Capitalism was a necessary step in the development of socialism. It wasn’t a mistake, it’s just run its course. Just a technicality I know and I shouldn’t overanalyze but I felt it was worth stating
We were never going to transition directly from feudal society to socialism, the peasant class could not organize in those conditions to rise up against their opressor. Capitalism developed the material conditions necessary for a truly liberatory revolution rather than a passing over of keys from one ruler to another.
Yes capitalism is responsible for truly horrific things, that is why it needs to be dismantled and replaced. However, it also concentrated the working class into closer quarters and developed the machinary necessary to move past scarcity.
Sure yeah maybe we could have transitioned from hunter gatherer society to socialist agrarianism and never developed the power structures we see today but that didn’t happen for a reason. Agriculture solved the food problem of hunter gatherer societies, feudalism solved the military problem of early agrarian societies that left them vulnerable, capitalism solved the technological development problem of feudalist societies that caused them to stagnate and socialism will solve the resource problem that causes capitalist societies to constantly murder eachother and themselves. Note all of these social structures caused the problems that necessitated the next reorganization of society.
Also, telling someone who isn’t already socialist/communist/anarchist that capitalism was a mistake will seem rediculous if they live a comfortable life.
Except the peasant classes did rise up many times, and were repeatedly betrayed by the petit bourgeois and pushed back down in order to establish capitalism more fully.
Plus, lots of the benefits of capitalism that people felt were really using imperialism and colonialism to import benefits and export suffering - not an actual increase in overall comfort or “good”.
Classical Marxist historical materialism is, honestly a load of bunk.
Capitalism was a necessary step in the development of socialism. It wasn’t a mistake, it’s just run its course. Just a technicality I know and I shouldn’t overanalyze but I felt it was worth stating
That’s like saying “everything happens for a reason” to someone whose whole family has just been murdered.
No. Capitalism was never necessary.
We were never going to transition directly from feudal society to socialism, the peasant class could not organize in those conditions to rise up against their opressor. Capitalism developed the material conditions necessary for a truly liberatory revolution rather than a passing over of keys from one ruler to another.
Yes capitalism is responsible for truly horrific things, that is why it needs to be dismantled and replaced. However, it also concentrated the working class into closer quarters and developed the machinary necessary to move past scarcity.
Sure yeah maybe we could have transitioned from hunter gatherer society to socialist agrarianism and never developed the power structures we see today but that didn’t happen for a reason. Agriculture solved the food problem of hunter gatherer societies, feudalism solved the military problem of early agrarian societies that left them vulnerable, capitalism solved the technological development problem of feudalist societies that caused them to stagnate and socialism will solve the resource problem that causes capitalist societies to constantly murder eachother and themselves. Note all of these social structures caused the problems that necessitated the next reorganization of society.
Also, telling someone who isn’t already socialist/communist/anarchist that capitalism was a mistake will seem rediculous if they live a comfortable life.
Except the peasant classes did rise up many times, and were repeatedly betrayed by the petit bourgeois and pushed back down in order to establish capitalism more fully.
Plus, lots of the benefits of capitalism that people felt were really using imperialism and colonialism to import benefits and export suffering - not an actual increase in overall comfort or “good”.
Classical Marxist historical materialism is, honestly a load of bunk.
Yeah, but you’re talking to an authoritarian, so lots of people being hurt for the benefit of the few is always “necessary”