Tag Archives: politics

Nobody hates capitalism

Many people think they hate capitalism – while, in fact, they hate corporatism. This misunderstanding is why we can’t have nice things. If everyone understood what capitalism actually is, they would endorse it, and we would all be much better off.

Capitalism only means respect of private property and maximal freedom (and minimal state interference), which allows people to fully pursue their goals and be effective doing it.

Corporatism (which they call capitalism) is very different and hating it is not an exclusive domain of communists and anarchists. Pretty much everyone, including libertarians, hates it. It is characterized by powerful corporations or other entities having a strong grip on the state, using its power (regulations, wars, etc.) to prevent competition and eventually control everything.

Clearly, it is very different from capitalism. A relevant worry though is, as some claim, that capitalism will always converge into it (similar to communism always ending up an authoritarian totality). This can certainly happen, although the inevitability is questionable. The transition there would require large consolidation of the businesses together with large growth of the state power. Either part can be prevented, theoretically – through maintaining a high level of freedom. Competition (which requires freedom) prevents any business from growing too large, and freedom is an antithesis to a large and powerful state. But whether that is possible is unclear – freedom seems to be fighting a losing battle throughout the world.

Most vocal capitalism haters may not be satisfied by these answers. But if you consider the steps that are needed for this transition, it is what you get with communism right away. A powerful state, and a few people controlling everything. Only instead of a few CEO’s and politicians, it is the top party officials. In other words, if transitioning from capitalism to corporatism is like slowly sinking into a swamp, introducing communism is like jumping straight legs into a cesspool.

Why is socialism so popular?

Three words: lack of imagination.

People want to feel that they have control over their lives. Naturally. Decreasing chaos and increasing our power of prediction is a critical heuristic for survival. Feeling like we are in control, that we understand the world and what is coming, is what we are conditioned for. The political system is a wrapper around our living conditions. If we don’t understand the system, if we don’t see how we will be safe and fed tomorrow under it, we become anxious.

This is where imagination comes in. It is very easy to imagine how the political system works if it is centrally managed. There is one (or a few) people who make the right decisions for our benefit and things happen that way. Clear, simple, and anyone can follow.

Imagine, instead, a system that is decentralized. A system where there is no system. People are not told what to do – they make their choices freely, they interact and create freely. Chaos. And out of that chaos order emerges in which things work just the right way for everyone to have what they need. Can you imagine that? Maybe you do and maybe you don’t. Either way, it is really not easy and I can’t do it myself. But my imagination is sufficient for me to believe that it would work. Unfortunately, I, and other such people, are the minority. The majority lacks the required imagination which makes them distrustful of such a system – and understandably so. They instead choose a system that they can imagine and understand, and that is socialism.