Or the French, or the Spanish, or pre-modern systems. But yes, it’s not a high bar, simply pointing out that US-style capitalism is not any sort of exceptional offender in this area. Planned and market socialist states both had accumulation of power and pollution as major problems, as did mercantilism, as did feudalism, as did classical despotisms and republics. Short of ‘return to stick’, there’s not really any immediate alternative to systems that pollute and encourage the grotesquely disproportionate accumulation of power for personal gain. The systems that were replaced don’t have an answer to these problems either.
Not to say that capitalism is even the best of those polluting and power-accumulating systems to choose from, just that, in those particular areas, it’s… not exactly the tall poppy. Right now what we must do is look forward, to the future, to new solutions, or at least new variations of old solutions.
The problem is that the American model expands, its capitalism, the disinterest in safeguarding humanity and preferring money.
The roots of that problem are as old as greed itself, and callousness has existed for much, much longer than America has.
yes, the roots are old.
but previous to capitalism we didn’t all scream about how these things are virtues and we should all strife to be MORE selfish.
Don’t know that the models the American style system replaces have a good record on that one either.
It’s easier to be the good guy when your competition is the British Empire.
Or the French, or the Spanish, or pre-modern systems. But yes, it’s not a high bar, simply pointing out that US-style capitalism is not any sort of exceptional offender in this area. Planned and market socialist states both had accumulation of power and pollution as major problems, as did mercantilism, as did feudalism, as did classical despotisms and republics. Short of ‘return to stick’, there’s not really any immediate alternative to systems that pollute and encourage the grotesquely disproportionate accumulation of power for personal gain. The systems that were replaced don’t have an answer to these problems either.
Not to say that capitalism is even the best of those polluting and power-accumulating systems to choose from, just that, in those particular areas, it’s… not exactly the tall poppy. Right now what we must do is look forward, to the future, to new solutions, or at least new variations of old solutions.