cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/13355449

Capitalism is a game where only a few people get to win.

We have also seen time and time again that it is a game that is able to manipulate and change whatever ideology or behaviour you have to work towards its own benefit.

So the only way to actually “win” is to not play the game.

Right now that seems impossible because it is a massive collective action problem, however this whole platform is a testament to show that it’s possible to overcome that kind of problem.

Reddit is a dominant platform that is starting to destroy itself. People are in turn finding alternatives such as Lemmy to satisfy the need that Reddit once did.

I view capitalism in the same way. It will never truly completely cease to exist (the same way Digg never truly died), but it can become irrelevant over time if we collectively decide to just use another system to satisfy the same needs that capitalism is satisfying today.

The one example that I can think of that tries to tackle this problem is the idea of free stores that are based on a gift economy. If more people decided to use this system instead of capitalism then capitalism will have less sway over people’s lives.

And in the end it doesn’t have to be specifically a free store that needs to be adopted by wider society but whatever it is does need to satisfy the same basic need that capitalism does in our current society.

  • Quokka@quokk.auEnglish
    10·
    10 months ago

    Sadly you often need a lot of capital, a resource available largely to the wealthy.

    • MNByChoice
      5·
      10 months ago

      Details matter, but there are low capital businesses. Ice cream and pizza shops as examples.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
        5·
        10 months ago

        Also, this is a website with a lot of tech professionals. You can get together a few fellow professionals and set up a coop. Law offices are kinda like that with partners being owners. You can follow the partner model which is very bougieoise or you can include even your cleaning staff as coowners. It’s not like starting a factory

        • MNByChoice
          2·
          10 months ago

          I have been thinking of doing exactly this. Super intimidating though.

          I keep getting hung up on which step to do first. Get customers, contracts for customers, advertising, or processes.

          • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
            3·
            10 months ago

            Try talking to small business incubators. They don’t need to know you’re planning to create a worker owned coop.

            And remember, if you take on business debts in the beginning, so long as they’re well documented it’s ok to charge all that to the company as loans to you. I would gladly join a coop that pays its debts to its members

        • Deceptichum@kbin.social
          2·
          10 months ago

          I’d probably need at least half a million to start a business in my industry (early childhood education).

          • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
            3·
            10 months ago

            Yeah that’s fair. I work in industrial settings so I’m in a similar boat. Historically when my folks obtain the means of production force is involved. You probably shouldn’t do that one either.

          • MNByChoice
            1·
            10 months ago

            A daycare, or something else?

            We need more daycares, so I encourage you to challenge the idea of it costing so much up front.

            • Deceptichum@kbin.social
              2·
              10 months ago

              Kinda a disparaging name for the industry, but close enough.

              There’s a lot of things you’re required to have in my country to open one, for obvious safety and education reasons. Add to that exorbitant prices on renting a suitable site.