US Politics on Yik Yak | Okay so WTF is a “capitalist” since markets, money and free trade have existed like for thousands of years and idk what the 16-18th centuries have to do with it

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US Politics 7w

Okay so WTF is a “capitalist” since markets, money and free trade have existed like for thousands of years and idk what the 16-18th centuries have to do with it

Anonymous 7w

For a long time people inherited small portions of land that they worked for the landlord, they also had access to “commons” which could supply things they needed for construction, fuel, additional food for themselves, etc… the creation of modern private property cast these peasants out of their inheritance, and created a class of free labourers who had to find work in places like the developing factories to survive

Anonymous

#1 7w

Capitalism has not always been the mode of production. It has specific characteristics that make it different than a system like feudalism

Anonymous

#1 7w

Merchant classes have also existed well before capitalism but I guess not on that scale , and not for the purpose of pure profit?

Anonymous

OP 7w

The difference here is that merchants are selling artisan-produced wares, specialists owned their own tools and created products which they owned and could sell to the merchant. A modern factory worker does not own the machinery nor the object he creates

Anonymous

#1 7w

So capitalism is, a worker utilizing someone else’s (the capital class) means of production (i.e. a factory) in order to produce goods, in exchange for money, which is then used on the free market to survive And all that at scale (not just one offs)

Anonymous

OP 7w

It’s a capitalist who owns the means of production, employing labour to produce commodities, which they can make profit from by having the worker produce more value than is returned to them. I wouldn’t think of it in terms of the worker having the privilege of using capital because the capitalist needs the surplus value form labour to make any of this operation work

Anonymous

#1 7w

Yeah of course, the capitalist owns the means and wins by profit and the worker wins by wages . It’s a win-win for both sides. I guess the difference is that in a socialist society you could have wages but most (all?) companies would be seized by the government so that the government had the means of production

Anonymous

OP 7w

Socialism seems pretty wacky if you can’t, for example, own your own bike shop, but maybe it’s just for the big companies. The owner of my local bike shop declined tips since he makes money on sales, whereas the shop mechanics make $0 on sales but earn wages and tips.

Anonymous

OP 7w

I don’t support the state owning businesses. Most socialists end up granting concessions to the workers and thwart any attempt at a qualitative change in the relationship between capital and labour