this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
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Late Stage Capitalism

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[–] BaumGeist@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 hours ago

When I am ill with an infection, I care not that "Not All Bacteria" cause the illness, I still take antibiotics all the same. If I have cancer, I do not give a shit that Not All Cancer Cells will destroy my organs, I still seek chemotherapy.

Capitalism is entirely a human invention, and the most widely adopted ideology. I care not that "capitalism is the problem" because if humans can't get their shit together, then they are the root cause of the problem and Capitalism is just another symptom.

Put another way, in the words of Jesus Christ (paraphrased): "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they don't destroy their home and then pretend like they aren't the problem because 'Lily Capitalism is the actual problem'"

Oh, btw: Misanthropy != Fascism. Ecofascism is a belief that all people should stick to their racially segregated "homelands" and live in harmony with nature. Whatever people who say "'Humans are a virus' is literally ecofascist rhetoric" believe it to be may be the actual solution to the oncoming apocalypse we've gotten ourselves into. I'm a misanthrope who loves the biosphere more than humanity's right to do whatever it wants and get away with it because "it's the ideology, not the people who participate in the ideology." I'm not a fucking racist.

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 15 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I've been called eco-fascist for suggesting anything that might help the environment, no matter how small. I'm not impressed by this buzzword.

[–] Dragonstaff@leminal.space 2 points 4 hours ago

"Humans are the virus" is related to the racist "overpopulation" myth which leads straight to eugenics. Sure, many words are overused, but "political ideology that combines environmentalism with fascist principles, often advocating for authoritarian measures to address ecological issues" is a bad thing.

[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 6 points 6 hours ago

I feel like you can't blame the corpos 100% and then proceed to do nothing to help the environment. Like I get that capitalism and unnecessary waste driven by it are by and large the problem, but it feels like people just use that as an excuse to put in zero effort personally and continue to live their lifestyle of overconsumption. It's very defeatist imo.

[–] JoYo@lemmy.ml 5 points 9 hours ago

If there are no more humans than no one will care about the environment.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Destruction of nature & unwise use of resources, or even just multiplying to a point where even the most prudent resource management & minimal environmental impact per capita is the absolute goal could still destiny biodiversity.

This has to do with economical tendencies of living beings, not a particular socioeconomic system.
(Yes, capitalism is accelerating the process by taking away freedoms from the masses - but even a commune can decide to chop up the whole forest for wood. World is a fuck.)

"Virus" might not be the best word for it tho (infestation maybe? Fits the capita growth statistics), but successful animals that oversaturate their environment (eg lots of food, no predators, longevity after procreation, tech) cause biodiversity loss (anything from local collapse to a global extinction event with cofactors like climate change or air structure change - what is novel with humans is how rapidly we are developing in our last 0.5% of existence, and how rapid the global impact we case is, it won't take us 10s of thousands of years, we can speedrun in less than a millennia).

[–] sunflowercowboy@feddit.org 3 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The lack of empathy and true understanding of reverence is the issue.

People do not respect the meat that befalls their plate, the bacteria that ferments their beers, the trees that warms their homes.

Capitalism has two routes, horde through meekness or horde through exploitation. When you horde through meekness, any worth is solely yours - you submit and embrace this moment of life wholely separate from you. You cannot control the world.

Humans are a virus, because we reach for the stars as we eviscerate our host. Lest we learn compassion and empathy, we will consume this earth. The flooding isn't biblical this time, it's predicted by science as man decays.

[–] dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 1 points 3 hours ago
[–] nexguy@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago (17 children)

If humans weren't greedy dicks then capitalism or any other form of government would work perfectly. You can't force humans to not be greedy dicks. No matter what system is being instituted it is susceptible to greedy dicks.

[–] Walk_blesseD@lemmy.blahaj.zone -1 points 5 hours ago

You're putting the cart before the horse. Capitalism uses the threat of poverty and the profit motive to condition humans into being greedy dicks.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 4 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

capitalism or any other form of government

But capitalism isn't a form of government tho.
Nor is communism of even feudalism.

[–] nexguy@lemmy.world 3 points 14 hours ago

Oops you're right I meant economic system

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 14 hours ago

Our entire schtick is co operation, it's literally why we're the dominant life form

[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 10 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (10 children)

Yes we can, via laws & regulation (which are also laws). You have no clue about what unrestricted greed does to people especially, on the recieving end

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[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

Your generalization is false

The majority of humanity are not greedy or obsessed with profit

The problem is that the few ridiculously greedy sociopaths that do arise per-capita are just so FUCKDAMN good at amassing power and wealth that we assume it's the natural lot of all people

So we just test and dispose of sociopaths at birth, problem solved. We already have the tests for it.

Don't look at me like that

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[–] Arfman@aussie.zone 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We can regulate greedy dick behaviour

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[–] TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee -1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

They are the same piece of generic rhetorical label you slap on or argue you can't slap on whenever it conveniences you. If your solution is just a sentence long, you are an over-simplifying things.

So what happened to the ancient civilizations that collapsed before capitalism existed? Ducks. It's the ducks that need to be shot.

[–] Ordinary_Person@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 hours ago

Easter Island comes to mind. They showed up, took every tree on the island, then the vegetation went away and the island had nothing left to give.

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