this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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Most people who hate capitalism are focusing in on its evil brother, "unfettered capitalism". UC is a shit show which has created many of the problems we see today and is the unholy unity created when big business and the government combine. When done right, capitalism pushes to lower costs and improve services for consumers. Companies competing is a good thing. Unfortunately the greed of corporations knows no bounds which is when UC enters the picture and fucks everything up.
But where capitalism is fettered there is tremendous incentive for any successful capitalist to.. defetterate, that is to intervene politically to undo the restraints holding them back from making more money, and conversely to seek regulatory frameworks which restrain potential competitors. It's possible to have markets and competition, arguably the only features of capitalism that are even a little good, under other systems.
I agree... there is always the incentive and that is there we need politicians who aren't so morally bankrupt that they bendover backwards and sell the people out and give these companies these sweetheart deals. And nothing keeps politicians more honest than an engaged public and a news media that is willing to report on these issues. That's kind of where all this starts to fall apart.
And nothing keeps politicians dishonest like giant piles of money under the control of just a tiny handful of individuals, nothing keeps the media in line like those same piles of money and allowing journalists to schmooze a bit with the upper class, nothing keeps the public disengaged like a media landscape under the influence of capital.