Howdy, friends! I hope you all enjoy this week's video. If you'd like to help support the channel, please consider watching my Nebula Original Series, The New F-Word! I've put a lot of work into it and I think it's really cool. You can get free access to Nebula with your CuriosityStream subscription - it's less than fifteen bucks a year for both platforms, which is an amazing deal. Check out the latest episode of The New F-Word: nebula.tv/videos/second-thought-how-fascism-survived-the-post-war-era and sign up for the Nebula/CuriosityStream bundle deal here: curiositystream.com/secondthought It really does help keep this channel running 🙏
Can you please tell us how Nebula and CuriosityStream are different than Netflix, Hulu, etc.? I wanted to ask the same question in the other video "Why You Don't Actually Own Anything Under Capitalism". Thanks!
Hey second thought I have an idea for a video which I'd love to see The history of Syndicalism and Anarcho-Syndicalism I'd love to hear your thoughts about both ideologies
A Dutch economist, Paul Schenderling, wrote a book about this. He basically states that the most important thing that needs to change, is the definition of success. Right now, success is synonymous with profit. Selling a lot of products that self-destruct is good for profit, but not for anything else. I'd rather have my washing machine last 25 years than need to replace it every 5 years or so. If the success of a company is defined by the durability of its products, its environmental impact, and the way they treat its personnel, the rules of the game will change and companies need to change along with it.
Capitalism is like that old washing machine. It was, at one point, a revolutionary idea that worked decently. But now it's become too slow, inefficient, and breaks down every few years. I'd replace a machine for like that
The current system is a reward one, companies and entrepeneurs gain something they can use: money (and to a lesser deegree deals with other companies and sometimes status) The problem is that quality products and well cared employees don't offer an objective immediate reward for companies. Most anyone would prefer money, and since customers don't care much as they keep buying your faulty self-destructive products, it stays as it is
That's where the profit motive and capital accumulation play a part. Every company needs profit to grow, investors want a return on capital investments that increases year over year. This constant need to grow and expand is solely to increase profits for the owners exponentially. This leads to a need to have the largest share of the market captured in order to guarantee growth. Naturally for corporations to survive in the capitalist system needs to and always grows toward monopoly and or oligarchy.
Because capitalism doesn't improve innovation, and it is in the monetary interest of business owners to monopolize markets, which of course, moves the market away from competition. Thus competition is in fact, not incentivized in capitalism, for a business’s capital grows most when competition is absent, and one is the sole seller. For this reason, the formation of large monopolies is a natural tendency of capitalism, and market economies. As is inflation, btw. As well as recessions.
@@Ravi-fx6vf the problem here is that monopolization is not like cheating in sports but like winning. The end of capitalist economy is to make as much profit as possible, wich means that the natural tendency is to be the ONLY one on the podium. You can't desire to have control over the market and not aspire to monopoly, since every other enterprise wich shares your same economic weight is going to try to surpass you. So cheating is not an exception but the main rule.
It's a lot like the "undercover boss" scenario. The CEO is responsible for the suffering of a huge amount of people, but we champion them as the hero when they help a single employee. Yet the massive suffering continues on in the background.
Money's not bad capitalism is pretty bad though capitalism is definitely bad for creativity though that's why there's so many bad video games even AAA games and even to Indie Games political parties are bad too because that ruin one of the best games and that game is Minecraft political parties are why the founder of Minecraft stop working on the game and it's definitely because capitalism because he knew he was going to make a lot of money and capitalism is why Americans are getting fed poison because Average Joe's have completely control over their business as long as they have money this is controversial but democracy is bad because if you have a good ruler you can vote that ruler out and a republic is bad too because of Republican easily get changed into an democracy I think a form of government with minority rule would be better than one with majority rule because there's not that very many intelligent people that's why the world is struggling so bad
Last place I worked broke the law everyday, we discussed it in a meeting, the fine for breaking the law was less than the potential profit from the breach, so it was cashed as an expense. The law means nothing against moneyyyyy
@@themusicman669 That's very good ! Where have you been all my life ? A great point ! I have been wanting to say the same words to people for too long ...
@@themusicman669 Exactly ! Laws and Ethics are different things. In fact, Ethics is the Foundation of Laws. If the people who pass laws are not moral philosophers, we will end up with bad laws. Simple 🤷🏽♂️
When I studied business studies in college I remember one of the first important lessons was 'the aim of all business is to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible.' Morality does not come into it, if they do something that would incur a fine but they would still make a profit on it then they will do it because profit is more important.
It's why car makers routinely pay death benefits instead redesigning the car to eliminate the cause of death. Why during building construction, craines are parked over city streets during down time instead over the building project. The cost of a craine falling and killing people is far less than than falling on and interrupting a multi million dollar building project. Criminal capitalism is Americas god.
I was curious as to how Nespresso got a certification declaring them "ethical", so I looked up B-Lab's certification process. Companies register their own employees to the "B Impact Assessment", where they give prepared answers to a checklist of questions they get to see in advance, and at the end of the 12-month process, they only need a score of 80/200, or 40%, to pass. So all a corporation has to do is select a number of employees they trust, feed them the correct answers, and get just good enough of a score to get the certification. The entire thing is one big joke that's being used by large corporations to scam consumers into thinking they care about something other than profit.
Maybe that would matter if people noticed the mark, but considering I didn't even know what it was, I doubt more than a dozen people within 50 miles of me do.
Seems as bad as the net zero carbon bullshit every company here is advocating and when you look deeper it is just that they paid some bullshit gold certificated company where they get some third world country people sign some papers that they are going to do x thing instead of y and miraculously millions tons of co2 is not emmitted just so that the western consumers can feel good about themselves after the purchase.
Most of these "independent" NGO ethics certification organizations are a corporate scam. They exist to green-wash. The NGO needs donors or large cash-influxes to stay viable, so they essentially supply this green-wash service for the same companies they are monitoring in return for that company's monetary support. Clearly this is a conflict of interest, but unless there is widespread donations from consumer groups, the NGO wouldn't be able to keep the lights on to actually do the work it's supposed to be doing. Fair-trade, dolphin free tuna, anything with the word "sustainability" is basically greenwash bs, unfortunately.
Also... only 40%? I want exams with the same objective to pass If 100% is the max then 40 is like "i don't hate you, but you aren't someone i want to spend my time with either"
This is true. Since corporations routinely break the law if they think that there will be a net profit for them if they do so, it begs the question "What's the difference between a 'legit' corporation and organised crime?" Corporations are just criminal organisations that have paid governments enough to let them exist.
For most corporations, those "fines and penalties" are dismissed as the cost of doing business. The price they pay is a miniscule fraction of the ill gotten gains, which makes the decision to engage in criminal activity a no brainer.
If you buy into libertarian philosophy, then the government itself is just a criminal organisation that perpetuates itself through cultural and historical inertia.
Criminal organizations pay them as well, just under the table We don't want to hear how our leaders receive money from criminals, even though most of us know that "secret" we choose to still believe a beautiful lie than a harsh truth
The biggest difference between capitalism and socialism, is the non-existent-lawmaking on all the potential crimes that a "free market" generates. A special, and least regulated, part of the "free market" is the Wall street, the greater the danger and risc for society, the lower the regulatory standards, in order to unleash the full profit-potential of the risciest businesses.And what sounds too good to be true, is by experience, a lie or miscalculation. And when I say "risky", I mean risky for society, I don´t mean risky for the investors.
I'm so sick and tired of being called "radical" for literally just believing in human rights, and seeing the BASIC FACTS that capitalism prevents everyone from having them.
Rationalizing the non-radicalness is an expensive spending of yourself. Your others won't be calm until you will be actually on their side. Therefore, you'd better to recognise your place and possibilities. Yeah, you will be no longer good guy, but the more sides of yourself you recognise, the stronger and smarter you are, because you simply know yourself. Actually, "radical" is a fear for the current states' powers and their supporters. In this case fear is the potential of real. So, if you want to struggle for your beliefs, just stop hiding your mental power for yourself. It's not necessary and it's even harmful to show your "radicalism" at outer behaviour. Focus yourself on your mental power.
i have been consistently embarrassed, criticized, ridiculed, bullied, and put under extreme mental/emotional duress at my places of employment both by bosses and coworkers for trying to share these values and ideas. The reason change isn't happening is because people aren't ready for it. Things are shitty now, but not shitty or catastrophic enough to convince people that the way we're living now could be so much better. It's soul shattering, crushing, and completely heartbreaking. I weep for my fellow americans every day and for my brothers and sisters across the world who are enslaved by the idea of enforced public complacency. Feels real bad man. 27 years old and i feel like a senile old man half the time, plagued by easily attainable visions of what *could be* grossly overlaid on top of the grim reality of what *is*
You just summed up the core of my issues with society in a way I could never express that coherently, why can't everyone see what theyre doing to themselves and their communities?
It's okay my brother and I feel your pain. I see the same thing everywhere. Culture wars and identity politics to keep people pinned against each other. It's dark but the silver lining is you're not alone. Hope is all we have. Greed is such a biatch. Ne0liberalism is pure evil.
I think the thing that wears you down the most is knowing that things could be better, knowing that we have the means to stop so much human suffering but just dont because the people that control the means of production and pay off politicians just don't care. So you kinda just have to sit there as an average person with this sense of overwhelming helplessness because the solution is so obvious but at some point as a collective most people were convinced that achievable goals like ending homelessness are just childish fantasies and that for society to function someone has to suffer.
Stupid does what stupid is. Americans also lack the IQ to respect and participate in democracy. This singular great experiment has failed. What remains is criminal capitalism.
Not just in business, but even in our day-to-day lives, money and materialism is glorified in such a way that subjects such as ethics, morality, wisdom, and justice are pretty much always sidelined and sometimes downright ignored. I mean, we're always told as kids, for e.g., that 'honesty is the best policy'. How much of it do we get to see in the world?!Kids are more honest and kind-hearted than most adults I've seen. At least they don't see everything in terms of profit.
Yeah, we are taught as kids: Be honest, be kind, sharing is caring, teamwork makes the dream work, exercise, eat well and try to have a balanced life - but then what happens? We grow up into a deeply unsustainable, unjust and unhealthy economically competitive, profit-seeking system and trying to 'earn a living'. What BS! Humans are the only living things who pay to live on this planet. We think we are so smart? We have the technology to meet ALL human needs and do so with localized abundance and have much LESS required work to do, do not need to labor-for-income, do not need to have money or debt at all. None of those things are needed. Literally, not necessary. Just human inventions from hundreds of years ago when times were different, technology wasn't advanced enough to meet all human needs with abundance. But for 70+ years we could have. Futurists predicted we would consistently reduce our work weeks, sometimes down to 5 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week. We still CAN live that way, but we have a lot of work to do to get people in the right train of thought so we can rise up together and demand that change.
Being honest could quite literally put you jail for arbitrary laws when talking to the police. It's not about the morality of the law broken. Like you said it's chasing the dollar. There's no way that with how technology has improved and everyone now has cameras in their pockets. Everyone can see the tragic details. Only problem is instead of addressing it morally they'd rather dig the hole deeper hoping everyone will just give up their rights. Which statistically speaking not everyone is going to do. So it's like just do the right thing. Well hard to do when they're paid and promoted to do the wrong thing. Idk how one entity could be so stupid.
@@Dave_of_Mordor Yeah, exactly that, Kids are not more kind hearted or whatever, they are just stupid and easily brainwashable. But meh, guess he/she needed to say a feel good stupidity like that to serve whatever his/her point was.
@@carpo719 Yes socialism by definition means we can be sure there would be ethics we can't police every one all the time, but we can make sure its done by social interaction. In socialism you do not have government you have social employees professionals with high education who does same things our governments do just better because they first of all educated in the field not trough papas or mamas money, but actual education second does not have profit incentive since there aren't any instead there is certain reward like social recognition which billionaires spend insane amount of resources to get. There is not other people running the show in socialism its in the freaking word. You vote trough your phone or an app or paper letter of pc no matter you vote and you are in control of all these things you decide your future not somebody else that has more money and cares not for any one but themselves.
When I was younger I always wanted to start businesses in the stem fields, not because of the money, but because I wanted to make a genuine change in the world. But now I realize that it's just all one big money game...
One of the first chapters of “monopoly capital” by sweezy and baran does a great job showing how the corporation needs profits to survive and grow, and how the “ethical corporation” isn’t really a thing.
I feel like socialists need to respect capitalism a tiny bit more, it has worked well before high-level globalization and industrialization, it has just been outdated for the past about 150 years. There have in fact been some ethical capitalists though they were few and far between. A great example of this is George Westinghouse
@@zsomborszigeti6797 wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong capitalism wasn’t “working well” before monopoly capitalism, competitive capitalism relied upon the same exploitation which resides today. Idk what “worked well” your referring to
its also a lot better than feudalism. No system, including socialism can stay forever and eventually becomes outdated. In a multi-planetary society socialism will most likely not be effective, because of the sheer distance. While a multi-planetary society might seem far away now, remember that industrialization also seemed far away in the 15th century when capitalism was founded
@@zsomborszigeti6797 And your point is? Capitalism's still bad and needs doing away with. Socialism will eventually have the same thing happen, that's just the cycle of life. Nobody was denying that, it's just common sense. You've no reason other than a straw man to bring it up, and then I'd wonder why exactly you're defending capitalism at all if you your self consider it outdated. Even bringing up 'ethical capitalist,' nobody was saying that. Corporation and Capitalism more broadly at a systemic level does not an individual person make. Systemically capitalism has been shit and always will be, yes feudalism/manorialism was also shit but that doesn't detract from capitalism also being bad too. Individuals may be good people at that individual level, but that matters relatively little at the systemic level
I had to quit my job at amazon, for a variety of reasons but the one that sticks with me is the day everyone made fun of me for having a "Failed" business 1) Thats how the shit works 2) I explained (or tried to atleast) that most of the reason it "failed" was because I refused to use evil corporations advertising platforms, and didnt crush my customers with BS. I used to jokingly say I was too nice to run a business, but this video just confirms that I 100% just have a conscious and the people who run these fortune 500 companies do literally nothing but terrorism for god damn numbers on a spreadsheet
Ah yes, so you had crap marketing, probably a poor business plan with a crap product/service that no one bought but it failing is somehow a signal of your virtue as if you sacrificed yourself on the cross by running a bad business... holy hell people are getting dumber each day. If you're going into business make sure you are offering something people actually want to buy so that it can differentiate itself in existing market(s) and have some advertising so people know about it. There is nothing immoral about having a successful business, it just means that the people selected to buy your product/service over competitors, if you want to play the morality game then the blame should be on consumers since they are the ones buying the product and supposedly propping up "immoral" businesses.
What you fail to understand is that your business failed because you didn't stand out and let your would be customers know you stood out. instead, you blame it on, "Ohh I am too nice and nobody wants a nice guy". Who in this day wouldn't want to support an ethical business??
@@heresy9360 Bro that's literally what he said, he refused to use the major advertising platforms owned by big corpos which is why he wasnt able to reach out to his potential customers.
I remember when I was in college these big law firms would sponsor trips. Our college was based in a working-class community, they'd proceed to spend the whole trip giving presentations about how programmes such as theirs were changing lives like ours. I even remember one instance where a homeless man got a job at a law firm through one of these programmes. What they omitted to tell us, was how they were making the world a worse place by giving large corporations all sorts of advice. Including things like Mergers, which create monopolies, tax avoidance and just anything a business would need to do to evade accountability. CSR is one big scam, you hit the nail on the head!
My parents are massively in denial about this - they're honestly pretty good as far as parents go when it comes to social justice. They do care - but they definitely struggle to wrap their minds around how bad things are and the audacity of what needs to be done to fix things. It's just hard to convince Gen X folks that the world they grew up with was built with blood and abuse.
True my parents are gen x, pretty chill and understanding. The only thing is that they PRAISE capitalism too much. Refers to me as a communist when I argue with them lmao.
Your parents sound like boomers who were able to buy a house, a car and afford raising a family just by waiting on tables. The world has changed. They just stuck in the 60s
Yeah same, my parents are liberals so they support social justice but think it can be found within the capitalist framework if we just make a few tweaks.
Closing in on 45 here... we're not all delusional... we were notoriously hard sales, so it's possible the GenX in your life just needs enough sources of objectively true info to be swayed. It's far too easy these days to feel EVERYTHING is bs & just tune out, esp as we were the last to get taught falsehoods as kids only for the internet to expose them as adults... but only if we bothered to look (which most don't have time for. See; capitalistic grind). I turned to being a landlord as desperate last resort for income when hit with disability in '09. None of my younger friends listened when I advised they'd never see houses so cheap again, but I learned the societal costs of owning rental properties & got out a few years ago. Everyone's different & learns at different paces, esp if outside forces make learning/changing difficult. Keep trying. I'm pullin for all of ya.
@nicholastime1513 yes. Gen X had a good run too. But us millenials were really screwed. Zoomers are already done with this shit and can we blame them? I am interested in the next edition. Will Generation Alpha do a pro-gamer move and eat the rich?
Yes. It's good to see that other people are looking forward to a video that employs and improves our critical thinking skills as well as raises class consciousness.
@@PatPatych a thing to remember is propaganda exists everywhere, whether it be capitalist or socialist (or anything else). The contents in this channel is always very honest about his position and state facts that are easily able to be checked (plus he provides resources). I would just recommend keeping an open mind and understand that (assuming your American), you (and all of us) have been exposed to a lot of false narratives about socialism and why it failed previously (or not shown how its successful in countries that implement it today). Have a good one!
The best thing about stakeholder capitalism is you give feudal lords the ability to hold the reins of society and leave the things people need to live well to their charity
Love how in the cited article about chocolate companies and child slavery, some of them claim their intent to completely phase out child labor by 2025, as if it hasn't been deemed immoral and outright illegal in the countries that said companies are headquartered in for about a century now....
Thank you for this. My last two employers were B Corps. Both, and only those two in all my job history, gave me trauma. I am not alone in that trauma from the most recent and have spent the past couple months trying to get HRC to hear me. Now when I look at all the brands I've loved forever when I'm in big beautiful Co-op grocery stores, I twitch at the thought of how much of the population might be experiencing similar trauma. Telling the world you're saving pollinators while cursing and scapegoating employees is a scene that replays in my head when I evaluate the choices on the shelves. Sometimes I wonder if other shoppers notice me twitching.
Agree. I started my uniform business two years ago and no one wants American made/ethically-made/recycled hats. They want the cheapest, most dubious sht possible, and if I don't order it they bring it in. And if I say no I don't pay the bills. Its demoralizing sometimes realizing how much everything is built on layers of exploitation, but my goal is to finish getting set up as a cooperative and live small.
I wish you all the luck! And I like the phrase "layers of exploitation". It captures the national and global situation well. Economic pressure is always directed to the next layer. The capitalist can only exploit the worker if they want to stay in business and the worker can only exploit the even poorer worker in another country if they want to have a normal life. Not exploiting anybody is extremely difficult and demands a lot of effort and money.
Part of the problem that leads to people wanting the cheapest shit possible is because so many people don't have that much money to spare. As a nation we're severely underpaying workers at every level, and that's something that needs to change for people to be able to change to slightly more ethical practices.
Have you ever considered that maybe your business idea is stupid? How does your hat differentiate itself from other hats in the market? I'm also assuming your product is more expensive than competitors which is why it's failing. Are there any unique features that would justify the higher cost? Have you done any market research to gauge market engagement/reception of the product? At the end of the day, consumers (i.e. individual people and society at large) decided NOT to buy your product because of various reasons. Should we label everyone as immoral for not buying your hat? See ultimately it is the individual's choice on whether a business idea succeeds or not, because either people buy the product or don't. Don't blame business failures on society when you haven't offered anything of relative value to earn their money.
It sure is insane that people can be skeptical about individuals all day long, and yet give corporations and billionaires all the benefit of the doubt, because they think business’ problems are fixed by “the free market”
I’m so happy I found your channel! So nice to hear unapologetic socialist ways to improve society without having to worry about sounding “too extreme”. 👏
There needs to be a middle ground. Socialism kills and so does capitalism. There just needs to be an ethical middle ground that doesn’t prioritize money, or prioritize communist redistribution policies.
@@WildFyreful I got called out multiple times for sounding like a member of a cult. It's insane what people will throw at you for wanting everyone to have a decent life and a future.
I've got to let you know, both pure capitalism and socialism are equally bad. M'kay? Socialism should be only like 25% and focus mainly on worker and consumer rights and preventing lobbying.
Love the content from this channel. I've started listening to "Debt the first 5000 years" at your recommendation, and I was surprised by how witty and interesting the author is regarding the subject. I expected a lecture honestly, but discovered someone talking about their passion, which is much more engaging to listen to. Keep up the good work!
David Graeber is an absolute must read for a solid foundation of leftist analysis of modern neoliberal political economy. You can find a good bit of his work at audible anarchist.
Listening...lol, I read the book. A must read for sure. Though the title made my friends think it's more about personal debt. The foundation of money, what's the true definition of debt, life debt, etc.
I remember in 2021 when a dairy farm in Abbotsford BC was caught on CCTV beating cows with wrenches--everyone was shocked because it was an ORGANIC farm. Great video-thank you.
Maybe keep the politics out of the classroom. I don't preach to my about kids atlas shrugged for the same reason. We have to realize we don't know anything, and to influence the politics of children we'd better be damn sure of ourselves. And I think there's too much propaganda with these 'socialist' and 'capitalist' terms.
@Placeholder McGavinport It's pretty much impossible to separate politics from schooling (or anything else for that matter). Everything is political. It's just that it's more obvious for certain subjects than it is for others.
@@placeholdermcgavinport5343 I remember my teacher in civics teaching us that every education is political in essence and that ideas such as "republic" "democracy" "freedom of speech" "equality" and so on, while considered positive non-controversial terms are still political ideas (and not necessarily bad ones). This is something we can be sure of it and would be great to teach. I think what you are really saying is that we can't teach something deemed too controversial, not political. And to this I would actually agree despite my political positions on the matter. If you open this Pandora's box the same problem will apply on the other end of spectrum and then it will depend mostly on who controls the curriculum. It's the same reason why I warn against censoring the opposition: it can backfire to your side when the tides turn. This being said controversiality changes with time. For example there might have been times in history where praying in school was normal in a given country until it became controversial.
By reading some common "beginner business books" you can peer into the mind of an average business owner. They will never truly care about the working class because they see them as idiots in a way. They work for money and "chose" to enslave themselves to the system while the entrepreneurs decided to make the system work for them. In a CEO's mind, the working class should be grateful to have a wage in the first place.
Hah, I WISH it was a no-brainer. I think it's a no-brainer common sense, but it is scary the number of people out there who cannot think critically and jump to "SOCIALISM NEVER WORKS, COMMIE!" the second any sort of suggestion of better working conditions, social supports or system change is suggested. Just goes to show how powerful the pro-capitalist, anti-communist propaganda has been over the last 70 or so years. We'll have to educate our way out of this. It's a steep hill, but I will say we can't expect to get 100% of people, there will always be a bunch of knuckle-draggers who will not see clearly until they are pulled along, kicking and screaming into a better system and won't have the accountability to say they were wrong and sorry. That's okay. We don't worry about them. Worry about those who are close to getting it. Those who show signs of wanting a better system, sincerely, and have empathy. Empathy is critically important. If we don't have empathy, like the many billionaires out there do not have, we can't unite under common goals of the working class to create a better system.
@@daniellarson3068 Yep, I guess it's always been that push-back from regressive conservative minds that progressive people have had to endure to get social changes for everybody. I think of the progressive push for Universal Healthcare in Canada in the 50s and 60s and all the conservative people who probably fought against it, but then used that free healthcare service for the rest of their lives and their kids and grandkids have. It's only when conservative or neoliberal politics destroys the funding and supports for universal healthcare and makes it look bad, when people point to "universal healthcare sucks!" even though nobody goes broke for medical needs in every other developed nation except the US. Yep, propaganda is a helluva drug. We are going to need some heavy DETOX for a group of people in the coming years to get over this mass delusion.
@@daniellarson3068 Yeah, I tend to agree the tide is shifting and less people are being fooled by regressive conservative rhetoric. All these worker protests and strikes going on around the world, in pretty large numbers, farmers, rail workers, delivery drivers, climate scientists. The one thing is these people are exploited and oppressed, like we all are, by this capitalist system (some more than others) but we need class solidarity more than division. It's really frustrating when working people fight against other working people and not focus on facts, truth and finding common ground. Maybe there is more momentum to do something different, maybe capitalism is just so damn corrosive that it's killing itself by raising a generation of people who see its flaws and will fight against it to build a better system. The key is focus on the SYSTEM flaw and system change rather than the smaller-scale political drama. That's where we can hopefully find common ground. What can people agree on? They want more freedom, health, options and to be less overworked and underappreciated, right? Okay. What system is incapable of meeting the needs of the people? Monetary-market capitalism. Okay. Facts prove that and people, who really want to know the truth, can find them. What system should we move towards? One that is oriented around creating localized abundance, meeting all people's basic needs, because we KNOW we have the technology to do it, and follow the scientific data and process to make the most efficient and sustainable system that we can without the need for people to labor-for-income or be in debt. Want to get money out of politics? Great. Get money out of the economy. The economy never had money for 90% of human society. We lived egalitarian and we 'managed our household' very well and successfully for that stretch of time, even if our home was the entire Earth and we roamed it as needed, we still did a good job. Now, we need a modern day egalitarian system to go post-scarcity and post-monetary.
@elfrjz Build a new system based on maximizing efficiency to meet all people's needs, locally, so that labor-for-income is obsolete and all those other pesky social problems can be resolved. The major reason why social problems can mount is because people aren't actually free. They have to pay to live on this planet and submit to an employer who often dictates the terms of their employment. Everybody has to try to labor-for-income or risk poverty. That's not economic freedom for all. It's New Age Lords and Serfs. If we really want people to be free, make basic needs free, and let people choose what they want to do to contribute to society. The fact is there is NO technical reason for anybody to be in poverty, go without adequate food, water, shelter, healthcare and other basic necessities. It is the violently inefficient market capitalist system that must be replaced and free people from oppression. We can do that. It's not going to be easy, not even slightly. But it is the track that can lead us to a better future. The status quo track is headed to worse and worse living conditions for more and more people, every single day.
I don't think you should have to offer solutions in order to point out a problem, especially when it's one that's actively covered up and ignored, and you do so with respect to your audience. You do a fantastic job.
I subbed back when you did sciencey videos. I liked your channel but thought it was kind of B-tier edutainment. But, ever since you moved to doing socialist content, I adore this channel, i watch every video and youve become one of my favorite creators. Keep up the good work. You are amazing ❤️
What he said at 10:04 is incredibly true. Spoilers for The Good Place below. At the end of one of the later seasons, it's revealed that NO ONE has gotten into The Good Place (basically non-demonimational heaven) in centuries, and that's because for so much of humanity's history, people worked their own land, made simple, uncomplicated decisions (barring soldiers in wartime and monarchs) and could make a tangible impact on the world's net good or bad (not unlike Zoroastrianism) through their actions and their contact with others. However, the rise of industrialization and the prominence of factory labor, exploitative business practices, especially toward the global south, and the fact that global supply chains complicate things even more. The fact is that most people don't have the time, energy or even ability to go through the spiderweb of things that led to them getting an apple in their grocery basket, heedless of what went into it to get it to them (pesticides, exploited native workers, greedy CEOs making selfish decisions on all of the above, etc.) all the negative that's put into the world before it even touches their hand creates an inescapable web of complicated effects on the world as a whole that make that simple act, completely innocuous (and inescapable for most, seeing as we don't grow our own food supplies) an unavoidable moral pit trap. To bring this around to the point of the video again: Supporting companies that claim to act responsibly is all well and good, but the way that the world itself is set up is geared in such a way that it's literally impossible for good companies to be fully good and not lose out on essential profit that can keep them in the game. The game is rigged from the start, and the only way out is to see that the maze and its walls are painted in such a way to trick you, and you can't listen to their directions and expect to get out alive. Buy what you need to because it's cheap, and lobby your governments to make the companies heel. The corporations are your enemy, not your friend, and they have no incentive or want to be. Pass it on.
I've only watched the intro so far, but I did want to quickly mention that Adam Smith is sometimes quoted out of context, and he wasn't as hard line as he's made out to be. The Wealth of Nations can be as selectively quoted as the Bible! I struggled through a few chapters many years ago, and I found him surprisingly anti-capitalistic. Especially as I read them in the UK when Thatcher was in her pomp, and his name was all over the place - that's why I took the trouble to go into it in the first place. Here's a quote from an essay I just found on a website called Aeon (I have no idea if they are dodgy or not!)... 'Smith pulled no punches in his assessment of the bosses as working against the interests of the public. As he put it in The Wealth of Nations: ‘People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.’ Smith was totally anti-monopolistic, and that sets him against modern capital right there. It's a bit off-topic, but I felt he needed a defender. Not that I'm the right man for the job! ;-) Love the videos - keep them coming - you are greatly needed in these troubled times.
Yep, Smith can be quoted to fit almost any economic political view today if taken out of context. That's because he looked at economics from both a social system context and from a philosophical ethical context without dumbing it down to simplistic black or white arguments. He acknowledged the advances made from capitalistic interests, but didn't distance himself from the actual needs of humans and society. From what I've understood, most Smith scholars agree that he would've been very critical of the modern day capitalism.
@@Ermude10 Exactly! Yesterday, when I was looking for 'counter-quotes' to make my point, I found most of the articles said trying to shoehorn Smith into modern economic theory is misguided, because he was looking at things from a different context entirely. His writings took an overview from a more social and ethical position - just as you say.
This concept is a great gateway conversation to getting people to move leftward in their thinking. It definitely was for me. I was pretty conservative in my teens and early twenties, before I started examining ideas like that the rich can give money to solve local, national, global problems or that companies can improve society by behaving ethically. Basically it came down to one question: "But what if they don't?" After that, it wasn't long until I learned that, in fact, THEY DON'T! So then I started on a path to figuring out *actual* solutions to these problems, as well as ones around race and sexism and inequity in general, which led to me to channels like this one and socialist solutions. Everyone is different, but if you're trying to figure out how to broach these conversations with your more conservative friends and family, I personally can attest that this is a great place to start.
Lol women got the opportunity to work and study and still get treated like shit doing it. They had the opportunity to be ridiculed and assaulted in public at school and at work now instead of just at home.
The problem with those suggestions is that I don't know how to implement them. I have no way of knowing where any organizations are and I'm not employed because I'm a 13-year-old girl
💚✊💚 all companies under capitalism chase profits - if they happen to help any people it’s secondary to their cause. Great work JT. Keep educating the people. All power to All working class people. And when the corporations set the bar so low that dragging ass counts as “ethical” we the people are doomed.
I wonder if there is a online gathering place like-minded people like us could go to discuss issues further than just in YT comments. I'm sure there are some scattered servers out there, I'm just wondering if there are any more popular, regularly updated spaces. Like this channel has 1.45 million subscribers, and others like it, such as Our Changing Climate, TZMOfficialChannel and more have thousands more that could potentially be linked to a common online meeting place.
@@coolioso808 Sadly the moment this goes out of UA-cam in to other mediums you either get restricted, swatted or suddenly observed. But You could prolly find discord channels and so on for the like minded gatherings. Just be aware that they fear the system that fails because they can't allow it to succeed.
@@coolioso808 we do need more and more solidarity, we need more people willing to speak up and speak out to help educate the working class who’ve been brainwashed by the corporate propaganda of “boot strap” rugged individualism.. even letting the self loathing working class know that as much as they fight against themselves getting a raise or healthcare - that we still fight for them.
@@BostonRobb Great points. Well said. That's the thing, eh? It's like the working class that fight against their own interests, fight with their neighbour and essentially defend the ruling class and the system that keeps the ruling class in power, we still want to work with them or at least fight FOR them, even if they don't understand yet. I know that sounds kind of condescending, but its kind of true. Social movements start with a ground-swell, lots of working people will still ridicule them, unless the momentum stays strong and is based in truth, facts and human rights. Let 2023 be the year we all try to educate others, unite with like-minded others on these critical system change issues. Take about 365 days and later we can look back and evaluate? Did we try to educate or speak out to others? Online? Locally? Both? How many did we potentially reach? I know I could do better, so I'm sure we can all give it a go. We know there are others out there like us, some just need to be shown the right path because they are so close to seeing it themselves.
@@coolioso808 agreed and well said urself. Pls stay in touch, I speak to everyone wherever I go - no joke, if there’s a line at a store for the “self checkout” I look up what the ceo made last year and let the people know how much the owners make while they still raise prices and cut labor. I always let people know they are underpaid and overworked. Appreciate virtually meeting you. Keep up the work and let me know how goes it.. 💚🙏💚✊💚
I just wanted to say that if I came accross these videos, I wouldn’t have believed them. But I love how you cite all your sources so I can do my own fact checking. JT is a trustworthy guy I guess.
Nestlé is Swiss, as a citizen of CH I'm really pissed that the company is doing business all around the world by deliberately taking advantage of workers in a manner, which is absolutely illegal in Switzerland itself.
I have known ethical people who own small and medium-sized businesses, and who seek to operate those businesses in conscientious ways. But it's the financial, promotional and competitive schemes they must operate under truly determine how their businesses operate. The simple way to put it is: it's defense of capital. That's a shared trait, a shared mindset. It's not a personal failing of these people, but (ironically) a _collective_ set of values that overrides the nature of the individual who starts out to be one of those social justice minded entrepreneurs. This often happens with not-for-profits and a lot of social service and social justice organizations as well; they have to operate within a framework of donors and contractors and often ended up unintentionally adapting to the values of that framework.
@@ivanabrike Don't forget the matchstick jaw by age 14. Or the locked exits, or deformed babies. There's not a single slave rebellion, union strike, or revolutionary war the elites didn't deserve, whether they called themselves communists, or capitalists, republicans, or nobility. The history of the working class in the world is way more enlightening than the history of kings and queens and other kinds of dictators could ever be.
Its really true, it's quite sad that a lot of undergrad or even grads still take theories they learnt at uni to heart, theoritical lessons but not validitate its case for this contemporary world.
Very good video, as usual. Here are some more suggestions for more videos: So-called "ethical" funds for "ethical" investing. Many people choose them because the money goes to good causes. The problem is that there is no regulation regarding the label "ethical". So some self-styled ethical funds invest in armament companies like Raytheon (which does other stuff as well, but two thirds of their business is weapons). Some not quite so gross ethical funds invest by the "best of class" principle. The cement industry e.g. causes a lot of pollution. So such funds are invested in the company that pollutes the least (or claims to do so). This is more ambiguous. I am not sure whether it is possible to get rid of cement completely. Other greenwashing companies or organizations that give supposedly "green" labels (according to very weak or scarcely controlled or supervised criteria) would also be good material for a video. And, please JT, do a separate video on Nestlé. Yes, there are already several YT videos bashing them but, IMHO, they cannot be bashed enough. After all, they continue with their evil practices as if nothing happened and, unfortunately, many people don't boycott a brand even after they learn about their nefarious practices.
Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but... Does this mean that, under capitalism, it's impossible for a socialist to start a successful and truly ethical business? To be clear, by "successful" business I'm not referring to a top 500 company that dominates it's market but rather to one that at the very least can manage to break even.
@@JETAlone12 Yeah... As a software engineer I'm really looking to start a truly ethical business in the future... It's my dream and, as far as I know, this could technically be possible because software-centered businesses usually have high profit margins, although I do recognize that it would be insanely difficult... Regardless, I'd still like to give it a shot...
depends what you count to be ethical there is a significant argument to be made that workers are owed compensation of the FULL value of their labor, which very obviously just does not work in any business model besides self-employment you say software engineer, and if you work alone or in a team of equal employees as a contractor then that can technically be an ethical business, but only based on the exploitative nature of the relationship of your clients to you, because they still need to profit off of your work
@@soweliLuna That's a good question. I'm a socialist, which means I'd probably hold myself to a higher standard than that one. I completely understand that, ideally, workers should be compensated for the full value of their labor, and if it was realistic I'd 100% do it as I would be starting a business not to enrich myself but rather to create a service which genuinely improves the lives of our costumers. I'd make sure my salary can only be, at most, 3x that of my employees. I'd allow them to unionize and of course would offer them great benefits like health care, a retirement plan, a decent amount of vacations. If I hired them as contractors, I wouldn't be allowed to do that, which is why I'd rather avoid going down that route in the first place. We'd probably have a 4 day work week. If at any point in time some of them need to do overtime or just want to do it willingly, then I'd pay them extra. They'd probably work at most for 6 hours a day as studies have shown even the best programmers realistically can only be productive for 4 hours a day. No micro management, in fact most of them wouldn't be required to be at the office so they could just work remotely. And, of course, our business model wouldn't be centered around selling our user's personal data. We'd collect as little data from them as we could. If we have to collect data, we'd make sure our privacy polity and terms of service are as concise as possible. I'd personally make sure our servers and data centers run on renewable energy. My point is, after observing the software industry for a very long time I've come to the conclusion the only reason software companies don't do most of the things I mentioned is because doing so would mean less profit for their share holders and also giving up their position as market makers in their respective sectors. Another reason why big tech companies operate in the way they do is because they want to expand globally, which of course isn't cheap. Since my focus wouldn't be to create a monopoly but rather to deliver the best possible service, I believe I wouldn't have to deal with those problems. At least, not to the same degree. I'd also make sure the only "stake holders" would be me and the workers as I'd like the business to be a "co-op", meaning employees would truly have a say in the decision making process as they'd be owners as well. As far as I know, science has proven that the things socialists advocate for are usually good for the well being of the employees. Happy employees are usually way more productive, which is the main reason why I believe this is possible even if it's highly unlikely. Another reason why this may work is because in a purely software-centered business you don't really need to have a big workforce. It's usually better to hire 10 very skilled developers than to hire 100 low skilled developers. By skilled I don't necessarily mean experienced, but rather good at problem solving. With that being said, I'd like to ask you a question: if I managed to successfully do all of this, do you think this could potentially make up for the fact that I wouldn't be giving employees the full value of their labor? I'd really appreciate your thoughts.
Haha, funny that an anti-capitalist, pro-communist channel doesn't have any capitalist companies trying to advertise and sell stuff from their channel. Oh right, that actually makes perfect sense. I'd be a little shocked if this channel did have outside ads.
@@PhedelCastro we are all agents and victims of the same toxic capitalist system. Those are his in-video sponsored ads because he's laboring for income as well, like everybody else has to pay to live on this damn planet with a stupid capitalist system driving us to ecological collapse. What's your point? He's a hypocrite? I don't see any outside ad breaks on this channel, yes he does have in-video sponsor ads. Maybe all communists should go live in a cabin in the woods and stop criticizing the corrupt system that is killing millions of people every year, right? I got a Norm MacDonald inspired joke. Here it is: Someone says "The worst thing about people criticizing capitalism is the hypocrisy." Another one says, "I disagree, the worst part is the mass murder by capitalism that is preventable if we lived in a better, sustainable system."
16:05 Boy that statement was powerful. And I myself have a small business (no employees, just myself doing it) and I’ve always thought the same thing, and also agree with this video.
Definitely some good things to think about. I might push back a tiny bit on the UBI example, not in the sense of you being wrong, but that too much pessimism about UBI improving people’s lives enough to stop them from making trouble at some point starts to smell like accelerationism. It’s like arguing that Labor Unions winning higher pay and shorter hours is actually bad because then people won’t be desperate enough to participate in substantial systemic change. The key difference, of course, is that one is a bribe in exchange for not building worker power, and the other is a direct result of Labor building power and flexing its muscles. I think to some viewers it might sound like you have to choose between policies that help workers’ actual material condition and building worker power, when really we should always be pushing to do both. A great video, as always. Thanks for giving me some food for thought!
@@ultraviolet7838 it doesnt really. whatever money you get from ubi would end up in the capitalists hands anyway. giving people money for their necessities is kinda pointless if their necessities can only be met through profit based consumption. its much better to just have those necessities be given by the government for free. because then they cant be taken back by raising prices and stuff. and it gives us actual bargaining power since we rely less on wages for survival.
No one ever seems ready to explain why UBI isn't just a landlord benefit. They know how much you're making, and have unlimited authority to control your rent. Obviously your rent is going to consume your UBI, any dependent's UBI, and your original rent as well.. the landlord gets the UBI too, so, no secret.
Thank you for this content. I know paying you through a 3rd party "app" isn't the best way to give you monetary support; But I also assume you don't want to give out your address so we can pay you directly, because of crazy people. Haha! Keep up the good work, and I hope we can find our way forward! Best wishes!
One of our biggest customers is a B Corp (one of the corps that started B Corp, in fact). Learning about it then I thought it was some devious marketing BS, glad the word is getting out.
I just signed up on your curiosity deal. I couldn't not support the work of someone clearly at the leading edge of lucid timely brilliant social analysis. I'd surely love to meet you before you're too famous to approach. Thanks JT, I'm catching up on & like-ing every video.
I'm a small business owner, and obsessed with this channel. You provided solutions that we as the working class can implement to start making change, but I wonder as small business owners, what actions can we take? Is it organising as a worker's cooperative? What are some coordinates steps the small business community can implement?
Just don't screw employees, particularly out of money they earned. Don't try wage theft and comply with overtime laws. No cheating! And I know small businesses are on limited budgets, so don't hire an employee unless you can pay them fairly. $7.25 an hour is not fair. It's very bad wages.
Thank you for these videos, the work put into them and the info you bring to the world. Signed up for Nebula and looking forward to content there. Hope you, your team, your family and friends are well.
That ending message actually made me sign up for Curiosity Stream. I don't mind paying for content at all considering I've been watching your videos and listening to the Deprogram for free. Looking forward to whatever you send our way!
Ethical business under capitalism isn't possible as it is a system that inherently encourages unethical practices, a lack of regard to the environment and those inhabiting it, the treatment of workers as mere cogs in a machine instead of people who deserve to be treated with decency, an unjust hierarchal system based upon wealth where those at the top get away with horrific crimes against those below them, while those at the bottom are severely punished for simply trying to survive. The sole reason this system survives is because a massive portion of society has bought into it's propaganda that this is all a necessary evil for civilization to function.
@@skagraw2 thank you fellow human for your opinion. However the gross inequality in society is greatly increasing, just look around you. The geo politics are changing, the society is changing. The only thing that isn’t changing are our neural circuits. We must educate ourselves and break this cycle before it gets too out of hands.
The pods i use for seedlings. If you pull the top foil and then compost (if you can) the grounds. The pods have a little cloth like filter in them which is perfect for doing shallow seedling starts. You can use it more than once for seeds. But i re-use my pods.
2 solutions - 1. limit stock buybacks or kill them altogether. In 1982, during Reagan, a divergence in wages and profit of a business happened in many aspects of American-style capitalism. Since then, COLA raises, if you get them, are meant to reduce or maintain an inflation-adjusted wage. 2. Cap CEO/ChiefXX pay at 100x the frontline worker. A minwage in LA County would produce a CEO pay of about $3.2m/year with that cap. Japan has it now. Both of these solutions will produce a higher wage and quality of life for workers, expand their buying power in the market, and lower investment return/dividend drive to shareholders and investors without removing it explicitly.
It's not just for-profit corporations that put dollars ahead of everything else. I used to work for a hospital and my mom worked for a large nonprofit in Chicago. They couldn't care less about their employees, patients, and patrons. Most important thing is the bottom line.
Commenting to boost this video. I think there are so many ideas that we've been thought by the older generation about capitalism that needs to be unlearnt for our own good
I almost 100% agree with what you are saying but one “business/nonprofit/ foundation that I think is ethical is the Happy Hippie Foundation! It donates 100% to fighting youth homelessness. I’m interested in ppls thoughts though!
I would recommend ignoring the jerks who complain that you don't give solutions to the problems you identify. That's just a disingenuous way to shut down discussion of those problems.
I was once part of this lovely anti capitalist small business made up of disabled, neurodiverse, queer and poc artists where we would be able to sell our art and everyone would be payed equally, no bumping up other artists due to popularity and so forth. I was really excited to see this thrive since the head of the business was trans and very passionate about this project. Unfortunately the business never picked up and that person has dropped off the face of the earth (I assume due to personal and medical circumstances) and any evidence of the business was essentially erased. I really wish that it was able to lift off but I suppose capitalism and the rising cost of living is gonna make small ethical businesses next to impossible to thrive and survive.
14:24 that was horseshit when the Dakota Access Pipeline leaked in Kansas. We were telling them the whole time, so frustrating You’re right JT. We need to develop a worker’s party and fight for the change we need.
I don't know but I feel like this needed to be said, at least on my side. I appreciate you and respect you for what you're doing with all the videos exposing the Truth that most of humanity is blind to see. Never give up, never give in & stay true, especially to yourself
Goodness, I see a lot of people talking in the comments, using arguments that are debunked in the video. Did you guys even watch the video? Or, is your attention span 3 seconds and you just want to debate? What happened to 'getting to the truth'?
I absolutely love your videos! The thing is, I become depressed after watching 90% of them... I keep imagining "what will my future be? will there be a future?" I always consider "the coward's way out" (if you know what I mean), its really sad. Capitalism f*cked up our world.
Ever thought about getting together a bunch of like-minded people your age, and starting a collectivist co-op? Or an intentional community? One where everything is shared and everyone only works just as much is needed for the good of the group?
@@NJGuy1973 Historically, everybody who did that ended up being either dead, overdosed, back to being sane (a communist) or begging a local dictator to annex them because living under communism is this bad.
The only thing we can do is live our lives day by day, and do our best to make things better for those that come after. That might mean engaging in mass protests, riots, and direct action for some. But if that's too overwhelming, it can also mean performing volunteer work, building community solidarity with your neighbours, engaging in local politics, caring for a community garden, or even just making sure you and your friends take care of one another. We can only do what we can do. We can only improve the state of the world if we continue living our lives as best we can, and any amount of kindness and community is a rebellion against the status quo. Have hope, friend. There is still good in this world.
Just plugging that curiosity stream/nebula deal and commenting for the algorithm. I'm already a patreon supporter and have had a subscription to curiosity stream/nebula for a few years now otherwise I'd do it myself. It's honestly a really good deal, kind of insane that it costs so little considering what you get.
@@PatPatych Found the troll! That argument stopped working when China's beat _every_ capitalist country in terms of gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity. Facts > cold war propaganda
@@PatPatych Approved For Release 2007/05117: CIA-RDP84B00274R000300150009-5 RFUTEPS 8 JANUARY 1983 5 PENGTH-DIET American and Soviet citizens eat about the same amount of food each day but the Soviet diet may be more nutritious. According to a CIA report released today both nationalities may be eating too much for good health. The CIA drew no conclusions about the nutritional makeup of the Soviet and American diets but commonly accepted U.S. health views suggest the Soviet diet may be slightly better. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, an average Soviet citizen consumes 3,280 calories a day, compared to 3,520 calories for the American. The average daily calorie intake in the Soviet Union is: grain products and potatoes, 44 per cent; sugar, 13 per cent; dairy and eggs, 11 per cent; fats and oils, 17 per cent; meat and fish, eight per cent, with seven per cent other products. The American consumes daily: grain products and potatoes, 26 per cent; sugar, 17 per cent; dairy and eggs, 12 per cent; fats and oils, 18 per cent, meat and fish, 21 per cent, and six per cent other products. Americans eat more meat and fish, more sugar, more dairy products and eggs, and more fats and oils and less grain than the average Soviet citizen, and consume more calories. Generally held nutritional standards suggest individuals need fewer calories, less meat, less sugar and more grain to stay fit.
Thanks for producing such high quality videos! You're the first source I give to my friends on the topic of Socialism, you provide such an amazing and modern perspective on it.
@@PatPatych No, Second Thought provides their bias upfront. This allows the viewer to critically view it as a biased source, and examine it for its wins and faults. This is better than viewing something deemed to be unbiased, and being unaware of the implicit or explicit bias behind it.
I'm sure you get tons of suggestions, and I'm not 100% sure if you've done it or not yet. But I think a video about Eminent Domain would be really interesting. Some people say it is useful, and I'm sure it is in some instances. However, I am curious if wealthy people have ever been the victim of it, because I am highly doubtful they have been
I'd be interested in an exploration of steady state economics and business ethics. Because I have a hunch that there'll be a huge difference between the current GROWTH paradigm and STEADY STATE economics. Also be good to do videos on how the Spanish Workers Cooperatives work, especially from the ethical standpoint. In Spanish Workers Cooperatives - many of which DO constitute "big businesses" - have significant input from the workforce employed.
Howdy, friends! I hope you all enjoy this week's video. If you'd like to help support the channel, please consider watching my Nebula Original Series, The New F-Word! I've put a lot of work into it and I think it's really cool. You can get free access to Nebula with your CuriosityStream subscription - it's less than fifteen bucks a year for both platforms, which is an amazing deal. Check out the latest episode of The New F-Word: nebula.tv/videos/second-thought-how-fascism-survived-the-post-war-era and sign up for the Nebula/CuriosityStream bundle deal here: curiositystream.com/secondthought
It really does help keep this channel running 🙏
You should become the speaker of the house since no one wants to!
Just got my yearly subscription with your code.
Hope it helps a little.
Keep up the great work.
Can you please tell us how Nebula and CuriosityStream are different than Netflix, Hulu, etc.? I wanted to ask the same question in the other video "Why You Don't Actually Own Anything Under Capitalism". Thanks!
Hey second thought
I have an idea for a video which I'd love to see
The history of Syndicalism and Anarcho-Syndicalism
I'd love to hear your thoughts about both ideologies
Very nice! Good finish too w/ the They Want Approval -;Their money. I Want Mine, Tks. GIT UR DONE, Suckaaaz... T'WORK! 24hrs.... A WEEK
..
A Dutch economist, Paul Schenderling, wrote a book about this. He basically states that the most important thing that needs to change, is the definition of success. Right now, success is synonymous with profit. Selling a lot of products that self-destruct is good for profit, but not for anything else. I'd rather have my washing machine last 25 years than need to replace it every 5 years or so. If the success of a company is defined by the durability of its products, its environmental impact, and the way they treat its personnel, the rules of the game will change and companies need to change along with it.
That’s why capitalism has to go.
Capitalism is like that old washing machine. It was, at one point, a revolutionary idea that worked decently. But now it's become too slow, inefficient, and breaks down every few years. I'd replace a machine for like that
@@j.c.2240 I don't think you understand the original point. In many cases, older machines are more reliable than new ones.
The current system is a reward one, companies and entrepeneurs gain something they can use: money (and to a lesser deegree deals with other companies and sometimes status)
The problem is that quality products and well cared employees don't offer an objective immediate reward for companies.
Most anyone would prefer money, and since customers don't care much as they keep buying your faulty self-destructive products, it stays as it is
@@myronidasvestarossa
And replace it with?
If capitalism improves innovation, then why are capitalists so obsessed with monopolizing all markets?
Because a monopoly is free money from markets failing.
This is like asking ‘if sports bring out the best in athletes, why do many try to cheat?’
@@Ravi-fx6vf AKA it doesnt realllyyy have innovation at the forefront - unless ofc it is profitable ;)
That's where the profit motive and capital accumulation play a part. Every company needs profit to grow, investors want a return on capital investments that increases year over year. This constant need to grow and expand is solely to increase profits for the owners exponentially. This leads to a need to have the largest share of the market captured in order to guarantee growth. Naturally for corporations to survive in the capitalist system needs to and always grows toward monopoly and or oligarchy.
Because capitalism doesn't improve innovation, and it is in the monetary interest of business owners to monopolize markets, which of course, moves the market away from competition. Thus competition is in fact, not incentivized in capitalism, for a business’s capital grows most when competition is absent, and one is the sole seller. For this reason, the formation of large monopolies is a natural tendency of capitalism, and market economies. As is inflation, btw. As well as recessions.
@@Ravi-fx6vf the problem here is that monopolization is not like cheating in sports but like winning. The end of capitalist economy is to make as much profit as possible, wich means that the natural tendency is to be the ONLY one on the podium. You can't desire to have control over the market and not aspire to monopoly, since every other enterprise wich shares your same economic weight is going to try to surpass you. So cheating is not an exception but the main rule.
It's a lot like the "undercover boss" scenario. The CEO is responsible for the suffering of a huge amount of people, but we champion them as the hero when they help a single employee. Yet the massive suffering continues on in the background.
Money's not bad capitalism is pretty bad though capitalism is definitely bad for creativity though that's why there's so many bad video games even AAA games and even to Indie Games political parties are bad too because that ruin one of the best games and that game is Minecraft political parties are why the founder of Minecraft stop working on the game and it's definitely because capitalism because he knew he was going to make a lot of money and capitalism is why Americans are getting fed poison because Average Joe's have completely control over their business as long as they have money this is controversial but democracy is bad because if you have a good ruler you can vote that ruler out and a republic is bad too because of Republican easily get changed into an democracy I think a form of government with minority rule would be better than one with majority rule because there's not that very many intelligent people that's why the world is struggling so bad
"One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic" in its perfect sense
What is the source for this quote? Feels like I have seen it elsewhere.@@eges72
Yep
Last place I worked broke the law everyday, we discussed it in a meeting, the fine for breaking the law was less than the potential profit from the breach, so it was cashed as an expense. The law means nothing against moneyyyyy
Law doesn’t necessarily equal morality, but I see your point
@@themusicman669 That's very good ! Where have you been all my life ? A great point ! I have been wanting to say the same words to people for too long ...
@@DipayanPyne People tend to conflate the two for some weird reason. I’d rather die than look to politicians’ decrees for morality😂
@@themusicman669 Exactly ! Laws and Ethics are different things. In fact, Ethics is the Foundation of Laws. If the people who pass laws are not moral philosophers, we will end up with bad laws. Simple 🤷🏽♂️
The government and heads of states break the law everyday. Laws are only for lowly people. Work, consume and obey!
When I studied business studies in college I remember one of the first important lessons was 'the aim of all business is to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible.' Morality does not come into it, if they do something that would incur a fine but they would still make a profit on it then they will do it because profit is more important.
Agree. I was also disgusted by that. But in life people can surprise. However that usually comes with small business. So not every business is bad
It's why car makers routinely pay death benefits instead redesigning the car to eliminate the cause of death. Why during building construction, craines are parked over city streets during down time instead over the building project. The cost of a craine falling and killing people is far less than than falling on and interrupting a multi million dollar building project.
Criminal capitalism is Americas god.
I was curious as to how Nespresso got a certification declaring them "ethical", so I looked up B-Lab's certification process.
Companies register their own employees to the "B Impact Assessment", where they give prepared answers to a checklist of questions they get to see in advance, and at the end of the 12-month process, they only need a score of 80/200, or 40%, to pass.
So all a corporation has to do is select a number of employees they trust, feed them the correct answers, and get just good enough of a score to get the certification.
The entire thing is one big joke that's being used by large corporations to scam consumers into thinking they care about something other than profit.
Maybe that would matter if people noticed the mark, but considering I didn't even know what it was, I doubt more than a dozen people within 50 miles of me do.
Seems as bad as the net zero carbon bullshit every company here is advocating and when you look deeper it is just that they paid some bullshit gold certificated company where they get some third world country people sign some papers that they are going to do x thing instead of y and miraculously millions tons of co2 is not emmitted just so that the western consumers can feel good about themselves after the purchase.
Most of these "independent" NGO ethics certification organizations are a corporate scam. They exist to green-wash. The NGO needs donors or large cash-influxes to stay viable, so they essentially supply this green-wash service for the same companies they are monitoring in return for that company's monetary support. Clearly this is a conflict of interest, but unless there is widespread donations from consumer groups, the NGO wouldn't be able to keep the lights on to actually do the work it's supposed to be doing.
Fair-trade, dolphin free tuna, anything with the word "sustainability" is basically greenwash bs, unfortunately.
Also... only 40%?
I want exams with the same objective to pass
If 100% is the max then 40 is like "i don't hate you, but you aren't someone i want to spend my time with either"
"Scam customers into thinking they care" for more profit, see it a lot.
This is true. Since corporations routinely break the law if they think that there will be a net profit for them if they do so, it begs the question "What's the difference between a 'legit' corporation and organised crime?"
Corporations are just criminal organisations that have paid governments enough to let them exist.
For most corporations, those "fines and penalties" are dismissed as the cost of doing business. The price they pay is a miniscule fraction of the ill gotten gains, which makes the decision to engage in criminal activity a no brainer.
Now add lobbying to fossilize and make molasses out of the already old and wrinkled law makker
If you buy into libertarian philosophy, then the government itself is just a criminal organisation that perpetuates itself through cultural and historical inertia.
Criminal organizations pay them as well, just under the table
We don't want to hear how our leaders receive money from criminals, even though most of us know that "secret" we choose to still believe a beautiful lie than a harsh truth
The biggest difference between capitalism and socialism, is the non-existent-lawmaking on all the potential crimes that a "free market" generates. A special, and least regulated, part of the "free market" is the Wall street, the greater the danger and risc for society, the lower the regulatory standards, in order to unleash the full profit-potential of the risciest businesses.And what sounds too good to be true, is by experience, a lie or miscalculation. And when I say "risky", I mean risky for society, I don´t mean risky for the investors.
I'm so sick and tired of being called "radical" for literally just believing in human rights, and seeing the BASIC FACTS that capitalism prevents everyone from having them.
You’re literally using your first amendment right here which goes directly against capitalism
Rationalizing the non-radicalness is an expensive spending of yourself.
Your others won't be calm until you will be actually on their side.
Therefore, you'd better to recognise your place and possibilities. Yeah, you will be no longer good guy, but the more sides of yourself you recognise, the stronger and smarter you are, because you simply know yourself.
Actually, "radical" is a fear for the current states' powers and their supporters. In this case fear is the potential of real. So, if you want to struggle for your beliefs, just stop hiding your mental power for yourself.
It's not necessary and it's even harmful to show your "radicalism" at outer behaviour. Focus yourself on your mental power.
This is a dismissal tactic. Your talking to a public who dosent hv light of thought
Government also does that, but you guys love government for some weird reason lol
Okay, so what's your magical end all be all system to replace it without sacrificing continued growth of productivity and knowledge?
i have been consistently embarrassed, criticized, ridiculed, bullied, and put under extreme mental/emotional duress at my places of employment both by bosses and coworkers for trying to share these values and ideas. The reason change isn't happening is because people aren't ready for it. Things are shitty now, but not shitty or catastrophic enough to convince people that the way we're living now could be so much better. It's soul shattering, crushing, and completely heartbreaking. I weep for my fellow americans every day and for my brothers and sisters across the world who are enslaved by the idea of enforced public complacency. Feels real bad man. 27 years old and i feel like a senile old man half the time, plagued by easily attainable visions of what *could be* grossly overlaid on top of the grim reality of what *is*
You just summed up the core of my issues with society in a way I could never express that coherently, why can't everyone see what theyre doing to themselves and their communities?
It's okay my brother and I feel your pain. I see the same thing everywhere. Culture wars and identity politics to keep people pinned against each other. It's dark but the silver lining is you're not alone. Hope is all we have. Greed is such a biatch. Ne0liberalism is pure evil.
I think the thing that wears you down the most is knowing that things could be better, knowing that we have the means to stop so much human suffering but just dont because the people that control the means of production and pay off politicians just don't care. So you kinda just have to sit there as an average person with this sense of overwhelming helplessness because the solution is so obvious but at some point as a collective most people were convinced that achievable goals like ending homelessness are just childish fantasies and that for society to function someone has to suffer.
Very well said!!!!! ❤
Stupid does what stupid is. Americans also lack the IQ to respect and participate in democracy. This singular great experiment has failed. What remains is criminal capitalism.
Not just in business, but even in our day-to-day lives, money and materialism is glorified in such a way that subjects such as ethics, morality, wisdom, and justice are pretty much always sidelined and sometimes downright ignored. I mean, we're always told as kids, for e.g., that 'honesty is the best policy'. How much of it do we get to see in the world?!Kids are more honest and kind-hearted than most adults I've seen. At least they don't see everything in terms of profit.
Yeah, we are taught as kids: Be honest, be kind, sharing is caring, teamwork makes the dream work, exercise, eat well and try to have a balanced life - but then what happens? We grow up into a deeply unsustainable, unjust and unhealthy economically competitive, profit-seeking system and trying to 'earn a living'. What BS! Humans are the only living things who pay to live on this planet. We think we are so smart? We have the technology to meet ALL human needs and do so with localized abundance and have much LESS required work to do, do not need to labor-for-income, do not need to have money or debt at all. None of those things are needed. Literally, not necessary. Just human inventions from hundreds of years ago when times were different, technology wasn't advanced enough to meet all human needs with abundance. But for 70+ years we could have. Futurists predicted we would consistently reduce our work weeks, sometimes down to 5 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week. We still CAN live that way, but we have a lot of work to do to get people in the right train of thought so we can rise up together and demand that change.
Being honest could quite literally put you jail for arbitrary laws when talking to the police. It's not about the morality of the law broken. Like you said it's chasing the dollar. There's no way that with how technology has improved and everyone now has cameras in their pockets. Everyone can see the tragic details. Only problem is instead of addressing it morally they'd rather dig the hole deeper hoping everyone will just give up their rights. Which statistically speaking not everyone is going to do. So it's like just do the right thing. Well hard to do when they're paid and promoted to do the wrong thing. Idk how one entity could be so stupid.
kids are more honest and kind-hearted than most adults? i bet you have never been bullied before
@@Dave_of_Mordor Yeah, exactly that, Kids are not more kind hearted or whatever, they are just stupid and easily brainwashable. But meh, guess he/she needed to say a feel good stupidity like that to serve whatever his/her point was.
@@Dave_of_Mordor Adults bully as well
As my business Ethics professor said there is no actual Ethics in business because it contradicts the principle of ethics.
Can we be sure there would be ethics in socialism? When other people are still running the show?
@@carpo719 Yes socialism by definition means we can be sure there would be ethics we can't police every one all the time, but we can make sure its done by social interaction. In socialism you do not have government you have social employees professionals with high education who does same things our governments do just better because they first of all educated in the field not trough papas or mamas money, but actual education second does not have profit incentive since there aren't any instead there is certain reward like social recognition which billionaires spend insane amount of resources to get. There is not other people running the show in socialism its in the freaking word. You vote trough your phone or an app or paper letter of pc no matter you vote and you are in control of all these things you decide your future not somebody else that has more money and cares not for any one but themselves.
@@glennwatson3313 What so confusing about it? That is how it works.
@@carpo719 Other people? Socialism is worker ownership and control of the economy. Who else would be running it?
Presence
When I was younger I always wanted to start businesses in the stem fields, not because of the money, but because I wanted to make a genuine change in the world. But now I realize that it's just all one big money game...
One of the first chapters of “monopoly capital” by sweezy and baran does a great job showing how the corporation needs profits to survive and grow, and how the “ethical corporation” isn’t really a thing.
I feel like socialists need to respect capitalism a tiny bit more, it has worked well before high-level globalization and industrialization, it has just been outdated for the past about 150 years. There have in fact been some ethical capitalists though they were few and far between. A great example of this is George Westinghouse
@@zsomborszigeti6797 wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong capitalism wasn’t “working well” before monopoly capitalism, competitive capitalism relied upon the same exploitation which resides today. Idk what “worked well” your referring to
its also a lot better than feudalism. No system, including socialism can stay forever and eventually becomes outdated. In a multi-planetary society socialism will most likely not be effective, because of the sheer distance.
While a multi-planetary society might seem far away now, remember that industrialization also seemed far away in the 15th century when capitalism was founded
@@zsomborszigeti6797 all society’s we have lived in have been class societies. That is the commonality between them.
@@zsomborszigeti6797 And your point is? Capitalism's still bad and needs doing away with. Socialism will eventually have the same thing happen, that's just the cycle of life. Nobody was denying that, it's just common sense.
You've no reason other than a straw man to bring it up, and then I'd wonder why exactly you're defending capitalism at all if you your self consider it outdated. Even bringing up 'ethical capitalist,' nobody was saying that. Corporation and Capitalism more broadly at a systemic level does not an individual person make.
Systemically capitalism has been shit and always will be, yes feudalism/manorialism was also shit but that doesn't detract from capitalism also being bad too. Individuals may be good people at that individual level, but that matters relatively little at the systemic level
I had to quit my job at amazon, for a variety of reasons but the one that sticks with me is the day everyone made fun of me for having a "Failed" business
1) Thats how the shit works
2) I explained (or tried to atleast) that most of the reason it "failed" was because I refused to use evil corporations advertising platforms, and didnt crush my customers with BS. I used to jokingly say I was too nice to run a business, but this video just confirms that I 100% just have a conscious and the people who run these fortune 500 companies do literally nothing but terrorism for god damn numbers on a spreadsheet
he rich and your broke
Ah yes, so you had crap marketing, probably a poor business plan with a crap product/service that no one bought but it failing is somehow a signal of your virtue as if you sacrificed yourself on the cross by running a bad business... holy hell people are getting dumber each day.
If you're going into business make sure you are offering something people actually want to buy so that it can differentiate itself in existing market(s) and have some advertising so people know about it. There is nothing immoral about having a successful business, it just means that the people selected to buy your product/service over competitors, if you want to play the morality game then the blame should be on consumers since they are the ones buying the product and supposedly propping up "immoral" businesses.
What you fail to understand is that your business failed because you didn't stand out and let your would be customers know you stood out. instead, you blame it on, "Ohh I am too nice and nobody wants a nice guy". Who in this day wouldn't want to support an ethical business??
@@heresy9360 Bro that's literally what he said, he refused to use the major advertising platforms owned by big corpos which is why he wasnt able to reach out to his potential customers.
@@heresy9360 you did not get the point of this video.
I remember when I was in college these big law firms would sponsor trips. Our college was based in a working-class community, they'd proceed to spend the whole trip giving presentations about how programmes such as theirs were changing lives like ours. I even remember one instance where a homeless man got a job at a law firm through one of these programmes. What they omitted to tell us, was how they were making the world a worse place by giving large corporations all sorts of advice. Including things like Mergers, which create monopolies, tax avoidance and just anything a business would need to do to evade accountability. CSR is one big scam, you hit the nail on the head!
My parents are massively in denial about this - they're honestly pretty good as far as parents go when it comes to social justice. They do care - but they definitely struggle to wrap their minds around how bad things are and the audacity of what needs to be done to fix things. It's just hard to convince Gen X folks that the world they grew up with was built with blood and abuse.
True my parents are gen x, pretty chill and understanding. The only thing is that they PRAISE capitalism too much. Refers to me as a communist when I argue with them lmao.
Your parents sound like boomers who were able to buy a house, a car and afford raising a family just by waiting on tables.
The world has changed. They just stuck in the 60s
Yeah same, my parents are liberals so they support social justice but think it can be found within the capitalist framework if we just make a few tweaks.
Closing in on 45 here... we're not all delusional... we were notoriously hard sales, so it's possible the GenX in your life just needs enough sources of objectively true info to be swayed.
It's far too easy these days to feel EVERYTHING is bs & just tune out, esp as we were the last to get taught falsehoods as kids only for the internet to expose them as adults... but only if we bothered to look (which most don't have time for. See; capitalistic grind).
I turned to being a landlord as desperate last resort for income when hit with disability in '09. None of my younger friends listened when I advised they'd never see houses so cheap again, but I learned the societal costs of owning rental properties & got out a few years ago. Everyone's different & learns at different paces, esp if outside forces make learning/changing difficult.
Keep trying. I'm pullin for all of ya.
@nicholastime1513 yes. Gen X had a good run too. But us millenials were really screwed. Zoomers are already done with this shit and can we blame them?
I am interested in the next edition. Will Generation Alpha do a pro-gamer move and eat the rich?
Does anyone else really look forward to Fridays now because they know the latest Second Thought video is dropping? Just me? Great stuff as usual!
Yes. It's good to see that other people are looking forward to a video that employs and improves our critical thinking skills as well as raises class consciousness.
Nope. It's always a happy surprise. 🙂
Ah yes, looking forward for more commie propaganda. How is this channel not banned for extremism?
@@coolioso808 It does the opposite.
@@PatPatych a thing to remember is propaganda exists everywhere, whether it be capitalist or socialist (or anything else). The contents in this channel is always very honest about his position and state facts that are easily able to be checked (plus he provides resources). I would just recommend keeping an open mind and understand that (assuming your American), you (and all of us) have been exposed to a lot of false narratives about socialism and why it failed previously (or not shown how its successful in countries that implement it today). Have a good one!
Fun fact: CSR is also an Australian building products company that hid the dangers of asbestos from it’s workers for decades.
The best thing about stakeholder capitalism is you give feudal lords the ability to hold the reins of society and leave the things people need to live well to their charity
@elfrjz we are here already.
Love how in the cited article about chocolate companies and child slavery, some of them claim their intent to completely phase out child labor by 2025, as if it hasn't been deemed immoral and outright illegal in the countries that said companies are headquartered in for about a century now....
Thank you for this. My last two employers were B Corps. Both, and only those two in all my job history, gave me trauma. I am not alone in that trauma from the most recent and have spent the past couple months trying to get HRC to hear me. Now when I look at all the brands I've loved forever when I'm in big beautiful Co-op grocery stores, I twitch at the thought of how much of the population might be experiencing similar trauma. Telling the world you're saving pollinators while cursing and scapegoating employees is a scene that replays in my head when I evaluate the choices on the shelves. Sometimes I wonder if other shoppers notice me twitching.
Agree. I started my uniform business two years ago and no one wants American made/ethically-made/recycled hats.
They want the cheapest, most dubious sht possible, and if I don't order it they bring it in. And if I say no I don't pay the bills.
Its demoralizing sometimes realizing how much everything is built on layers of exploitation, but my goal is to finish getting set up as a cooperative and live small.
I wish you all the luck!
And I like the phrase "layers of exploitation". It captures the national and global situation well. Economic pressure is always directed to the next layer. The capitalist can only exploit the worker if they want to stay in business and the worker can only exploit the even poorer worker in another country if they want to have a normal life. Not exploiting anybody is extremely difficult and demands a lot of effort and money.
Hope your company becomes successful. Keep trying because the world needs people like you
Part of the problem that leads to people wanting the cheapest shit possible is because so many people don't have that much money to spare. As a nation we're severely underpaying workers at every level, and that's something that needs to change for people to be able to change to slightly more ethical practices.
Don't blame. There is no solution to such problems. Monarchy, theocracy, democracy, oligarchy, family rule, nothing works.
Have you ever considered that maybe your business idea is stupid? How does your hat differentiate itself from other hats in the market? I'm also assuming your product is more expensive than competitors which is why it's failing. Are there any unique features that would justify the higher cost? Have you done any market research to gauge market engagement/reception of the product?
At the end of the day, consumers (i.e. individual people and society at large) decided NOT to buy your product because of various reasons. Should we label everyone as immoral for not buying your hat? See ultimately it is the individual's choice on whether a business idea succeeds or not, because either people buy the product or don't.
Don't blame business failures on society when you haven't offered anything of relative value to earn their money.
Damn dude, consistently breaking down very important and complex topics in a clear and informative way. Good stuff!
It sure is insane that people can be skeptical about individuals all day long, and yet give corporations and billionaires all the benefit of the doubt, because they think business’ problems are fixed by “the free market”
I’m so happy I found your channel! So nice to hear unapologetic socialist ways to improve society without having to worry about sounding “too extreme”. 👏
The fact that so many consider "taking care of the planet" and "respecting your fellow human" is considered *extreme* is TERRIFYING though.
There needs to be a middle ground. Socialism kills and so does capitalism. There just needs to be an ethical middle ground that doesn’t prioritize money, or prioritize communist redistribution policies.
@@WildFyreful I got called out multiple times for sounding like a member of a cult. It's insane what people will throw at you for wanting everyone to have a decent life and a future.
I've got to let you know, both pure capitalism and socialism are equally bad. M'kay? Socialism should be only like 25% and focus mainly on worker and consumer rights and preventing lobbying.
@@lullaby218 what a dumbass centrist position. Equally bad? Really dude?
Love the content from this channel. I've started listening to "Debt the first 5000 years" at your recommendation, and I was surprised by how witty and interesting the author is regarding the subject. I expected a lecture honestly, but discovered someone talking about their passion, which is much more engaging to listen to. Keep up the good work!
Nice! So glad you enjoyed it!
David Graeber is an absolute must read for a solid foundation of leftist analysis of modern neoliberal political economy. You can find a good bit of his work at audible anarchist.
i started listening to that book and it's so profound.
Listening...lol, I read the book. A must read for sure. Though the title made my friends think it's more about personal debt. The foundation of money, what's the true definition of debt, life debt, etc.
I loved that book! I was shocked by the amount of topics covered by an analysis of the history of debt.
I remember in 2021 when a dairy farm in Abbotsford BC was caught on CCTV beating cows with wrenches--everyone was shocked because it was an ORGANIC farm. Great video-thank you.
This is great stuff. I will probably show this to my grade 10s next term. I teach Social studies and we do a little on evil corporations.
Careful, teaching the truth will get you labeled a “groomer.”
@@rowdy3837 Please elaborate
Maybe keep the politics out of the classroom. I don't preach to my about kids atlas shrugged for the same reason. We have to realize we don't know anything, and to influence the politics of children we'd better be damn sure of ourselves. And I think there's too much propaganda with these 'socialist' and 'capitalist' terms.
@Placeholder McGavinport It's pretty much impossible to separate politics from schooling (or anything else for that matter). Everything is political. It's just that it's more obvious for certain subjects than it is for others.
@@placeholdermcgavinport5343 I remember my teacher in civics teaching us that every education is political in essence and that ideas such as "republic" "democracy" "freedom of speech" "equality" and so on, while considered positive non-controversial terms are still political ideas (and not necessarily bad ones). This is something we can be sure of it and would be great to teach. I think what you are really saying is that we can't teach something deemed too controversial, not political. And to this I would actually agree despite my political positions on the matter. If you open this Pandora's box the same problem will apply on the other end of spectrum and then it will depend mostly on who controls the curriculum. It's the same reason why I warn against censoring the opposition: it can backfire to your side when the tides turn.
This being said controversiality changes with time. For example there might have been times in history where praying in school was normal in a given country until it became controversial.
By reading some common "beginner business books" you can peer into the mind of an average business owner. They will never truly care about the working class because they see them as idiots in a way. They work for money and "chose" to enslave themselves to the system while the entrepreneurs decided to make the system work for them. In a CEO's mind, the working class should be grateful to have a wage in the first place.
Guess who the real idiots are.
This really is a no brainer, but nonetheless I'm glad you have addressed it 👍
Hah, I WISH it was a no-brainer. I think it's a no-brainer common sense, but it is scary the number of people out there who cannot think critically and jump to "SOCIALISM NEVER WORKS, COMMIE!" the second any sort of suggestion of better working conditions, social supports or system change is suggested. Just goes to show how powerful the pro-capitalist, anti-communist propaganda has been over the last 70 or so years.
We'll have to educate our way out of this. It's a steep hill, but I will say we can't expect to get 100% of people, there will always be a bunch of knuckle-draggers who will not see clearly until they are pulled along, kicking and screaming into a better system and won't have the accountability to say they were wrong and sorry. That's okay. We don't worry about them. Worry about those who are close to getting it. Those who show signs of wanting a better system, sincerely, and have empathy. Empathy is critically important. If we don't have empathy, like the many billionaires out there do not have, we can't unite under common goals of the working class to create a better system.
@@daniellarson3068 Yep, I guess it's always been that push-back from regressive conservative minds that progressive people have had to endure to get social changes for everybody. I think of the progressive push for Universal Healthcare in Canada in the 50s and 60s and all the conservative people who probably fought against it, but then used that free healthcare service for the rest of their lives and their kids and grandkids have. It's only when conservative or neoliberal politics destroys the funding and supports for universal healthcare and makes it look bad, when people point to "universal healthcare sucks!" even though nobody goes broke for medical needs in every other developed nation except the US. Yep, propaganda is a helluva drug.
We are going to need some heavy DETOX for a group of people in the coming years to get over this mass delusion.
@@daniellarson3068 Yeah, I tend to agree the tide is shifting and less people are being fooled by regressive conservative rhetoric. All these worker protests and strikes going on around the world, in pretty large numbers, farmers, rail workers, delivery drivers, climate scientists. The one thing is these people are exploited and oppressed, like we all are, by this capitalist system (some more than others) but we need class solidarity more than division. It's really frustrating when working people fight against other working people and not focus on facts, truth and finding common ground. Maybe there is more momentum to do something different, maybe capitalism is just so damn corrosive that it's killing itself by raising a generation of people who see its flaws and will fight against it to build a better system. The key is focus on the SYSTEM flaw and system change rather than the smaller-scale political drama. That's where we can hopefully find common ground.
What can people agree on? They want more freedom, health, options and to be less overworked and underappreciated, right? Okay. What system is incapable of meeting the needs of the people? Monetary-market capitalism. Okay. Facts prove that and people, who really want to know the truth, can find them. What system should we move towards? One that is oriented around creating localized abundance, meeting all people's basic needs, because we KNOW we have the technology to do it, and follow the scientific data and process to make the most efficient and sustainable system that we can without the need for people to labor-for-income or be in debt. Want to get money out of politics? Great. Get money out of the economy. The economy never had money for 90% of human society. We lived egalitarian and we 'managed our household' very well and successfully for that stretch of time, even if our home was the entire Earth and we roamed it as needed, we still did a good job. Now, we need a modern day egalitarian system to go post-scarcity and post-monetary.
@elfrjz Build a new system based on maximizing efficiency to meet all people's needs, locally, so that labor-for-income is obsolete and all those other pesky social problems can be resolved.
The major reason why social problems can mount is because people aren't actually free. They have to pay to live on this planet and submit to an employer who often dictates the terms of their employment. Everybody has to try to labor-for-income or risk poverty. That's not economic freedom for all. It's New Age Lords and Serfs. If we really want people to be free, make basic needs free, and let people choose what they want to do to contribute to society. The fact is there is NO technical reason for anybody to be in poverty, go without adequate food, water, shelter, healthcare and other basic necessities. It is the violently inefficient market capitalist system that must be replaced and free people from oppression.
We can do that. It's not going to be easy, not even slightly. But it is the track that can lead us to a better future. The status quo track is headed to worse and worse living conditions for more and more people, every single day.
I don't think you should have to offer solutions in order to point out a problem, especially when it's one that's actively covered up and ignored, and you do so with respect to your audience. You do a fantastic job.
Paulo Friere wrote about the same subject in Pedagogy of the Oppressed and called it false generosity.
I subbed back when you did sciencey videos. I liked your channel but thought it was kind of B-tier edutainment. But, ever since you moved to doing socialist content, I adore this channel, i watch every video and youve become one of my favorite creators. Keep up the good work. You are amazing ❤️
What he said at 10:04 is incredibly true. Spoilers for The Good Place below.
At the end of one of the later seasons, it's revealed that NO ONE has gotten into The Good Place (basically non-demonimational heaven) in centuries, and that's because for so much of humanity's history, people worked their own land, made simple, uncomplicated decisions (barring soldiers in wartime and monarchs) and could make a tangible impact on the world's net good or bad (not unlike Zoroastrianism) through their actions and their contact with others.
However, the rise of industrialization and the prominence of factory labor, exploitative business practices, especially toward the global south, and the fact that global supply chains complicate things even more. The fact is that most people don't have the time, energy or even ability to go through the spiderweb of things that led to them getting an apple in their grocery basket, heedless of what went into it to get it to them (pesticides, exploited native workers, greedy CEOs making selfish decisions on all of the above, etc.) all the negative that's put into the world before it even touches their hand creates an inescapable web of complicated effects on the world as a whole that make that simple act, completely innocuous (and inescapable for most, seeing as we don't grow our own food supplies) an unavoidable moral pit trap.
To bring this around to the point of the video again: Supporting companies that claim to act responsibly is all well and good, but the way that the world itself is set up is geared in such a way that it's literally impossible for good companies to be fully good and not lose out on essential profit that can keep them in the game.
The game is rigged from the start, and the only way out is to see that the maze and its walls are painted in such a way to trick you, and you can't listen to their directions and expect to get out alive. Buy what you need to because it's cheap, and lobby your governments to make the companies heel. The corporations are your enemy, not your friend, and they have no incentive or want to be. Pass it on.
I've always told people that everything a company does is for their gain and nothing short of that.
I've only watched the intro so far, but I did want to quickly mention that Adam Smith is sometimes quoted out of context, and he wasn't as hard line as he's made out to be. The Wealth of Nations can be as selectively quoted as the Bible! I struggled through a few chapters many years ago, and I found him surprisingly anti-capitalistic. Especially as I read them in the UK when Thatcher was in her pomp, and his name was all over the place - that's why I took the trouble to go into it in the first place.
Here's a quote from an essay I just found on a website called Aeon (I have no idea if they are dodgy or not!)...
'Smith pulled no punches in his assessment of the bosses as working against the interests of the public. As he put it in The Wealth of Nations: ‘People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.’
Smith was totally anti-monopolistic, and that sets him against modern capital right there.
It's a bit off-topic, but I felt he needed a defender. Not that I'm the right man for the job! ;-)
Love the videos - keep them coming - you are greatly needed in these troubled times.
Yep, Smith can be quoted to fit almost any economic political view today if taken out of context. That's because he looked at economics from both a social system context and from a philosophical ethical context without dumbing it down to simplistic black or white arguments. He acknowledged the advances made from capitalistic interests, but didn't distance himself from the actual needs of humans and society.
From what I've understood, most Smith scholars agree that he would've been very critical of the modern day capitalism.
@@Ermude10
Exactly! Yesterday, when I was looking for 'counter-quotes' to make my point, I found most of the articles said trying to shoehorn Smith into modern economic theory is misguided, because he was looking at things from a different context entirely.
His writings took an overview from a more social and ethical position - just as you say.
This concept is a great gateway conversation to getting people to move leftward in their thinking. It definitely was for me. I was pretty conservative in my teens and early twenties, before I started examining ideas like that the rich can give money to solve local, national, global problems or that companies can improve society by behaving ethically. Basically it came down to one question: "But what if they don't?" After that, it wasn't long until I learned that, in fact, THEY DON'T! So then I started on a path to figuring out *actual* solutions to these problems, as well as ones around race and sexism and inequity in general, which led to me to channels like this one and socialist solutions. Everyone is different, but if you're trying to figure out how to broach these conversations with your more conservative friends and family, I personally can attest that this is a great place to start.
@Zaydan Alfariz Whats wrong with Soviet Russia? Women got the opportunity to study and work.
@Zaydan Alfariz Better than in Russian Empire, a lot. Big progress.
@Zaydan Alfariz Meh, thats so dumm narrative. Russia is local imperialist-capitalist. Just without face-change like in USA
Lol women got the opportunity to work and study and still get treated like shit doing it. They had the opportunity to be ridiculed and assaulted in public at school and at work now instead of just at home.
@@Pomagranite167 Well, stereotypes. If it makes you feel better, I don't see this in my environment.
The problem with those suggestions is that I don't know how to implement them. I have no way of knowing where any organizations are and I'm not employed because I'm a 13-year-old girl
💚✊💚 all companies under capitalism chase profits - if they happen to help any people it’s secondary to their cause. Great work JT. Keep educating the people. All power to All working class people.
And when the corporations set the bar so low that dragging ass counts as “ethical” we the people are doomed.
I wonder if there is a online gathering place like-minded people like us could go to discuss issues further than just in YT comments. I'm sure there are some scattered servers out there, I'm just wondering if there are any more popular, regularly updated spaces. Like this channel has 1.45 million subscribers, and others like it, such as Our Changing Climate, TZMOfficialChannel and more have thousands more that could potentially be linked to a common online meeting place.
@@coolioso808 Sadly the moment this goes out of UA-cam in to other mediums you either get restricted, swatted or suddenly observed. But You could prolly find discord channels and so on for the like minded gatherings. Just be aware that they fear the system that fails because they can't allow it to succeed.
@@coolioso808 we do need more and more solidarity, we need more people willing to speak up and speak out to help educate the working class who’ve been brainwashed by the corporate propaganda of “boot strap” rugged individualism.. even letting the self loathing working class know that as much as they fight against themselves getting a raise or healthcare - that we still fight for them.
@@BostonRobb Great points. Well said. That's the thing, eh? It's like the working class that fight against their own interests, fight with their neighbour and essentially defend the ruling class and the system that keeps the ruling class in power, we still want to work with them or at least fight FOR them, even if they don't understand yet. I know that sounds kind of condescending, but its kind of true. Social movements start with a ground-swell, lots of working people will still ridicule them, unless the momentum stays strong and is based in truth, facts and human rights.
Let 2023 be the year we all try to educate others, unite with like-minded others on these critical system change issues. Take about 365 days and later we can look back and evaluate? Did we try to educate or speak out to others? Online? Locally? Both? How many did we potentially reach? I know I could do better, so I'm sure we can all give it a go. We know there are others out there like us, some just need to be shown the right path because they are so close to seeing it themselves.
@@coolioso808 agreed and well said urself. Pls stay in touch, I speak to everyone wherever I go - no joke, if there’s a line at a store for the “self checkout” I look up what the ceo made last year and let the people know how much the owners make while they still raise prices and cut labor. I always let people know they are underpaid and overworked. Appreciate virtually meeting you. Keep up the work and let me know how goes it.. 💚🙏💚✊💚
I just wanted to say that if I came accross these videos, I wouldn’t have believed them. But I love how you cite all your sources so I can do my own fact checking. JT is a trustworthy guy I guess.
Thanks so much! I do my best to provide lots of resources for people to learn more and do their own research
You should always do your research anyway, but I’m glad he provides his sources.
When the reason for companies' very existence is "to increase shareholder value", values will always be flexible.
Nestlé is Swiss, as a citizen of CH I'm really pissed that the company is doing business all around the world by deliberately taking advantage of workers in a manner, which is absolutely illegal in Switzerland itself.
I have known ethical people who own small and medium-sized businesses, and who seek to operate those businesses in conscientious ways. But it's the financial, promotional and competitive schemes they must operate under truly determine how their businesses operate. The simple way to put it is: it's defense of capital. That's a shared trait, a shared mindset. It's not a personal failing of these people, but (ironically) a _collective_ set of values that overrides the nature of the individual who starts out to be one of those social justice minded entrepreneurs. This often happens with not-for-profits and a lot of social service and social justice organizations as well; they have to operate within a framework of donors and contractors and often ended up unintentionally adapting to the values of that framework.
It’s disheartening how such a large part of society has forgotten all the good socialism has brought us
Yep, it brought us public schools for one. Imagine where we would be without public schools.🙄🤫
@@FASBLAQUE You are TOTALLY right! Life was way better when we started working 16-hour shifts at 8 years old in factories with zero safety measures.
@@FASBLAQUE public schools in USA aren't good if you like socialism
its allmost worse that most were kept blindfolded from seeing that good to begin with
@@ivanabrike Don't forget the matchstick jaw by age 14. Or the locked exits, or deformed babies. There's not a single slave rebellion, union strike, or revolutionary war the elites didn't deserve, whether they called themselves communists, or capitalists, republicans, or nobility. The history of the working class in the world is way more enlightening than the history of kings and queens and other kinds of dictators could ever be.
Its really true, it's quite sad that a lot of undergrad or even grads still take theories they learnt at uni to heart, theoritical lessons but not validitate its case for this contemporary world.
Very good video, as usual. Here are some more suggestions for more videos: So-called "ethical" funds for "ethical" investing. Many people choose them because the money goes to good causes. The problem is that there is no regulation regarding the label "ethical". So some self-styled ethical funds invest in armament companies like Raytheon (which does other stuff as well, but two thirds of their business is weapons). Some not quite so gross ethical funds invest by the "best of class" principle. The cement industry e.g. causes a lot of pollution. So such funds are invested in the company that pollutes the least (or claims to do so). This is more ambiguous. I am not sure whether it is possible to get rid of cement completely. Other greenwashing companies or organizations that give supposedly "green" labels (according to very weak or scarcely controlled or supervised criteria) would also be good material for a video. And, please JT, do a separate video on Nestlé. Yes, there are already several YT videos bashing them but, IMHO, they cannot be bashed enough. After all, they continue with their evil practices as if nothing happened and, unfortunately, many people don't boycott a brand even after they learn about their nefarious practices.
Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but... Does this mean that, under capitalism, it's impossible for a socialist to start a successful and truly ethical business? To be clear, by "successful" business I'm not referring to a top 500 company that dominates it's market but rather to one that at the very least can manage to break even.
@@JETAlone12 Yeah... As a software engineer I'm really looking to start a truly ethical business in the future... It's my dream and, as far as I know, this could technically be possible because software-centered businesses usually have high profit margins, although I do recognize that it would be insanely difficult... Regardless, I'd still like to give it a shot...
depends what you count to be ethical
there is a significant argument to be made that workers are owed compensation of the FULL value of their labor, which very obviously just does not work in any business model besides self-employment
you say software engineer, and if you work alone or in a team of equal employees as a contractor then that can technically be an ethical business, but only based on the exploitative nature of the relationship of your clients to you, because they still need to profit off of your work
@@soweliLuna That's a good question. I'm a socialist, which means I'd probably hold myself to a higher standard than that one. I completely understand that, ideally, workers should be compensated for the full value of their labor, and if it was realistic I'd 100% do it as I would be starting a business not to enrich myself but rather to create a service which genuinely improves the lives of our costumers. I'd make sure my salary can only be, at most, 3x that of my employees. I'd allow them to unionize and of course would offer them great benefits like health care, a retirement plan, a decent amount of vacations. If I hired them as contractors, I wouldn't be allowed to do that, which is why I'd rather avoid going down that route in the first place. We'd probably have a 4 day work week. If at any point in time some of them need to do overtime or just want to do it willingly, then I'd pay them extra. They'd probably work at most for 6 hours a day as studies have shown even the best programmers realistically can only be productive for 4 hours a day. No micro management, in fact most of them wouldn't be required to be at the office so they could just work remotely. And, of course, our business model wouldn't be centered around selling our user's personal data. We'd collect as little data from them as we could. If we have to collect data, we'd make sure our privacy polity and terms of service are as concise as possible. I'd personally make sure our servers and data centers run on renewable energy. My point is, after observing the software industry for a very long time I've come to the conclusion the only reason software companies don't do most of the things I mentioned is because doing so would mean less profit for their share holders and also giving up their position as market makers in their respective sectors. Another reason why big tech companies operate in the way they do is because they want to expand globally, which of course isn't cheap. Since my focus wouldn't be to create a monopoly but rather to deliver the best possible service, I believe I wouldn't have to deal with those problems. At least, not to the same degree. I'd also make sure the only "stake holders" would be me and the workers as I'd like the business to be a "co-op", meaning employees would truly have a say in the decision making process as they'd be owners as well. As far as I know, science has proven that the things socialists advocate for are usually good for the well being of the employees. Happy employees are usually way more productive, which is the main reason why I believe this is possible even if it's highly unlikely. Another reason why this may work is because in a purely software-centered business you don't really need to have a big workforce. It's usually better to hire 10 very skilled developers than to hire 100 low skilled developers. By skilled I don't necessarily mean experienced, but rather good at problem solving. With that being said, I'd like to ask you a question: if I managed to successfully do all of this, do you think this could potentially make up for the fact that I wouldn't be giving employees the full value of their labor? I'd really appreciate your thoughts.
Having to pause the new deprogram episode on Patreon to watch this was kinda a hard choice like choosing which of your kids lives
Hahaha thankfully they’ll both be there later, whichever one you choose to listen to now 😁
@@SecondThought oh God then you unlock the bonus episode and now I have to watch that again
Thanks JT for a good start to the weekend very cool
😎👉👉
Thanks for plugging the Fascism series. I really need to watch more Nebula
Aside from the stellar points made, I love the way you very nearly broke character when talking about speedrunning libel lawsuits!
This is one of the few channels I do not get ads on.
Haha, funny that an anti-capitalist, pro-communist channel doesn't have any capitalist companies trying to advertise and sell stuff from their channel. Oh right, that actually makes perfect sense. I'd be a little shocked if this channel did have outside ads.
@@coolioso808 yeah lol
@@coolioso808 JT has had advertisements for Audible (an Amazon affiliate) on his channel soooo…..
@@PhedelCastro we are all agents and victims of the same toxic capitalist system. Those are his in-video sponsored ads because he's laboring for income as well, like everybody else has to pay to live on this damn planet with a stupid capitalist system driving us to ecological collapse. What's your point? He's a hypocrite? I don't see any outside ad breaks on this channel, yes he does have in-video sponsor ads. Maybe all communists should go live in a cabin in the woods and stop criticizing the corrupt system that is killing millions of people every year, right? I got a Norm MacDonald inspired joke. Here it is: Someone says "The worst thing about people criticizing capitalism is the hypocrisy." Another one says, "I disagree, the worst part is the mass murder by capitalism that is preventable if we lived in a better, sustainable system."
the channel is probably demonetized because corporations don't want to advertise on socialist content
also, I don't get ads on any video 😎 vanced gang
I read the title and I felt the title honestly just too accurate
Another great video! By the way, the promo bundle sounds pretty cool. I'm looking forward to that documentary series.
Capitalism is theft 'legitimized' by consensus.
You're going a great job. Keep up the good work.
16:05 Boy that statement was powerful. And I myself have a small business (no employees, just myself doing it) and I’ve always thought the same thing, and also agree with this video.
@KLJF I make resin artwork
Definitely some good things to think about. I might push back a tiny bit on the UBI example, not in the sense of you being wrong, but that too much pessimism about UBI improving people’s lives enough to stop them from making trouble at some point starts to smell like accelerationism. It’s like arguing that Labor Unions winning higher pay and shorter hours is actually bad because then people won’t be desperate enough to participate in substantial systemic change.
The key difference, of course, is that one is a bribe in exchange for not building worker power, and the other is a direct result of Labor building power and flexing its muscles. I think to some viewers it might sound like you have to choose between policies that help workers’ actual material condition and building worker power, when really we should always be pushing to do both.
A great video, as always. Thanks for giving me some food for thought!
@@ultraviolet7838 it doesnt really. whatever money you get from ubi would end up in the capitalists hands anyway. giving people money for their necessities is kinda pointless if their necessities can only be met through profit based consumption. its much better to just have those necessities be given by the government for free. because then they cant be taken back by raising prices and stuff. and it gives us actual bargaining power since we rely less on wages for survival.
No one ever seems ready to explain why UBI isn't just a landlord benefit. They know how much you're making, and have unlimited authority to control your rent. Obviously your rent is going to consume your UBI, any dependent's UBI, and your original rent as well.. the landlord gets the UBI too, so, no secret.
Thank you for this content. I know paying you through a 3rd party "app" isn't the best way to give you monetary support; But I also assume you don't want to give out your address so we can pay you directly, because of crazy people. Haha! Keep up the good work, and I hope we can find our way forward! Best wishes!
He has a cash app in his description if you want to help out more directly
I love how you speak so clearly, then I can understand everything, even not being that fluent in English.
Really love the comedic bits you do! Good writing :)
I think it's great to always include the same solutions in the videos. May even part of signing off in general. Ty for your labor.
i think so too, it isn't redundant when there will always be some people who only watch one or two videos etc
One of our biggest customers is a B Corp (one of the corps that started B Corp, in fact). Learning about it then I thought it was some devious marketing BS, glad the word is getting out.
I've been a Nebula subscriber for awhile now and it's absolutely worth it! So much great content for so little money.
I just signed up on your curiosity deal. I couldn't not support the work of someone clearly at the leading edge of lucid timely brilliant social analysis. I'd surely love to meet you before you're too famous to approach. Thanks JT, I'm catching up on & like-ing every video.
Thanks so much, Lola! I hope you enjoy the series!
Well done sun
I'm a small business owner, and obsessed with this channel. You provided solutions that we as the working class can implement to start making change, but I wonder as small business owners, what actions can we take? Is it organising as a worker's cooperative? What are some coordinates steps the small business community can implement?
Just don't screw employees, particularly out of money they earned. Don't try wage theft and comply with overtime laws. No cheating! And I know small businesses are on limited budgets, so don't hire an employee unless you can pay them fairly. $7.25 an hour is not fair. It's very bad wages.
@@janiceschroeder9908 What would be good wages?
@@sonario6489 Oh, maybe $20 and up I would think. Even the minimum wage would have been about that if it had kept up with productivity.
Thank you for these videos, the work put into them and the info you bring to the world. Signed up for Nebula and looking forward to content there. Hope you, your team, your family and friends are well.
Thanks so much, Amy!
That ending message actually made me sign up for Curiosity Stream. I don't mind paying for content at all considering I've been watching your videos and listening to the Deprogram for free. Looking forward to whatever you send our way!
Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏
Totally, I think I signed up like more than 2 years ago, and although I haven't really used it, I see it as a way to support all my favorite UA-camrs.
But but... Ayn Rand promised there would be a invisible magic hand that would fix this!
Ethical business under capitalism isn't possible as it is a system that inherently encourages unethical practices, a lack of regard to the environment and those inhabiting it, the treatment of workers as mere cogs in a machine instead of people who deserve to be treated with decency, an unjust hierarchal system based upon wealth where those at the top get away with horrific crimes against those below them, while those at the bottom are severely punished for simply trying to survive.
The sole reason this system survives is because a massive portion of society has bought into it's propaganda that this is all a necessary evil for civilization to function.
100k+ subs! Been promoting your channel everywhere. Ex-capitalist, now socialist. JT, keep it going!
Not true, this video is lopsided. Safe to categorize it a propaganda video.
@@skagraw2 а кто платит за эту пропаганду?
@@skagraw2 thank you fellow human for your opinion. However the gross inequality in society is greatly increasing, just look around you. The geo politics are changing, the society is changing. The only thing that isn’t changing are our neural circuits. We must educate ourselves and break this cycle before it gets too out of hands.
Balance is key, use common sense...
@@RideOrDie19 inequality could never have been removed and will never be removed. Philosophy of Equality is the biggest fraud of modern philosophy.
Another banger. I look forward to your videos every Friday, love your work JT.
Спасибо за труд!!! Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь ✊
The pods i use for seedlings. If you pull the top foil and then compost (if you can) the grounds. The pods have a little cloth like filter in them which is perfect for doing shallow seedling starts. You can use it more than once for seeds.
But i re-use my pods.
JT....once again, TOTALLY ON POINT! Fantastic video sir.
2 solutions - 1. limit stock buybacks or kill them altogether. In 1982, during Reagan, a divergence in wages and profit of a business happened in many aspects of American-style capitalism. Since then, COLA raises, if you get them, are meant to reduce or maintain an inflation-adjusted wage. 2. Cap CEO/ChiefXX pay at 100x the frontline worker. A minwage in LA County would produce a CEO pay of about $3.2m/year with that cap. Japan has it now. Both of these solutions will produce a higher wage and quality of life for workers, expand their buying power in the market, and lower investment return/dividend drive to shareholders and investors without removing it explicitly.
No wonder why we have so much moral anxiety. It’s true. In everything
It's not just for-profit corporations that put dollars ahead of everything else. I used to work for a hospital and my mom worked for a large nonprofit in Chicago. They couldn't care less about their employees, patients, and patrons. Most important thing is the bottom line.
capitalism and many non profits are just slush funds for leeches.
Commenting to boost this video. I think there are so many ideas that we've been thought by the older generation about capitalism that needs to be unlearnt for our own good
I almost 100% agree with what you are saying but one “business/nonprofit/ foundation that I think is ethical is the Happy Hippie Foundation! It donates 100% to fighting youth homelessness. I’m interested in ppls thoughts though!
I would recommend ignoring the jerks who complain that you don't give solutions to the problems you identify. That's just a disingenuous way to shut down discussion of those problems.
"You don't see, listen - even when it's all around you, no matter if I nailed it into your head like a gift from Caesar."
I was once part of this lovely anti capitalist small business made up of disabled, neurodiverse, queer and poc artists where we would be able to sell our art and everyone would be payed equally, no bumping up other artists due to popularity and so forth. I was really excited to see this thrive since the head of the business was trans and very passionate about this project. Unfortunately the business never picked up and that person has dropped off the face of the earth (I assume due to personal and medical circumstances) and any evidence of the business was essentially erased. I really wish that it was able to lift off but I suppose capitalism and the rising cost of living is gonna make small ethical businesses next to impossible to thrive and survive.
Thank you JT. I love the content, I watch on Nebula too. Keep spreading the word.
14:24 that was horseshit when the Dakota Access Pipeline leaked in Kansas. We were telling them the whole time, so frustrating
You’re right JT. We need to develop a worker’s party and fight for the change we need.
Your videos are so well presented, thoughtful and accessible! Thank you! ❤
Not true, this video is lopsided. Safe to categorize is propaganda video.
There is no solution to such problems. Monarchy, theocracy, democracy, oligarchy, family rule, nothing works.
Everyone better download this because as soon as Nestle gets wind of this video they'll have UA-cam pull it.
"A world of bandaids" - damn, that resonates.
THANK YOU! Yay! You're stating what I've tried to share with others my whole life. I get stares and insults when I try to make others aware.
С каждым днём об этом говорить всё легче.
I don't know but I feel like this needed to be said, at least on my side. I appreciate you and respect you for what you're doing with all the videos exposing the Truth that most of humanity is blind to see. Never give up, never give in & stay true, especially to yourself
Goodness, I see a lot of people talking in the comments, using arguments that are debunked in the video.
Did you guys even watch the video? Or, is your attention span 3 seconds and you just want to debate?
What happened to 'getting to the truth'?
Thanks for making this video. I always need a refresher on how anti-social corporations are. (laughing, crying)
I absolutely love your videos! The thing is, I become depressed after watching 90% of them... I keep imagining "what will my future be? will there be a future?" I always consider "the coward's way out" (if you know what I mean), its really sad. Capitalism f*cked up our world.
Ever thought about getting together a bunch of like-minded people your age, and starting a collectivist co-op? Or an intentional community? One where everything is shared and everyone only works just as much is needed for the good of the group?
@@NJGuy1973 Historically, everybody who did that ended up being either dead, overdosed, back to being sane (a communist) or begging a local dictator to annex them because living under communism is this bad.
That’s my retirement plan. Off myself once it gets too bad.
The only thing we can do is live our lives day by day, and do our best to make things better for those that come after. That might mean engaging in mass protests, riots, and direct action for some. But if that's too overwhelming, it can also mean performing volunteer work, building community solidarity with your neighbours, engaging in local politics, caring for a community garden, or even just making sure you and your friends take care of one another.
We can only do what we can do. We can only improve the state of the world if we continue living our lives as best we can, and any amount of kindness and community is a rebellion against the status quo.
Have hope, friend. There is still good in this world.
Just plugging that curiosity stream/nebula deal and commenting for the algorithm. I'm already a patreon supporter and have had a subscription to curiosity stream/nebula for a few years now otherwise I'd do it myself. It's honestly a really good deal, kind of insane that it costs so little considering what you get.
"Never have so few stolen so much from so many."
-Our future descendants reflecting on the dark, barbaric age of capital
If you are implying they would be communists - then won't be able reflect on anything because they would be dead from starvation.
@@PatPatych Found the troll!
That argument stopped working when China's beat _every_ capitalist country in terms of gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity.
Facts > cold war propaganda
@@PatPatych communism is when no food 🤓
@@tententononce2570 Well, pretty much yes.
@@PatPatych
Approved For Release 2007/05117: CIA-RDP84B00274R000300150009-5 RFUTEPS 8 JANUARY 1983 5 PENGTH-DIET
American and Soviet citizens eat about the same amount of food each day but the Soviet diet may be more nutritious. According to a CIA report released today both nationalities may be eating too much for good health. The CIA drew no conclusions about the nutritional makeup of the Soviet and American diets but commonly accepted U.S. health views suggest the Soviet diet may be slightly better. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, an average Soviet citizen consumes 3,280 calories a day, compared to 3,520 calories for the American. The average daily calorie intake in the Soviet Union is: grain products and potatoes, 44 per cent; sugar, 13 per cent; dairy and eggs, 11 per cent; fats and oils, 17 per cent; meat and fish, eight per cent, with seven per cent other products. The American consumes daily: grain products and potatoes, 26 per cent; sugar, 17 per cent; dairy and eggs, 12 per cent; fats and oils, 18 per cent, meat and fish, 21 per cent, and six per cent other products. Americans eat more meat and fish, more sugar, more dairy products and eggs, and more fats and oils and less grain than the average Soviet citizen, and consume more calories. Generally held nutritional standards suggest individuals need fewer calories, less meat, less sugar and more grain to stay fit.
Thank you for educating the people
You are a great informed educator ☮️
Comrade JT, once again, thank you for the content and sources. Keep up with the Deprogram.
Thanks for producing such high quality videos! You're the first source I give to my friends on the topic of Socialism, you provide such an amazing and modern perspective on it.
Thanks so much! I’m glad I can help
It's called "propaganda" and should be off youtube.
@@PatPatych No, Second Thought provides their bias upfront. This allows the viewer to critically view it as a biased source, and examine it for its wins and faults.
This is better than viewing something deemed to be unbiased, and being unaware of the implicit or explicit bias behind it.
I'm sure you get tons of suggestions, and I'm not 100% sure if you've done it or not yet. But I think a video about Eminent Domain would be really interesting. Some people say it is useful, and I'm sure it is in some instances. However, I am curious if wealthy people have ever been the victim of it, because I am highly doubtful they have been
I'd be interested in an exploration of steady state economics and business ethics. Because I have a hunch that there'll be a huge difference between the current GROWTH paradigm and STEADY STATE economics.
Also be good to do videos on how the Spanish Workers Cooperatives work, especially from the ethical standpoint. In Spanish Workers Cooperatives - many of which DO constitute "big businesses" - have significant input from the workforce employed.
Watching at work like usual 😇
😎👉👉