) you need to pluralize the media hierarchy. For instance, the media widely demeaned the occupy wall street movement as being « homeless » attributing a social stigma against participants in order to encourage the mass culture to reject their proposals. This worked because of the centralized nature of media; but was lessened by the new importance Facebook had in dispersing information. Today, social media plays a critical role in undermining traditional media institutions. Some might say the methodological rigor of traditional media is therefore lost: I’ve forgotten the book: but the history of media in service of dirigeants indicates else wise (where as far back as the 1850s American media has been integrally linked to the POWER ELITEs (great book)) (as well as the massive rise in commercialization of media). In this way: not engaging in mass media platforms and companies democratizes our political consumption and allows for a truly democratic process in disseminating ideas.

— the issue now is the education system in teaching methodology. In teaching ethics. In teaching philosophy. The basis of all information is held within ontology, epistemology, and methodology. Without an understanding of these concepts and the basis of the scientific process (both qualitative and quantitative: we can easily be manipulated).

2.) We need more secure laws to be allowed to protest. It’s rather insane: a democracy where people are not allowed to gather on the streets. The laws restricting our rights to protest have become stricter and stricter. It all started post WW2 when the vets protested in mass on the Lincoln lawn for their veteran benefits. Then with the protests of the 60s against Vietnam. Then with the riots and chaos of the 80s we straw the biggest crackdowns from limits on the number of people congregating, to loitering laws to restructuring public spaces to trap citizens if they decide to congregate. Our rights have been eroded. These are not laws representing the desire of the masses. These laws were specifically implemented under false pretenses to fulfill a purpose other than what their express designation indicates. Our common law system, in thsi way, too: needs to be reigned in by the implimentation of several more cuvil law considerations to diminish this level of manipulation. It’s just deception! And whoever can trick and deceive and otherwise convince a judge of their argument opens a floodgate for abuse. There should be just as many laws repealed as there are created, in some cases. There should be time limits on the applicability of cases in common law cases (with the exception of the constitution which needs to be rewritten and the high courts).

If people want a real anti-capitalist animated movie, watch Robots. Ewan McGregor moves in with a group of unemployed anarchists, operates a free clinic on the street outside his house, gets targeted by a megacorp for undercutting their profits, seduces a board member, breaks into the old CEO's house, trashes the corporation's office, then forms a collective action group to go and burn down their primary factory and kill the leadership, all while operating under the core principle of "see a need, fill a need" - or as Marx would have described it: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".

That being said, it is a little fuzzy on the post-revolution stuff.

I agree. We need to first imagine the changes we want if we ever expect them to be created. I was talking to an older man about that idea and he said it was Buddist: "what we imagine, we will create."

This is why I have a problem with all the dystopian and especially apocalyptic fiction. Sure I enjoy it also. But, the apocalyptic tradition is very much a Biblical Xian idea. There is a Depeche Mode song lyric: "Everyone's waiting for judgement day, so they can go: 'Told ya so!'" This is a mood, a fantasy, not a radical way of thinking to bring about change.

I super recommend the novel "The Age of The Bicycle" by Miriam Webster (the author's pen name). She is a math teacher who rides recumbent bicycles in Texas and has written a few basically self published books at Zinka Press. Her vision is a car free future and also the gender/sex roles are inverted. She uses sci fi and fantasy to layout some pretty interesting utopian ideals and contrast them to our patriarchal and ecologically suicidal culture. The downside is she skips over how we got rid of cars. But what she does is truly debunk the whole mythology of cars being necessary. The book is amateur. It's similar to the earlier novel Ecotopia about California splitting off, but better. Another good one would be the books written by Chris Carlsson the 'founder' of Critical Mass in San Francisco.

These fantasies are the direction we need to go. To have more of our stories and imagination dwelling on what ideals we really want to go for.

Imagining how to get there is even harder. But for that the history of anti-racist union organising, non-violent anti fighter jet factory... there are so many of those stories that would be much more interesting to tell than the usual murder and soldier stories. Much deeper struggle.

So true!

Are you the guy from it could happen here?

WAIT I HEARING A TRINI ACCENT🥹

Ha ha ha! The occupy movement had the potential to create real revolutionary change?!? You're just the pot calling the kettle black!

I'm not really a Capitalist, Socialist, or Communist. What I believe in is total freedom, not competition. I never understood why businesses and media are so competitive for a buck, it really shoots themselves in the foot to be so complicated and antiCapitalist also. It is just Capitalist reform for nonprofits. What I believe in is total Anarchy. D.I.Y. businesses need to care about their consumers, not competition with other D.I.Y. businesses to put them out of business using AntiCapitalism. If that's their goal, I'm out of business. D.I.Y. is not Capitalism. It is overcompetition for a Capitalist buck and totally nonprofit.

We should remember that in stark opposition to the political schémas of socialism, neo liberalism and communism: capitalism is a purely a social value, and partially an economic value system. How do you see the structure or function of the economy? This question is at the heart of post-capitalism. We see economic augmentations as an inevitable reality: necessary for the progression of society: but this misses the hidden truth of the inter connectivity, as it grows, between disconnected peoples and their many economies. Until the production. Of consumer goods is reattached to an equalized value of human labor: there will be no end to capitalism. A man’s hour of work in Africa is the same as a land’s hour of work in Uganda or China or Chile : then: there is. No more capitalism.

Is "the masters tools will never dismantle the masters house" a quote from somewhere or yours? Akin to "you can't solve a problem with the same thinking that created it."

I would push back on that quote though... Work to rule, particularly in insane bureaucratic systems, can grind corporations and governments to a near standstill. That's one that comes to mind. Doesn't dismantle per say, but does cause a hell of a lot of problems for the master who's gotten tripped up in his own rules.