{"id":148885,"date":"2015-06-21T21:04:37","date_gmt":"2015-06-21T21:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/06\/21\/blue-author-projectivepenteract\/"},"modified":"2015-06-21T21:04:37","modified_gmt":"2015-06-21T21:04:37","slug":"blue-author-projectivepenteract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/06\/21\/blue-author-projectivepenteract\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

blue-author<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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projectivepenteract<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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theuppitynegras<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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projectivepenteract<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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theuppitynegras<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m about 90% sure the economy is never gonna \u201cimprove\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

this is capitalism in it\u2019s final form<\/p>\n

this is it honey\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

except, you know, those companies that do a charitable thing for every thing they sell<\/p>\n

that\u2019s kinda new and interesting. benevolent capitalism<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

lmao<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Pay attention, class: This is what it looks like when one is unwilling to consider new information.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not new information, though. It\u2019s misinformation.<\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s not that new.<\/p>\n

Did you know that there was a time in U.S. history\u2014which is by definition recent history\u2014when a corporation was generally intended to have some sort of\u00a0public interest\u00a0<\/i>that they served? I mean, that\u2019s the whole point of allowing corporations to form. Corporations are recognized by the commonwealth or state, and this recognition is not a right but a privilege, in exchange for which the state (representing the people) is allowed to ask, \u201cSo what does this do for everyone else<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n

The way the economy is now is a direct result of a shift away from this thinking and to one where a corporation is an entity unto itself whose first, last, and only concern is an ever-increasing stream of profits. What you\u2019re calling \u201cbenevolent capitalism\u201d isn\u2019t benevolent at all. It\u2019s a pure profit\/loss calculation designed to distract from\u2014not even paper over or stick a band-aid on\u2014the problems capitalism creates. And the fact that you\u2019re here championing it as \u201cbenevolent capitalism\u201d is a sign of how ell it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take Toms, as one example. The shoe that\u2019s a cause. Buy a pair of trendy shoes, and a pair of trendy shoes will be given away to someone somewhere in the world who can\u2019t afford them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not genuine benevolence. That\u2019s selling\u00a0you<\/i>, the consumer, on the idea that\u00a0you\u00a0<\/i>can be benevolent by buying shoes, that the act of purchasing these shoes is an act of charity. The reality is that their model is an inefficient means of addressing the problems on the ground that shoelessness represents, and severely disrupts the local economies of the locations selected for benevolence.<\/p>\n

(Imagine what it does to the local shoemakers, for instance.)<\/p>\n

The supposed act of charity is just a value add to convince you to spend your money on these shoes instead of some other shoes. It\u2019s no different than putting a prize in a box of cereal.<\/p>\n

Heck, you want to see how malevolent this is?<\/p>\n

Go ask a multinational corporation that makes shoes or other garments to double the wages of their workers. They\u2019ll tell you they can\u2019t afford it, that it\u2019s not possible, that consumers won\u2019t stand for it, that you\u2019ll drive them out of business and then no one will have wages.<\/p>\n

But the fact that a company can give away one item for every item sold shows you what a lie this is. A one-for-one giving model represents double the cost of labor and\u00a0<\/i>materials for each unit that is sold for revenue. Doubling wages would only double the labor.<\/p>\n

So why are companies willing to give their products away (and throw them away, destroy unused industry with bleach and razors to render them unsalvageable, et cetera) but they\u2019re not willing to pay their workers more?<\/p>\n

Because capitalism is the opposite of benevolence.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharity\u201d is by definition exemplary, above and beyond, extraordinary, extra. \u201cCharity\u201d is not something that people are entitled to. You give people a shirt or shoes or some food and call it charity, and you\u2019re setting up an expectation that you can and will control the stream of largesse in the future, and anything and everything you give should be considered a boon from on high.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, once you start paying your workers a higher wage, you\u2019re creating an expectation. You\u2019re admitting that their labor is more valuable to you than you were previously willing to admit, and it\u2019s hard to walk that back.<\/p>\n

Plus, when people have enough money for their basic needs, they\u2019re smarter and stronger and warier and more comfortable with pushing back instead of being steamrolled over. They have time and money to pursue education. They can save money up and maybe move away. They can escape from the system that depends on a steady flow of forced or near-forced labor.<\/p>\n

So companies will do charitable \u201cbuy one, give one\u201d and marketing \u201cbuy one, get one\u201d even though these things by definition double the overhead per unit, but they won\u2019t do anything that makes a lasting difference in the standard of living for the people.<\/p>\n

Capitalism has redefined the world so that the baseline of ethics is \u201cHow much money can we make?\u201d and every little good deed over and above that is saintly.<\/b><\/p>\n

But there\u2019s nothing benevolent about throwing a scrap of bread to someone who\u2019s starving in a ditch because you ran them out of their home in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

blue-author: projectivepenteract: theuppitynegras: projectivepenteract: theuppitynegras: I\u2019m about 90% sure the economy is never gonna \u201cimprove\u201d\u00a0 this is capitalism in it\u2019s final form this is it honey\u00a0 except, you know, those companies that do a charitable thing for every thing they sell that\u2019s kinda new and interesting. benevolent capitalism lmao Pay attention, class: This is what … <\/p>\n

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