Great book, since Sapiens I didnt read anything so good so far. It changed my vision of society. Thanks Kohei Saito from Barcelona (which you mention in the end as a suprise for me as an example, thnx). Please you could have your own channel so I can follow you better.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to re-watching reading it. At the same time, I'm curious if universal basic income plays any role in the Degrowth Communism? I don't ask about it to switch the topic but am genuinely curious about how to establish a political intervention without a redistribution of tangible measures.
We live in the Capitalocene Era, 500 years of capitalism in the web of life, creating artificial scarcity, enclosing the commons, and exploiting natural resources for profit and wealth accumulation. The development of industrial capitalism instigated the consumption of superfluous goods to continue generating profits. Rentist financial capitalism (financialization of the economy) with the supremacy of the FIRE sector is yet another leap forward in the Capitalocene Era with the financialization of the ecosystem services. Finally, the commodification of literally everything, including life, the dependence on convenience, and technofixism demonstrates the power of capital in the web of life.
I'm someone who likes history and we have the example of East Germany. It stylized itself as "real existing socialism." While its environmental record was rather horrific, it did strive for many of these "common goods" like affordable housing, extensive public transportation, free daycare, free education, free healthcare, etc. How it sought to achieve these goals was problematic. Five year plans inevitably led to misallocation of resources and shortages, the bane of every planned economy. Gradually a two tier society arose. The elites lived in gated communities and had access to luxury goods in special exclusive shops. The vast majority of the population had to stand in line for even basic necessities. But the housing was cheap, the public transportation was extensive, daycare, education and healthcare were free. So the question becomes how to improve on the East German experience. I'm left with a Skandinavian-style economy with a large social sector, but also a healthy capitalist sector that continues to lay "the golden eggs." Redistributive taxation seems to be an important mechanism there. AND of course, climate change needs to be addressed.
I agree with much, if not all, of your analysis. However i must say that advocating for something like, or something that is much like the scandinavian economies/countries, is both naive as well as missing the point on what socialism actually seeks to achieve. Socialism is workers collectively owning and steering production - it is not a kind of economy that is just supposed to be "humane" in some vague terms, providing "social safety". Without the working class actually holding power, there is always the danger - this happened in countless social democracies - of carreerist-politicians to move away from socialism or social democracy and move towards capitalism, with all the suffering it entails. As of now, i don't think socialism needs a directively planned economy of the types we've seen (though i think that those are more feasible now), but what it should do away with as fast as possible, is privileges, especially in terms of bigger differences between monetary incomes and possessions, as well as capitalists/people who privately own means of production. I think the yugoslav model - with some differences - is a good start.
I've just completed the book. For someone who praises the virtue of "The Commons" you would have expected that he publishes his book under a creative commons license and thus enable the free distribution. Instead he goes the capitalists way and has his copyright protected. HYPOCRITE... It's always the lifestyle of other people which is the problem.
Another lazy strawman argument. If you are against the system somehow it's your obligation to starve yourself. Ridiculous argument, and purposefully miss directing.
Seeing young academics passionate about Marxism give me hope in our future ❤
One Love!
Always forward, never ever backward!!
☀️☀️☀️
💚💛❤️
🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼
Great book, since Sapiens I didnt read anything so good so far. It changed my vision of society. Thanks Kohei Saito from Barcelona (which you mention in the end as a suprise for me as an example, thnx). Please you could have your own channel so I can follow you better.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to re-watching reading it. At the same time, I'm curious if universal basic income plays any role in the Degrowth Communism? I don't ask about it to switch the topic but am genuinely curious about how to establish a political intervention without a redistribution of tangible measures.
Great.
We live in the Capitalocene Era, 500 years of capitalism in the web of life, creating artificial scarcity, enclosing the commons, and exploiting natural resources for profit and wealth accumulation. The development of industrial capitalism instigated the consumption of superfluous goods to continue generating profits.
Rentist financial capitalism (financialization of the economy) with the supremacy of the FIRE sector is yet another leap forward in the Capitalocene Era with the financialization of the ecosystem services.
Finally, the commodification of literally everything, including life, the dependence on convenience, and technofixism demonstrates the power of capital in the web of life.
"No Marxist professors in American universities."
That's not what Rush Limbaugh has said since the 90s. 😂
what's up with those questions?? very cringe... kohei fortunately killed it as per usual ;)
Karl Saito
Where would there be capital, if not in the anthropocene?
I'm someone who likes history and we have the example of East Germany. It stylized itself as "real existing socialism." While its environmental record was rather horrific, it did strive for many of these "common goods" like affordable housing, extensive public transportation, free daycare, free education, free healthcare, etc. How it sought to achieve these goals was problematic. Five year plans inevitably led to misallocation of resources and shortages, the bane of every planned economy. Gradually a two tier society arose. The elites lived in gated communities and had access to luxury goods in special exclusive shops. The vast majority of the population had to stand in line for even basic necessities. But the housing was cheap, the public transportation was extensive, daycare, education and healthcare were free. So the question becomes how to improve on the East German experience. I'm left with a Skandinavian-style economy with a large social sector, but also a healthy capitalist sector that continues to lay "the golden eggs." Redistributive taxation seems to be an important mechanism there. AND of course, climate change needs to be addressed.
I agree with much, if not all, of your analysis. However i must say that advocating for something like, or something that is much like the scandinavian economies/countries, is both naive as well as missing the point on what socialism actually seeks to achieve. Socialism is workers collectively owning and steering production - it is not a kind of economy that is just supposed to be "humane" in some vague terms, providing "social safety". Without the working class actually holding power, there is always the danger - this happened in countless social democracies - of carreerist-politicians to move away from socialism or social democracy and move towards capitalism, with all the suffering it entails. As of now, i don't think socialism needs a directively planned economy of the types we've seen (though i think that those are more feasible now), but what it should do away with as fast as possible, is privileges, especially in terms of bigger differences between monetary incomes and possessions, as well as capitalists/people who privately own means of production. I think the yugoslav model - with some differences - is a good start.
Marxsaito
gee whizz, this is absolutely fun!!! they spell like maschinengewehr. rattatta.
Wow thats repulsive.
So insightful!
To what, specifically!, from this hour long presentation are you referring?
@@chris4973...crickets... Deflection and dismissal without substance.
I've just completed the book. For someone who praises the virtue of "The Commons" you would have expected that he publishes his book under a creative commons license and thus enable the free distribution. Instead he goes the capitalists way and has his copyright protected. HYPOCRITE... It's always the lifestyle of other people which is the problem.
What do you want him to do? Not make money and starve?
Okay, and what system do we live in again?
The problem is writers normally do not make much from publishing a book using a publisher. Its capitalism at work.
Another lazy strawman argument. If you are against the system somehow it's your obligation to starve yourself. Ridiculous argument, and purposefully miss directing.