No Middle Ground

No, this is not about the American general elections, although it's true that the same applies there: there's no middle ground between Trump and Biden or their respective supporters. This post however is about capitalism and socialism, in order to show that there's actually no middle ground between these two socioeconomic ideologies, despite the existence of many social democratic governments.

Right of the bat, let's look at what capitalism and socialism are at their core, and we'll immediately see that they're so fundamentally different that the much sought after middle ground can not exist in reality. Socialism is characterized by social or workers' ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management of enterprises. Capitalism on the other hand is characterized by private ownership of the means of production and the private management thereof for profit. And there you have it: it's the ownership of the means of production that defines the core difference between these two socioeconomic arrangements, and that simple difference makes for two diametrically opposed world-views and societies. This very basic understanding of the difference between the two should also make clear that Biden, or any other establishment Democrat is no socialist, and should make you laugh in the face of anyone who calls them that; people who do so simply do not understand what they're talking about.

It's laughable and frustrating at the same time to see and hear proponents of capitalism refer to themselves as "capitalists"; they're not, and again show their poor understanding of basic terms and facts. Capitalists are the ones who own the means of production, they are the business-owners and stock-holders, so unless you're one of them, you're simply another poor fool whose labor is exploited by the real capitalists. To the extent that they do understand they're being exploited, they believe that this is normal, sort of the "natural order of things", and predicate that belief on their misguided conviction that humans are inherently selfish. This is simply not the case; human societies exist only because of our uniquely developed capacity for extensive cooperation, our acceptance of human civilization as the greater good and our willingness to contribute to that greater good. That is in fact what gives us the much needed purpose in our lives, without which we become depressed, lonely and, in the worst case, suicidal. Capitalism is a system of individuals seeking gains at the expense of others, other humans and the environment, and consequently creates the "me, myself and I" attitude that has conquered the hearts and minds of billions of people who have grown up under this system. They believe that if they work hard enough, are smart enough and ruthless enough, that they can one day become successful and join the ranks of the real capitalists.

This belief however, is unfounded in 99.99 percent of the time, seeing that we live on a finite planet with billions of people who try to claim their share of an impossible infinite growth. Capitalism's core profit-motive translates into that necessity of infinite growth on our finite planet, while socialism's core characteristic of the common ownership of the means of production translates into a "well-being-motive" for all who share that ownership and negates the need for infinite growth as soon as it comes into conflict with the well-being of the workers, the real producers. Do you believe that the Coca Cola factory, when owned by the workers collectively, would pay the top management hundreds of times the wages of the average workers? Of course not. That they will move the factory to another country that pays lower wages? Of course not, they'll never make themselves unemployed. Or that they'll spill toxic chemicals into the lakes and rivers they get their drinking water from and let their own kids swim in? No, of course not. This is not a radical idea, it's just radically different from the failed system we live under now, a system that has outlived its usefulness by a century at the very least.

There is no middle ground between socialism and capitalism. The attempts to inject socialist principles into a capitalist system has resulted in the many "capitalism-light" modes of government found throughout the world with the most notable and well known examples being Western Europe, especially the Nordic countries. The problem is that there's no way to compromise with capitalism, not morally and not practically. The best example of this is America again; as soon as FDR died, the breakdown of all that was accomplished to help get rid of capitalism's sharpest edges, and help middle-class working people, began to the point that there's nothing left today. Wages have been stagnant for 5 decades while profits and productivity have skyrocketed. Under the "me, me, me" attitude of the capitalism paradigm much of the American population have been left with this highly unsatisfactory realization that they've been had, that the system they were spoon fed as their fair chance to reach the American Dream was a scam. Unfortunately many of them point a blaming finger at the wrong enemies; they believe it's China, or it's the immigrants. That's sad and dangerous, when the true enemy is so easy to identify; it's the owners of the means of production who have bought the politicians in order to change the rules so they're allowed to not pay living wages, move their factories abroad and continue ravaging the planet and the environment. It's not the immigrants, it's not even the politicians; it's the capitalists who in their sociopath selfishness have decided to screw you and the planet we all share.

I'll leave you with this video that gives a socialist's commentary on a discussion between proponents of capitalism (not capitalists) and socialists. Watch it, it's really interesting, you'll see all the usual pro-capitalism arguments mentioned and immediately debunked, much like in my own posts ;-) In the end, capitalism is an irrational and destructive system that does no one any good, not even the capitalists themselves whose children will have to live on this planet as well. There's no middle ground, as the narrator summarizes in this sentences: "This isn't a middle ground discussion. It's either we sacrifice the earth to relentless over-production, or we coherently plan production in line with environmental standards. It's either we further destroy workers movements and forcefully underpay people for further profits, or we develop an economy based on mutual benefit for all in the spheres of education, healthcare, social well-being, women's rights, on and on..." Or, as he says shortly thereafter: it is now a choice between socialism or barbarism...

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