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Gen Z turns against capitalism as DSA takes off (thehill.com)
submitted 3 days ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
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Only 9 percent of Americans younger than 30 have a “very positive” view of capitalism, according to a new CBS/YouGov poll.

That shows a stark generation between Generation Z and older generations.

The data arrives amid a surge in democratic socialist victories across the U.S. — and not just in progressive corners of the country. Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon (D) on Tuesday beat out the more moderate Alex Vindman (D) in the Democratic Senate primary in Florida, a state known for its sunshine, not socialism.

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[–] 0 points 2 days ago (1 child)

Sure, but I think that's a little bit like saying that democracy is the worst form of government - except all the others.

Rip out capitalism completely, and what do you get? You start over with everyone substinance farming. How do you get people interested in making things if not the promise of profit?

Also, I don't believe anything is destined, personally. It's all choice, and sure, natural human nature, but we can work against those things.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    People WANT to make things and profit has nothing to do with that desire. In our grind culture we often can't help but think how we could turn a profit from our hobbies but that's a perversion driven by capitalism. People make art, clothes, food, games, movies, music, we innovate with ways to save time or make something easier or more accessible, we solve problems in creative ways, and we do it all without a profit motive. Making things isn't a problem capitalism solves - it extracts value, it drives greed, it demands growth.

    So clearly I take issue with the question of how to get people to make things. I don't have an easy answer for how we motivate people to do garbage collection or brain surgery without money but I also think we could figure it out if we had any amount of time where we weren't consumed by trying to make more of it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago

    I think part of the solution is to give people free stuff - but make those items generic. People like having identity. So we give everyone access to a basic toothpaste, but they can choose to buy a luxury paste that is orange-flavored toothpaste. Same goes for clothing - a basic clothing set that can be obtained for free, but things like print patterns, graphics, and so forth, have to be bought.

    In effect, people spend money to make their life more interesting. Generic food, universal services, and so forth are all boring, functional, and free.

    00000

    My concepts are a bit more involved than what I described here, as there are multiple angles that can be applied towards preventing fiscal obesity and political corruption. For example, an absolutely fixed income for jobs might initially sound limiting for the rank and file, but capitalism uses "circumstance" to judge the worth of workers - which gives leaders an excuse to cut wages to the bone, or to fire people they dislike, or to give the executive class fancy compensation packages. We can create floors and ceilings to what a worker can have.

    More approaches, such as requiring workers to periodically elect the leadership of their companies, would also help.

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