Peripherally related to this, it has always fascinated me how science fiction writers seem to be far more adept at predicting our future than so-called professional futurists who sit behind ivy-covered walls and try to project where humanity it going to be, in a few decades!
I'm not a Marxist although I am a Danish social democrat even though I've lived in the US of A since 1981. Back in my college daze in the early 1980's, I remember being chided and ridiculed by several of my professors at the venerable UT Austin School of Business for insisting that both the Communist and the Capitalist models would collapse, and both sooner rather than later.
It just seems it has taken a little longer for Capitalism... which (to my mind) is ultimately a glorified Ponzi scheme; it depends on its very self sustenance on eternal growth which is a metric that will eventually run its course... because — quite logically — I am never going to need 7 toaster ovens or 5 cars. So capitalism has to "invent" things for us to consume, in order for its own survival.
Ultimately, I feel this is all more about human psychology than about politics and economics. Whereas many might disagree with me, the Achilles heel of communism/Marxism is that it reveres the collective at the expense of the individual. Similarly, the Achilles heel of Capitalism is that it reveres the individual at the expense of the collective.
Whereas both might have their merits within the realm of pure ideology, they are simply not functional in the realm of dealing with a broad spectrum of real human beings with a wide range of approaches to life. The free-market social democracies of the Nordic countries come as close to functional as currently exists...
Thanks so much for this response @denmarkguy, I really appreciate that 🙏🏼 Although I don't agree with everything you're saying, I see where you're coming from (quite literally 😉). And I do fully agree that social democracy is the best we can hope for right now and the foreseeable future!
Peripherally related to this, it has always fascinated me how science fiction writers seem to be far more adept at predicting our future than so-called professional futurists who sit behind ivy-covered walls and try to project where humanity it going to be, in a few decades!
I'm not a Marxist although I am a Danish social democrat even though I've lived in the US of A since 1981. Back in my college daze in the early 1980's, I remember being chided and ridiculed by several of my professors at the venerable UT Austin School of Business for insisting that both the Communist and the Capitalist models would collapse, and both sooner rather than later.
It just seems it has taken a little longer for Capitalism... which (to my mind) is ultimately a glorified Ponzi scheme; it depends on its very self sustenance on eternal growth which is a metric that will eventually run its course... because — quite logically — I am never going to need 7 toaster ovens or 5 cars. So capitalism has to "invent" things for us to consume, in order for its own survival.
Ultimately, I feel this is all more about human psychology than about politics and economics. Whereas many might disagree with me, the Achilles heel of communism/Marxism is that it reveres the collective at the expense of the individual. Similarly, the Achilles heel of Capitalism is that it reveres the individual at the expense of the collective.
Whereas both might have their merits within the realm of pure ideology, they are simply not functional in the realm of dealing with a broad spectrum of real human beings with a wide range of approaches to life. The free-market social democracies of the Nordic countries come as close to functional as currently exists...
But that's just my opinion...
Thanks so much for this response @denmarkguy, I really appreciate that 🙏🏼 Although I don't agree with everything you're saying, I see where you're coming from (quite literally 😉). And I do fully agree that social democracy is the best we can hope for right now and the foreseeable future!
Bueno, sabemos que el futuro es incierto, todo tiene su tiempo, gracias, te dejo mi voto y te sigo.
Thanks so much for the upvote and the follow @comandoyeya! 🙏🏼 I'm glad you liked the post 😃