MrBeast: Capitalism & Philanthropy

A look at the darker side of MrBeast’s philanthropy and the wider philanthrocapitalist model it's a part of. Looking specifically at #teamseas and a partnership with Jennie-O, I attempt to untangle how corporations and conglomerates like Coca-Cola, chemical and oil companies, and big meat monopolies all have a vested interest in financing certain ‘philanthropic’ projects while side-lining others. This is a story that takes some surprising twists and turns, from whitewashing, greenwashing & ‘funwashing’ sponsorships, to illegal price-fixing, an endemic of farmer suicides, and leaked corporate emails to influence charities. Examining the roots and consequences of ‘philanthrocapitalism’ tells us a lot about how lobbying works under modern capitalism. This is a long video, but it’ll be worth it to tell this story properly.
Chapters:
00:00 - MrBeast
03:26 - Preface - American Mythology
07:52 - Chapter 1 - Jimmy the Capitalist
15:12 - Chapter 2 - The Birth of Philanthrocapitalism
27:58 - Chapter 3a - MrBeast’s Philanthropy - Big Meat Conglomerates
39:58 - Chapter 3b - MrBeast’s Philanthropy - #TeamSeas, Coca-cola, etc
52:48 - Chapter 3c - The Clinton Foundation
57:02 - Chapter 4 - Manufacturing Capitalist Mythology
01:09:25 - Chapter 5 - Capitalist Ideology
#mrbeast #teamseas #billgates #billclinton #cocacola
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Sources:
Andrew Carnegie, David Nasaw
Roland Barthes, Mythologies
Linsey McGoey, No Such Thing As A Free Gift
Michael Sandel, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of the Market.
Heale, M. J. “The Role of the Frontier in Jacksonian Politics: David Crockett and the Myth of the Self-Made Man.” The Western Historical Quarterly
SHARON KETTERING, GIFT-GIVING AND PATRONAGE IN EARLY MODERN FRANCE
Stasja Koot & Robert Fletcher (2019): Popular Philanthrocapitalism? The Potential and Pitfalls of Online Empowerment in “Free” Nature 2.0 Initiatives, Environmental Communication
Anand Giridharadas, Winners Take All
David B. Sachsman and David W. Bulla, ed., Sensationalism: Murder, Mayhem, Mudslinging, Scandals, and Disasters in 19th-Century Reporting
www.theguardian.com/news/2018...
metro.co.uk/2022/02/10/domino...
www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/bu...
apnews.com/article/entertainm...
www.witn.com/2021/11/07/beast...
tcbmag.com/restaurants-sue-ho...
www.foodmanufacturing.com/sup...
www.theguardian.com/environme...
www.theguardian.com/environme...
www.reuters.com/business/sust...
www.vox.com/down-to-earth/229...
Marianne Bertrand, Matilde Bombardini, Raymond Fisman, Brad Hackinen, Francesco Trebbi, Hall of Mirrors: Corporate Philanthropy and Strategic Advocacy, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 136
www.theguardian.com/environme...
Bishop, Matthew. “Philanthrocapitalism: Solving Public Problems through Private Means.” Social Research,
digitalexhibits.libraries.wsu....
www.forbes.com/sites/danponte...
www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m...
Credits:
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ABBE_PIERRE-24x30-1999.jpg: Studio Harcourtderivative work: Manu

[@ThenNow]

Script & sources at: www.thenandnow.co/2023/03/23/mrbeast-capitalism-philanthropy/ ► Sign up for the newsletter to get concise digestible summaries: www.thenandnow.co/the-newsletter/ ► Why Support Then & Now? www.patreon.com/user/about?u=3517018

[@maytons]

My wife and I recently took a train ride through coal country in Pennsylvania. On that ride we learned that the wealthy philanthropists were praised for their public deeds, like funding schools. On the other hand, we also learned about the horrible abuses of the workers that created their wealth. Mine cave-ins were common, and if a wife lost a husband the company would send out a messenger to inform the widow of their husband's death. They also informed the grieving woman that she and her family needed to vacate the company owned shack within 7 days... unless she had a son of age 10 or more. That son would then be put to labor in the mines but because he couldn't produce as much as his father he would only earn 1/2 of his father's starvation wages.

[@svenluebke]

Definitly an important topic, because without public awareness of these narratives, it is hard to transform capitalism and crush the very cores of the justification stories that keep those injust systemetic mechanisms of campitalism going and counter critical voices. As you are quoting a lot of sociologist literature, i was asking myself if you heard about "The New Spirit of Capitalism" of Luc Boltanski and Ève Chiapello? It gives a broad collection of justification narratives within capitalism that transforms capitalism over different eras on the one hand and also protects it against critical pressure from outside. Nachtwey & Seidl were setting up a new justification narrative called "Solutionism" which is simplistically told as "we are making the imperfect world better by doing a fast little niche bugfix on it", which also has a form in this narratives about philantrophic companies, entrepreneurs or even influencers. In your video you gave me some more insight about how "relational goods" (Pierpaolo Donati) like trust, solidarity, civic engagement and so on are successively getting exploited and drawn away from the transparency of an good organized (and tax rich) welfare state just by medially effectively setting up these myths about the cooperating big companies, which in reality just find a more effective and direct way of lobbying - short circuiting the political lobbying in the congress (if i understood you correctly). Thank you for this video! Really appreciate the work. Especially the video about Baudrillard. So good, so easily explained. It was a masterpiece :D

[@colonelweird]

From the title and thumbnail I assumed this video was positive toward Mr Beast, so I avoided it for several days. Today I asked myself why KZbin kept on putting it in front of me - and saw it was Then & Now. So of course I watched it. Very good video - one of your best. I also recently watched an older video of yours that seemed much more positive towards neoliberalism. It looks like your views have changed quite a bit in the past five years. I'm glad to see the change.

[@yuriarin3237]

Don't you think it problematic to pose repeatedly throughout the video 'taxes' and 'regulations' for everything as solutions that somehow are just being opposed by 'selfish' interests? Of course the point of this video is mainly to entertain, but it adopts a leftist sensibility that is super problematic and that might make the problems highlighted worse, if anything.

[@briano9397]

@Then & Now The only distrurbing trend is the trend video essayists using the exact same format as every other video essayist. Your only unique spin is disingenuously linking Bill Gates to Mr Beast and attaching capitalism onto it as a buzzword

[@timmunro1551]

"I give food to the poor, and they call me a saint. I ask *why* the poor have no food, and they call me a Communist." - Helder Camara

[@gigedygigedyson5885]

This quote is so perfect, i've seen it everywhere recently.

[@saintlybeginnings6296]

Eh.. I’d have to say that if ‘they’ actually responded w/ “communist” for inquiring why some group doesn’t have food, there is more behind Helder Camara than a reasonable question being asked that would be expected to find out why/ what are the causes (cronyism, poor agricultural/ land management, war, corruption, etc).. In other words, & w/o knowing who Helder is/ his political ideology/ verifying if the quote gives the full context he was presenting/ or having watched the above video (thus basing my statement w/o any bias; just the quote given), that is a loaded statement that seeks to manipulate using false dichotomy rather than give an honest rebuttal against the accusation of ‘they’. Thus, it immediately throws up red flags- Helder is what ‘they’ accuse him of (or closely resembles), not due to the ‘innocent concern’ he tries to narrowly define his accusers of giving, but based on a broader set of behaviors.

[@Flying1Panda]

@@saintlybeginnings6296 you are completely missing the point. It's not an actual question, it's a statement about how capitalism wants to slap patches on problems and not address systematic failings.

[@brainbane8550]

Aside from the fact this quote lacks context, I have another: "Yeah, I'm seriously going to take steps against the very system that created my wealth and upon which I rely in order to sustain my obscenely luxurious lifestyle" Literally every rich person, ever.

[@Moortas]

@@saintlybeginnings6296 I've never seen a comment missing the point so bad lol I'm sorry no offense obviously

[@JohnJohn-ss5vj]

Man, people are missing the point of your video. Most comments are here defending or disliking Mr beast, instead of discussing the effect advertising like this has. Mr beast is not the point of this video, the point is that companies pay him to look good, which leads to benifical changes in small areas only. Coca cola paying for clean the seas helped the environment in almost no way in the grand scheme of things, their donation was only done to stop regulations changing, not to help anyone.

[@abrahamraji1605]

Eh I won't necessarily say that. There are some saying that but I see a lot that are talking about their view on philanthropy (or how it was changed/reinforced by the video)

[@scotts4298]

Seems to me that your analysis would lead to someone disliking mr beast or at least convincing someone he's full of shit. I agree by the way...

[@Vapor817]

well clickbait is a fact of life on youtube. nobody is going to recognize jennie-o but everyone has heard of mrbeast

[@BmoreAkuma]

Hmmm, I see where you are coming from to an extent. However, I have a hard time being convinced that Mr. Beast isn't aware of what the companies he is working with. One can't be that naive (maybe he is?) and dumb right?

[@Tooncow2]

So you think anyone making any effort shouldn't because it could be more theoretically? That is a great way to justify why you don't do anything in your life while you drag down anyone who tries anything. Don't worry while you continue to do nothing to help the world they'll be others who stick their neck out.

[@juliana.x0x0]

I was homeless for years and I survived on the kindness of individuals. When I see those signs in Walmart, the ones that say, “don’t give to the homeless, help the charity instead!” I just want to scream. Cause I’d be dead without people, and organizations want you to do things to their song and dance. This has gotten my brain buzzing on all of these ideas and thoughts you’ve brought up and articulated so well. Thank you for the thoroughness and dedication you put into this.

[@germgoatz2014]

wtf what signs say that where do you live

[@juliana.x0x0]

@@germgoatz2014 in California…they have signs at the self checkout, right where you go to slide your card. A little red and white sign, like a “no parking” sign.

[@amandap9332]

Thats like at Christmas time and there are all sorts of places that advise people to put a line through tags so they can't be returned. Because poor people are criminals that steal from their children...? Like... wtf? Sure, im sure some people will. But nowhere near the majority. And thats also true of the wealthy. Implying that all poor people will steal from their children? Thats so broken. And leaves the general public with a false idea of poor peoples behavior.

[@bdstudios6088]

Thank you. Organized charity is too corrupt to do half the good that kind individuals can contribute

[@hairymcnipples]

can't have people doing good in a way that doesn't benefit them, Juliana. Where would the Waltons be if they didn't desperately claw every possible scrap of value they could? Why, they might be slightly less obscenely rich!

[@MrWepx-hy6sn]

The problem goes so deep that even in Marketing courses, you learn how to philantrocapitalize a brand, like I had an actual course on my master's degree all about "how social responsability furthers your brand and makes it more profitable".

[@serenefrost7219]

The profit motive is the end all be all in a capitalist system. Makes sense that you'd have to take such a marketing course...for better or worse

[@racool911]

Honestly it's better that social responsibility does help profitability, then the other way around in a lot of cases

[@gristen]

@@racool911 anything that helps profit hurts poor people so no it does not help at all actually

[@elipticalecliptic481]

@@racool911 up until it's more profitable to pretend to be socially responsible

[@rhythmandblues_alibi]

Yep, my intro to advertising unit was eye-opening and truly horrifying. Everything you can imagine they might do on purpose purely for profit is true.

[@exploshaun]

Whenever Mr. Beast gives away cars, I'm always reminded of how American cities are car centric hellholes, where walking is impossible, biking is suicide, public transport is poorly maintained, and cars are mandatory.

[@exploshaun]

Also when he gave away 1 million cookies, the cynical part of me wonders about American obesity.

[@jokeis8684]

@Sudipta Banerjee ratio

[@jokeis8684]

@Sudipta Banerjee dont have one lmao

[@piratepat44]

the idea that biking is suicide is also probably a result of a culture indocrinated into the use of cars. People aren't taught to ride bikes safely, others are taught that bikers are dicks and it's funny when they crash, so why would you ever be one. While it is dangerous, especially in some big cities, driving is often more dangerous.

[@mart4144]

@@piratepat44 Its mostly that bikes are more vulnerable than cars on roads. I mean I'm fucjig scared to bike on a road myself, even when theres a bike lane (non seperated).

[@maytons]

My wife and I recently took a train ride through coal country in Pennsylvania. On that ride we learned that the wealthy philanthropists were praised for their public deeds, like funding schools. On the other hand, we also learned about the horrible abuses of the workers that created their wealth. Mine cave-ins were common, and if a wife lost a husband the company would send out a messenger to inform the widow of their husband's death. They also informed the grieving woman that she and her family needed to vacate the company owned shack within 7 days... unless she had a son of age 10 or more. That son would then be put to labor in the mines but because he couldn't produce as much as his father he would only earn 1/2 of his father's starvation wages.

[@drewyoung9637]

Where did you take this ride at? I live in Central PA and would love to find more local stuff to do

[@maytons]

@@drewyoung9637 We were in Jim Thorpe PA. Absolutely gorgeous town nicknamed the Switzerland of PA.

[@ChiefSlacc]

@@maytons you would probably like Old Gods of Appalachia podcast

[@maytons]

@@ChiefSlacc Very cool! Listening now. Thanks Chief.

[@user-jd4ow9dr1h]

Have you ever read about how Appalachian Universitys were started by wealthy liberal elites to help the poor uneducated "hill billys" ? Dolly Parton talks about how they tired to exploit her people in interviews. No one knows about the corruption and exploitation of white people by the wealthy because they are too busy making it seem like POC are the only targets, they aren't. Wealthy whites hate poor whites more than any other group. Living in Appalachia really opened my eyes to how the coastal elites see this country as theirs to take from those who can't defend themselves.

[@justcommenting4981]

Mr. Beasts channel couldn't really exist without poverty and certainly not without extreme wealth inequality.

[@strawbself]

yes. capitalism can’t exist without those things.

[@thienthien7765]

You nailed it.

[@dysmissme7343]

I don’t think that’s true There will always be people willing to fight to sit in a pool full of orbeez the LONGEST for the sake of winning! Or science!

[@shrekeyes2410]

@@strawbself No system can.

[@shrekeyes2410]

And? Hes helping out poor

[@alifishies]

This video fully encapsulates the subtle uneasiness whenever I watch videos of people doing "good deeds"

[@InnerDness]

Ah, and you've done just so much I'm sure. Navel-gazing about the nature of poverty doesn't actually make any difference you know.

[@morimoko]

Communists would rather have poor people die of dirty water and malnutrition rather then someone be rich? who would have thought.@@InnerDness

[@AzureTheAvian]

@@morimokoYou never learn anything, do you?

[@AzureTheAvian]

@@InnerDnessSo you’re saying trying to fox the problem of poverty is a bad thing? You know that treating the cause of a problem rather than the symptoms is the best way to fix it, right?

[@morimoko]

a little bit ironic coming from the guy who wants to try that system again isn't it?@@AzureTheAvian

[@jacksonlarson6099]

I've been trying to argue against "charity culture" for years, but my arguments usually meet a cold shoulder because, well, what kind of monster is against charities? This video does an amazing job of articulating my concern with our fixation on donating as opposed to actully fixing.

[@5000Seabass]

Charity is great, but shouldn’t be a necessity.

[@rendomstranger8698]

What kind of monster is opposed to charity? The kind of "monster" that actually wants to fix the problem instead of just feeling good about themselves. Tell that to the next person who acts like you're a monster. After that, make it clear that you're only opposed to charities that get in the way of fixing the actual problem.

[@zhouenlaienjoyer6306]

Solidarity, not charity, is the way forward.

[@aSmallGreenDot]

People treat charity as if it's helping with a problem that's just inherent, but if we actually work to solve those problems we wouldn't need the charity.

[@eruusky]

@@aSmallGreenDot this!!

[@Lenny-ue8hk]

Tune in for Mr Beast's next video: "GIVING WATER TO AFRICAN KIDS" sponsored by Nestlé

[@camelopardalis84]

There are things like "for every pack of Pampers nappies you buy, we vaccinate one child against x". Now, in case you don't know. Pampers nappies are rather famously expensive (albeit worth their money for many) and a vaccine against x (I don't remember what it was) costs something like either ten cents or even just a tenth of a cent. I saw this type of charity (that only serves to sell more Pampers nappies and boost the company's image, nothing more) criticised using a caricature of a rich man with a champagne glass in his hand who says that "for every case of Champagne you buy, we donate a glass of drinking water to someone in need".

[@camilasanchez5010]

Lol

[@ashjoyner8032]

This joke hurt me physically 😂 Good job 👍

[@asuka_the_void_witch]

i'm in stitches

[@breno855]

Good one

[@mattwong5403]

Every individual act of kindness is a symptom of a systemic failure. Instead of "veteran starts a non-profit to help refugees from the Iraq War," it should be framed as "why thousands of US troops and Iraqis had to die for the profits of fossil fuel corporations and defense contractors."

[@Bourikii2992]

They didn't, they weren't forced to join the military. The military has been voluntary since 1973 there is no more compulsory or drafting in the United States.

[@turingmachine7905]

I don’t know which is worse . . .

[@ikergonzalezsanchez7973]

@@Bourikii2992 they weren’t forced, but they were manipulated by recruiters who targeted low income areas and lied, by the lack of opportunities and by the military industrial complex that produces tons of propagandistic content, it’s not a coincidence that a lot of people joined the army after watching movies like Top Gun

[@Bourikii2992]

@@ikergonzalezsanchez7973 Well USAF isn't the army. Top Gun inspired people to join USAF not USA. Lied? About what? Also people joined the air force because planes are cool. Idk about you but I certainly didn't want to join the army after dday, saving private Ryan, hacksaw ridge, fmj, or black hawk down. Like 99% of army movies show the horrors of being frontline infantry. Plus only like 25% of the US army was ever deployed to Iraq. So even if you join that 1 of the 6 branches your chances of deployment are pretty low. Then your chances of death are even lower at 3%. For good pay, healthcare, free education for literally any course certainly could do worse. Not like you're not gonna have some slackjaw moron being a dick to you in other jobs either.

[@the4thdoor906]

Quick correction, Iraq wasn’t for oil but to keep American geopolitical Influence in the region and to set up a “democracy” (allied state)

[@gabsnandes7818]

It's miserable to think that even a guy with seemingly good intentions can be used by massive companies as a way to help with their image. This world is truly terrible

[@newagain9964]

Worse part is he’s perfectly ok with being a corporate drone.

[@Onoesmahpie]

Lol he never had good intentions, he just wanted to be rich and famous and liked by everybody. Jimmy never started his channel with the intention of making the videos he makes now, rather he admittedly was making videos simply because he thought they would be popular, and because the topics of his early videos were infantile, such as counting to 100,000 or something stupid that only a young child would be captivated by. His channel was rapidly overtaken by the company Honey and got his wish, he is now handed large checks (not as large as his fans would believe though, he only gets a tiny fraction of the revenue his videos generate and the money 'given away by jimmy' in his videos is in fact not his money). The 'philanthropic' nature of his newer videos is not a product of Jimmy's mind, but rather the result of corporate meetings brainstorming how to rig his channel to be metaphorical pro-capitalist crack cocaine clickbait for children.

[@KlausBahnhof]

@Derek "Metaphorical pro-capitalist crack cocaine click bait for children" is savage, I love it! Thank you for this breakdown of the business model. I knew there was something suspicious about his channel after KZbin continuously recommended it, despite the content being idiotic gimmickry that I would never watch. It's good to see people taking a shot at him. He deserves the criticism. I got sick of seeing his face in the thumbnail and developed a strong disliking for the guy. Now I have even more reason to despise him. Capitalism produces the most cringe worthy shit, and children don't know any better than to be entertained. We are right to be angry about it.

[@crusty2o662]

@@Onoesmahpie I really don't understand this take because he didn't start making philanthropy content when he got popular he started it before he reached any fame. Also he has a lot of money now so he could post anytime of content he wants and he still is making philanthropic content but it is now not the goal of mr breast brand. So it is actually in his interest to do philanthropy because he could just stop making that content now even if he get more views from it. I also just want to mention that he probably doesn't have as much money as you think he has because he has stated that in comparison to other big youtubers he doesn't have as much money that he owns are in assets probably jointly owned by other people. That is my opinion as someone who used to watch mr beast slightly before he got popular and realizing the strange nature of his channel and stop watching it but IMO I don't really think he is a capitalist.

[@skoop651]

​@@Onoesmahpie So? he worked hard for his success. It doesn't matter who the videos were for or why he did it. If he's benefitting society, it shouldn't really be of your concern, especialyl when there's much richer and more influential people. All he does is advertise businesses for about a minute in his video and that's it. His philantrophy helps people, and there's no evidence that it has bad intentions other than assumption. If he was ran by corporations to be pro-capitalist, he wouldn't openly say he doesn't know why the government isn't stepping up and doing what he is. He's 25 and still pretty young. Yes, he wants to build up his brand, but he's not doing it in a way that "exploits the working class". He had a dream to be a famous KZbinr when he was even younger than he already is and his dream became a reality. 99.99% of people if they were given the opportunity to be as successful as he is would take it. Everyone acts like they're better just because they aren't successful as if they wouldn't take the opportunity to be.

[@odiadordeisrael]

It's always funny to me how whenever someone points out a billionaire's misdeed the counter-argument will be mentioning their charity work.

[@Fragenzeichenplatte]

And that's the reason why rich people do this: Because some idiots will defend them for it.

[@beyond-journeys-end]

@@Fragenzeichenplatte Isen't it closer to brainwashed?

[@LoveSickWorld]

I don’t even know if Elon musk is charitable people just defend him because he says some funny things

[@odiadordeisrael]

@@LoveSickWorld He isn't even funny. His humor would be hilarious to a 15 year old reddit user.

[@Juline1221]

Ignorance is Bliss

[@Ulubai]

Feeding men fish isn't inherently evil, but not teaching men how to fish certainly is.

[@jimpickins7900]

Unfortunately Mr beast does not know how to fish, so I'm happy with him distributing fish instead.

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

People know how to fish, but the lake has owners who hoard the fish for themselves

[@lostpilgrim]

@@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009 mmm yummy salmon

[@adamocean4387]

@@jimpickins7900 I mean he does or he wouldnt be where he is today lmaooo

[@theparagonal]

@@adamocean4387 did... You watch any of this video?

[@josephmatthews7698]

"I raised 10k online to pay my medical bills." Crowd: *cheers* Isn't it messed up you have to resort to online begging to live? And what about the 99% of people who will never raise enough money? Crowd: *boos* Instead of celebrating the ultra rich for giving away .000001% of their income to charity shouldn't we focus on eliminating the need for charity? Like homelessness, hunger, medical and student debt? Crowd: *begins throwing tomatoes until finally crucifying the speaker*

[@crimsonbladewielder1975]

Meanwhile I’ve almost been homeless twice and probably never leave poverty nor own a home or go to the doctors

[@enderserpent4433]

Maybe because it comes of as this to them "Yay I beat cancer." "Yes but what about thoose hundreds of people who died cause of it. you defeating it doesn't matter at all it didn't bring a change"

[@josephmatthews7698]

@@enderserpent4433 beating cancer does cause change though, especially for your life. Raising 10k just beats one bill with a hundred more on the way. I think there's also the aspect of being able to say you donated to this cause so you can feel like you had a direct hand in helping them and feel good about yourself but if that instinct isn't also followed up with a desire to end the need for charity it's ultimately a selfish instinct. I think we're all susceptible to that selfish instinct. The desire to be recognized and admired for our goodness. It's not inherently a bad thing but we definitely need to focus it in a more positive direction.

[@OBviEZ]

again, this is the orphan crushing machine argument and it's stupid

[@twigwigsoso]

"why are most of my taxes going to war instead of helping my community, my country isn't spending $274.36 Billion on education and $1.52 Trillion on defense? we should rise together and change somethi-" the commenter has committed suicide by shooting themselves in the back of the head.

[@mikoku921]

It's not about whether some rich person does morally good things to help people. That has obviously its good sides. The problem with philanthropy is that it's needed in the first place. The socioeconomic system shouldn't rely on philanthropists to generously save the poor. The system should make sure there isn't any need for that. There is enough money and resources. They're just not spread equally enough.

[@beyond-journeys-end]

I agree, and think more socialism would help a lot. (Case y forgot Mrbest video)

[@boremir3956]

I agree all though "not spread equally enough" is a big understatement. Wealth inequality is so massive, the pharaohs would be jealous at how the small group of elites have managed to do it.

[@boremir3956]

@@martiendejong8857 The "system" at the end of day is all of us. We could provide for each other. Create a system where the basic needs are met for everyone and we actually work towards bigger things instead of meaningless jobs.

[@beyond-journeys-end]

@@martiendejong8857 And/or want what they already know (is my guess)

[@beyond-journeys-end]

@@martiendejong8857 I was taught that one should give a chance/try new things, so changing is part of who i am.

[@nekoprankster2184]

"Because what kind of monster would be against charity?" is the part that really struck me. That's basically the key to all of it, I think. It's hard to criticize philanthro-capitalism because then you can be vilified, and no one will want to listen to you. Nobody is encouraged to think more deeply about these practices because all they think it is is charity work; and charity is so ingrained with the idea of "goodness" it's hard to think it can still be used nefariously. And then all the discussions and slap-fights about the ethics and morals and all that can *also* be used as further distractions, further divisions. It's both sad and infuriating to think about. I just want there to be a sudden, massive enlightenment where everyone starts to recognize corrupt practices and the roots of the world's problems, so we can finally come together and *do something*.

[@neptunesdreams]

That's what I like about the "UNCONDITIONAL" aspect of UBI. If everyone gets it, even the rich, all stigma us removed. No one can look down upon anyone else when it is a truly universal basic income.

[@mayamccarthy3053]

so true user nekoprankster218

[@positivevibesveda]

@@neptunesdreams you think the rich should get more income? idk much about UBI but it seems counterintuitive

[@neptunesdreams]

@@positivevibesveda It just makes it more efficient to give it to everybody. As long as the rich pay taxes, it'll just come back to the government anyway. It ensures there's less government doing means testing which is fraught with inefficiencies and unfairness.

[@jaredcullison6502]

2So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing

[@tomlxyz]

I've always saw philanthropy targeted to "random" individuals or groups critically. The most absurd being American Healthcare being "solved" by crowd funded high medical expenses, your life basically being at the mercy of gaining enough attraction

[@vylbird8014]

It's just the way humans work, the instincts built in by evolution. They feel empathy for individuals, but not so much for groups. People can read a story of a million people killed in a famine and feel nothing, but be brought to tears by a video of a single person pleading for help. Media organisations know this - that's why they always pick a few real people to serve as illustrations for a story that has much broader scope, and the story can be spun very differently depending who is chosen.

[@idiot_rat]

@@vylbird8014 sounds more like stupid humans than humans as a whole.

[@trippysk8er723]

@@vylbird8014 facts

[@unsrescyldas9745]

The problem in most modern "Healthcare" is that it completely uproots the ritualistic aspect of charity, which is of vital importance to our human psychic, by making the charitable (the taxpayer) uninvolved, and many times, forced. I am not against forcing the more fortunate to help the unfortunate rather against mixing that with making the fortunate not even see harvest of his good deeds. If man is given a choice to help others or further help himself, he will almost always pick the latter, so forcing is vital, and so is involvement.

[@jkishhabi]

I have joked more than a few times that none of my chronic issues can afford to be from fatal illnesses, or I am doomed. I am neither young enough or cute enough to attract the attention necessary to inspire people to donate to pay for my medical treatments.

[@raquetdude]

On an individual level acts of charity are good, on a system level it shows a failure of the nation. A failure that requires change, change which the rich don’t seem to like.

[@photophob]

It not only "shows the failure" but - when done using the dynamics shown here - also contributes massively (!) to the factors keeping the failure at work.

[@ignaciodiaz919]

Yesterday, MrBeast upload a video about helping 1,000 blind children to see again, with the stock photo of a boy crying in the miniature. That was the straw that broke the camel for me

[@gabsnandes7818]

I like the idea of the video, but that thumbnail, I don't know, it feels so weird, it feels exploitative

[@senatorarmstrong2100]

@@gabsnandes7818 but i cant believe that he spends around 50k for that

[@gabsnandes7818]

@SENATOR ARMSTRONG aint no way that thumbnail was 50k, my guy must be doing some money laundering 💀

[@paulvelez7499]

Let’s dismantle capitalism by burning the local boba tea stores because why not

[@sortingoutmyclothes8131]

The power huge corporations have over the overall population, and the way we all talk about what this company "should do" and that one "shouldn't do," will seam as strange to future people as it is to us that people accepted to live under "the divine rule of kings" in the past.

[@Zaaggastkich]

Yes this is what the Marx quote is about precisely.

[@fromthebackseat4865]

That’s dialectics baby

[@Bezol69]

Possibly I hope yet I can see a technocracy developing over the coming century’s where the wealthiest people hoard tech and tech’s advancements through corporations. With this hoarding of tech there will not just be a massive wealth gap but knowledge gap.

[@gageamonette5120]

the divine right of kings is based though

[@fromthebackseat4865]

@@gageamonette5120 you’d return to feudalism if it meant you could lick some kings boots.

[@el6178]

This is the best thing on KZbin. If I could say something to Mr Beast is this: In Scandinavia tipping is not popular. It's a bit like begging. The idea behind this aversion to tipping is that people working should have everything they need already included in their wages and salaries. This is the idea. The reality obviously varies..

[@riverphoenix2848]

The problem ultimately isn't típ culture, but American labor culture and capital's fetish with low looking prices. What tip actually is is a direct cost of labor that is hidden from list price, they also KNOW what the tax rate is on any item, but they sell it at the pretax rate, so my milk is $2.99, but actually it's not, it's 3.whatever.

[@xenosbreed]

Tipping became the norm in America because it was an excuse for the employer to not pay workers, which at the time was a move easily legislated because most service workers at the time were black. It just got so ingrained that it stuck even as systems desegregated

[@mariosspyrou1054]

by "the reality varies" do you mean waiters in Scandinavia dont get paid enough? Or are you talking about america

[@luizy6701]

The best for anti capitalist red s¢um, right?

[@STOREpappa]

@@mariosspyrou1054 I'm not the OP but I live in Norway and I can tell you our service workers get abused too, but to a much lesser extent due to there actually being laws and big unions to join. But the owner class will always try to squeeze out every ounce of profit and no target is easier than the little guy.

[@DebatingWombat]

It’s also worth wondering about that $250,000 price tag for the 10,000 Jenny’s turkeys. First off, doing a brief back of the envelope comparison, it would seem to be the commercial, retail value of the turkeys at $25 per frozen turkey (which seems pretty spot on before the inflation kicked in). Now, if this is correct, that is obviously not the price Jenny’s pays for it’s own birds, but the sticker price including costs and profits between them and the supermarket freezer. Hence the actual cost to Jenny’s (and ultimately to Hormel) is far lower than advertised, since the loss only equates to their own costs and lost profits from not selling the turkeys, usually to a supermarket chain. Furthermore, since this can almost certainly be chalked up as a charitable donation, it can be used to offset Jenny’s/Hormel’s taxes, making this an incredibly cheap form of advertising. Think of this: Rather than paying an expensive add agency, the corporation can donate its own products, which is equivalent to product placement that usually also costs a lot, deduct this expense as charity and get publicity free from the crass taint of classic advertising. No wonder that this kind of advertising/“charity”/capitalism is becoming so popular…

[@iRelevant.47.blacklisted]

Good observation. The promos are actually payed by society through tax revenue loss, while the charitable company gets the credit for a good deed done. Looks like inverse socialism :)

[@WesternCommie]

You ever notice that the west will critique socialist nations and claim they have 'breadlines', but completely ignore the breadlines in the west? These things are always happening, and Mr Beast even showed one off in his video. What a weird society we live in.

[@a.c6761]

sOciEty wE lIve In Just accept socialism is a Total Mess just like Communism.

[@funnybeastvibeo]

how to commodify starvation in fortnite?

[@lubu2960]

Breadlines barely exist in the west

[@eclect]

@@lubu2960 they barely existed in communist countries outside of the early days when they went through nearly a century of industrialization in a couple of decades and misguided policies and bad conditions caused famines But of course, nothing bad at all happened while western countries industrialized, right?

[@lubu2960]

Breadlines were common in communist countries since those countries constantly suffered shortages@@eclect

[@SingularityasSublimity]

I have never seen a better concretizing of theory than this video. You continue to maintain a philosophical rigor while making the content accessible. That is not easy and this channel is the best at it.

[@Mexopa23]

This is exactly the way the New Left needs to communicate, to overcome their Post-Soviet Crisis. If we cannot reach the average person, who will never read an academic text (and shouldn't have to), we will never hold up against Conservatives and Neoliberals.

[@Enzaio]

He really is so incredibly good at this.

[@el6178]

One of the best channels on KZbin.

[@christopherjohnson9167]

you mean pretentious posh sophistry pushing an anti-capitalist agenda?

[@christopherjohnson9167]

@@SingularityasSublimity Isnt that ironically kind of what your comment is doing too?

[@mrrd4444]

I love MrBeast, I do. I think he's wonderful. But he's also like, the biggest example of how easily people forget that he wouldn't HAVE to do ANY of this grand scale philanthropy if American social safety nets weren't almost non-existent. You can even see it in Jimmy's own discomfort when he's thanked by people, who, without his help, would have starved or lost everything. It's a bizarre pantomime of him accepting money from the very companies that lobby against keeping people alive, and do a fairly good job of hiding the fact that they fund People Without Money Should Die legislation.

[@iruns1246]

Curious, do you still genuinely like Mr. Beast even after knowing he's complicit in the larger problem? Or is it more like a guilty pleasure? Or maybe you think he's still more good than bad? No judgement, just curious.

[@chase_saddy]

Yeah I’m not sure how Mr Beast can be seen as wonderful knowing all that

[@byronarnaoutoglou8425]

@@iruns1246 i think that if we end up judging not based on what one actually does but what could actually do (even a poor person with no resources other than his own time and availability), then everyone would be considered evil for lack of acting. Therefore, while I get the point of you saying that he could do much more, at the same time accusing him of being a complicit takes it too far. He has no responsibility to do any of the things he does. Even if he does grow his channel through his actions, the positive impact he makes on many stays. You say he's a complicit for not doing more (going against the machine). I'm saying that he's good or at the very least practical and productive, if we want to use objective terms, because he could be doing less or nothing at all. He's obligated to do nothing at all. Therefore, any proactive move is positive by definition. And at the end of the day, if giving money away was just a means to grow his channel, now that he has finally grown it to this extent, he would, selfishly speaking, have no motive to continue giving more and more. Instead, he could simply capitalize on his existent fame, maximizing his profits.

[@iruns1246]

@@byronarnaoutoglou8425 Sorry, I don't think he should be doing more, I think he should not be doing it at all. This might sound weird I know, after all, he's actually helping those people. But, the big picture is this: charity entertainers make their viewers feel happy about the 0.001% of people in need who (by sheer luck) they help, instead of being angry about the whole system that victimize the other 99.999%. Add to that the fact thay how they help is almost exclusively in ways that only look good on camera: bombastic but short term and narrow. The effect is the viewers being less likely to push to change the system. The thing that would actually help the rest. What I meant by being complicit is he's actively manufacturing contentment for cruel and unfair system, by helping a minuscule number of people, but hyping it so much that it sucks up his viewers attention from the bad things that remains in the rest of the system.

[@byronarnaoutoglou8425]

​@@iruns1246 First let me just say that the following answer is based on the 2/3 of the current video since I haven't watched it all yet. Now as for your argument, before I dive into, I'd like to say that while I truly find this video very interesting, at the same time I consider it misleading as far as Mrbeast goes, indirectly making him appear an apologist used by big corporations. In this video, there was only one single example used that could indicate him being that (the whole free turkey stuff). He has uploaded hundrends of videos sponsored by hundrends of advertizers. I'm not expecting this youtuber to examine every single case but to single out only one case is an unfair gereralization.The other case his channel brought up was about cleaning the oceans and how essentially what MrBeast was doing was not effective. First I would like to point out the ripple effect of someone doing activism and secondly, at the end of the day, he's an entrepeneur. Him doing these things is a means to end which nonetheless makes a difference, if not always in practice, at least in society's mentality. And again, this chanbel singles out a single non efficient way to deal with a problem to draw out a misleading conclusion about him misleading the public opinion and draw their attention to useless stunts so corporations can act freely. I get that Mrbeast is an instant way to gain views and he did have two things (literally!) to say about him but to end up comparing him with the other big corporations who exploit their employers is shady even if he stands correct about them. So if based on his plethora of videos he had one or two that could have been used as free advertising by shady corporations, that means the majority of corporations that use him as advertising are also shady and exploitative and him an apologist? That needs proof. Not a generic notion that suits the social preference. Last but not least, given exactly how unfounded this video turns out to be as far as MrBeast goes, how can you say that what he's doing is counter-productive? MrBeast exists only for a few years. How more active and "sober" was society before him? Humans are not rational, the causation of his actions and society's inactions turns out that simply wouldn't lead to society's activism exactly due to how things had played out before he came to the spotlight. Which brings us to the desire for him do more and not less, as in to make people aware of how shady companies work. Nevertheless, that is not his work nor his obligation. So, till it's proved that he truly is an apologist as the video makes him out to be, he has no obligation to do anything or anything more because as it is he's doing more than most. And as I said previously, if we judge people not based on what they actually do but on how much more they could do, then almost everyone would be evil or really self-serving.

[@skarbuskreska]

I just remember him bringing some drama to my fandom on twitter. Don't remember how it all went down anymore, but I guess he wanted to give away some stuff, the fandom had some questions/was curious about motives?, and it somehow felt like we were not thankful enough and either him or his supporters acted as if we should be super thankful. There are enough people in the fandom that have giveaways themselves, he just seemed strange and aggressively pushing. So my first impression of him was bad.

[@punic4045]

That seems interesting. What fandom were you apart of that was involved in this? I'd like to know more.

[@gamingandstuff1522]

Proof?

[@sketchlee1856]

I remember when Mr. Beast first announced his squid game video the response was super interesting. A lot of people, myself included, thought that creating a real life version of a show that was an explicit critique of capitalism, and specifically a critique on how the rich exploit the poor for entertainment for a youtube video was a bit...ironic. But you couldn't say anything about it or mention how he completely missed the point of the show without a bunch of fans coming out of the word works acting like you had insulted a saint, like Mr. Beast was above any criticism because of all the donations and charity he's done over the years. I wasn't very familiar with Mr. Beast before that but the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, though I wasn't able to articulate exactly why. This video really put everything into perspective though, and really illustrates how the way people act about Mr. Beast reflects a bigger problem about philanthropy in general. Thanks for this.

[@Youtuber-pj6ts]

Personally... I think the arguments against Mr Beast's Squid Game video were fairly flawed/superficial. The show itself was a for-profit product created for a gigantic corporation (Netflix), and all Mr Beast did was take an existing piece of entertainment, and turn it into another piece of entertainment, indistinguishable from a game show. It strikes me as disingeuous to ignore all of the unethical practices in a big budget TV production (ironically, the South Korean film industry apparently treats small actors and extras like crap), while simultaneously dogpiling on a single KZbinr for "missing the point". The players in his video weren't coerced or misguided, they were fans doing an experience for fun, and were generously compensated for their time. It could also be argued that his video only brought more attention to the series, and thus its core message.

[@ThomasBomb45]

@@KZbinr-pj6ts The problem is not that Mr Beast himself didn't get the point. The problem is that Mr Beast stripped the original art of its meaning. It's absolutely fair to recognize that both Mr Beast and the original studio are exploiting people under capitalism. But that does not make criticism of Mr Beast superficial. He is participating in turning a critique of capitalism (or at minimun a critique of wealth inequality) and turning it into a fun game show. Whether more people tune into the original series or not, Mr Beast's spin on the narrative will still be in public consciousness

[@Youtuber-pj6ts]

@@ThomasBomb45 Mr Beast didn't strip anything of its meaning - the original show is still available, unaltered, and will always be the more popular and well known version. His video has a fraction of the exposure of the real series. I'd argue that any sane person already knows to divorce the messages of a show from a fanmade recreation. Nobody is watching Mr Beast's video and thinking "hmm, I guess poverty and wealth inequality is cool after all". The "public consciousness" was not perceptively altered in any way.

[@moniqueloomis9772]

🎯 Bingo! My sentiments exactly.

[@ThomasBomb45]

@@KZbinr-pj6ts People literally defend Mr Beast as a "good guy" for giving away money. But when charity has to be entertaining, it means that help isn't being given where needed it's given where it fits his business. He's twisting it to the exact opposite: Rich People Are Good Because They Give Away Money. Even though it does nothing to systematically change anything

[@braidans4767]

I did a tour as a potential worker at a Tyson meat packing plant recently and was horrified by the working conditions. For my personal reference I have worked at two different factories before touring Tyson both however were smaller locally owned factories. At one factory I made $14 an hour working 4/10s with an hour paid lunch and two paid 15 minute breaks. There was occasional overtime but it wasn’t often and never forced. After 4 years I got sick of doing the same job and moved on to a modular home construction factory making $17 an hour with a 30 minute unpaid lunch I wish the lunch was paid but the work is far more dynamic and interesting so the job is far preferable to the job I had previously. Now for Tyson, the Tyson factory is only a short drive from my home so I thought it made natural sense to work there especially when I was lied too and told the starting pay was $20 an he I went in for a factory tour not to arrive at a factory but a literal prison with barbed wire fences. Shown the factory the job looked increadibly boring and monotonous in a very loud factory environment for ten hours a day. I asked the man giving the tour if workers were allowed to listen to music or talk while at work as I didn’t see anybody with earbuds in or talking to anyone else. He told me under no circumstances was that allowed as it would be too “distracting” from their boring and repetitive job. Mfer I work construction doing far more dynamic and potentially risky work while listening to books I think they’d be fine doing the same movement all day while listening to music but no. I asked how long the lunch. Breaks were and if there was any other breaks. There was 30minute lunch break with no other breaks. Unpaid by the way and you had to stay in the building and buy lunch from the cafeteria. I asked what the starting pay was and he told me something around $16 I can’t remember the exact figure but it wasn’t 20 then he told me something that curdled my stomach they expected everyone to work a mandatory 60HRS A WEEK. 60HRS every week of the most boring mind numbing task for minimal pay and absolutely nothing else to help keep your mind occupied for the day. NO WAY should any self respecting individual in our current market work that job I have no idea why it was put my tour group of five people I was the only one to turn down the job. It’s not worth it no money from any dumb Job is worth ten hours of practically everyday of your life let alone one like that.

[@Stret173]

daamn((

[@RamonesFan201]

$10 the other 4 people who accepted the job have familys. Companies like that will make obedient serfs outta them in no time.

[@GUILLOTINE_GANG]

Tyson is an abomination, in more ways than one. I'm so happy you decided not to work for those ghouls.

[@MemeB0MB]

My mom has been working there for 10 years :((( because that's the only way she knows to support us ever since we moved to the states. She never went to school and don't have time to study for even a GED for a better job

[@tony6666]

I'd be surprised if nobody was actually driven to suicide doing that kind of work

[@osirys]

I think the core problem is: if we live in a democracy, why can a handful of wealthy individuals (not appointed by the people) rule the populace like kings through coorporations?

[@Levittchen4G]

Corporations are mini-dictatorships. Government officials are bought by lobbying or they act out favours for their rich friends and themselves. Only rich people will ever even get the chance to even get elected for those. The system works for the rich and to surpress ordinary people (the majority). That's also why rich people get away with all of their crimes, even murder. Every now and then they will throw us a few crumbs so we don't hold them accountable for their bs. If you want a more in-depth analysis of the social-democratic and neo-liberal system you can listen to Michael Parenti or read his books for example against empire or listen to / read Lenin's State and Revolution.

[@CompyFranko]

But we don't live in a democracy

[@hagoryopi2101]

Because democracy is nothing more than a matter of popularity. Those which can influence public opinion can control the democracy, because there is no other criteria. Who holds the most sway in society? The biggest organizations, whether they be charities, corporations, or government itself. So what are these organizations incentivized to do more than anything else, regardless of what their self-proclaimed defining values are? Influence public opinion in their own favor, by any effective means. That brings you power. Democracy always ends up being a different flavor of authoritarianism. The majority, or whoever can control the majority most effectively, is still an authority. It inherently screws the minority, because the majority wins. The problem is that everybody is part of some minority or another, so everybody gets screwed. I think we could do better.

[@kenos911]

You can become the wealthy individuals though? It’s not complete dictatorship. Also, they don’t have that much power in the big picture, hell, they can’t even fund political campaigns

[@Vapor817]

@@hagoryopi2101 well human nature in that sense is inherently authoritarian. any kind of human society that is able to exist and endure in the real world will require some authority figure for the rest of the people to follow, and democracy is just the least unfair system that exists as of now

[@daisy-td9qs]

I'm only 3 minutes in but already INSANELY impressed by the production quality and scripting of this video! It feels like a high budget documentary you'd see on discovery channel, and you've definitely earned a new subscriber :)

[@Galaxydragonpie]

Mr. Beast is a good guy who does good things in smalls way, but he shouldn't exist. Everyone should have a home, everyone should have food, everyone should have healthcare, everyone should have consistent reliable transportation. The only reason we should work is because we want to work or to pay for non essential items. We shouldn't have to work just to barely survive. One of mrbeast's more recent videos highlights the healthcare problem where he help 1000 people regain their sight by paying for their surgeries. A surgery that quite frankly should've already gotten. It's disgusting that there is likely thousands more who'd like to have their curable blindness fixed but they can't afford to.

[@helloandgoodbye7286]

if the world was like that then we still be at war at eachother with stick and stones it is a horrible truth that we need some people to suffer for progress

[@daddy6757]

@@helloandgoodbye7286 "we need some people suffer for progress". No! we need people to work for progress, not suffering. Work is suffering if it is meaningless.

[@helloandgoodbye7286]

@@daddy6757 maybe in a perfect world but its not realistic we have plenty of people working but do you really think they still be working if people who arent are getting paid and benifits. if we tried to stop all suffering then we would be progressing backwards. for an example lets look at jeff bezos if he were to give all homeless people a house he would raise the average cost for houses. and then there becomes more people that homeless and its an everlasting cycle. until bezos banks is only 0 and cant afford for everone anymore and now everyone is homeless.

[@hofi56]

@@helloandgoodbye7286easy, tax everything beyond a level of wealth that ensures you can live 120 years in a big house, plenty of food, etc. There is no need for a single person to have more wealth than small countries. That logic would mean that at the end of capitalism, there is one person that has all the money and everyone else starved to death. If that's the kind of world we wanna live in, we fucked it up beyond repair.

[@helloandgoodbye7286]

@@hofi56I think what you're saying is like proportional taxing, so the homeless get taxed at 0%, while the rich get taxed at like 95% or something like that. But, yet again, that makes all the money equal, and there would be far fewer people in higher-paying yet riskier jobs. Genius doctors would most likely just become school janitors in this system. Also, if this were the case, the economic value decreases until everyone is nearly equal, and money loses its value. Money has value because homeless people exist, which sucks. In my opinion, I think people should have to make a mandatory donation to a charity so that some money can go to support as many homeless people as we can.

[@scroptels]

Being young and growing up with the internet i think makes it hard to spot how corporations and corrupt politicians use it to influence our opinions regarding real world issues and have their way. You just need to look a bit to the past to find that these practices have been used in the past and are still used today by people with vested interests. That's why videos like these need to be more popular, to increase awareness of how we are being decieved into supporting the same people that damage our society and world.

[@unsrescyldas9745]

Videos like this will never be as popular even by a tiny margin compared to what the majority will see and writhe in. rather it is upon those that learned to spread the knowledge forcefully to the unlearned.

[@getbbudded23]

I think you’re right I don’t think mr. Beast started doing this on purpose but as he’s gotten older he knows what’s going on. Nobody can say that it’s not hard we are would have difficulties handling that much money in that kind of prestige But you’re right its kinda hard to see those things, and it’s so embedded in our systems these things can happen without us even knowing sometimes and that’s why they do these things so that they can confuse us… it’s a crazy world

[@konsumpause9781]

Buuut the Internet gives you also the ability to search up everthing you want to know. One quick google search can answer the Most questions

[@Ladadadada]

A fundamental problem with Mr Beast's style of philanthropy is that change is nearly always uncomfortable and his style of videos rely on making everyone feel good about them, so he can't possibly effect any real change by making this style of video. The paradox is that if he changes the style of video to push for real change they will stop being so popular because some viewers will realise and dislike the fact that they are the ones who will have to change. Also, attending council meetings and lobbying politicians for budget changes will be a much less entertaining video. Less popularity means less impact, so he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. This is also true of the Ocean Cleanup Project who are popular because they offer the illusion that no one has to change their own behaviour for the problem to be solved. As soon as they start pushing the message that each of us needs to stop buying plastic products or that we need to vote for a political party that will enact legislation that will reduce plastic production, a lot of people will be turned off the project and will stop supporting it. As long as they keep picking up trash out of the oceans (or at least promising that they will start doing that real soon now) everybody loves them and keeps sending them money to do more of it.

[@KC.801]

Bruh that was the whole point of the team seas videos was to send a message to stop littering and taking care of our planet

[@MusicToMurderWith]

@@KC.801 but as David Keech says, the issue is that people immediately become turned off from the message and will quit supporting it The majority of people use plastic and would go ape if plastic was banned overnight! Several cities in America have tried to implement “no plastic bags” at stores (where no stores use plastic bags). The issue is that they completely change it all over night and it just causes chaos. What we should probably do is to just introduce these things slowly and slowly implement change into a much bigger change It’s like how people want everyone to go “all electric” on vehicles. We’d need more charging stations for that first and we’d need to make electric vehicles more affordable for Americans before we can just switch everyone over

[@KC.801]

@@MusicToMurderWith well yea obviously

[@enthusiasticnihilst1032]

@@KC.801 did you like, ya know... read the comment?

[@KC.801]

@@enthusiasticnihilst1032 did ya like ya know shut up

[@Music7Virus]

Your video is fantastic! Thank you very much for all the hard work you put into it. It is becoming scarier every day to see such perverse ways of destroying whatever non-comerciable values we have left.

[@detectivefranku]

back here because of the current discourse and you are more right than ever

[@JonP1245]

Can you update me on what’s happening I don’t really follow any of this stuff

[@thederp9309]

@@JonP1245 I’m pretty sure he’s talking about me beast paying for blind people’s surgeries so they can see again, once again stating that the system that needs people to be generous because of its unwillingness to actually care and help for the people that are suffering just so they can maintain power by perpetuating a capitalists dream world by “looking good” in the eyes of many.

[@elijahherstal776]

My father told me "Be wary of some wealthy person that claims he selflessly wants to help you in exchange for your support or loyalty- people don't stay wealthy giving away money, but a lot of them do get wealthy taking other peoples' money." I can genuinely say that I do know a lot of charitable, wealthy people- but they don't do it for financial *gain*, they usually do it because it's just the decent thing to do (and it does help out for income tax). All things considered, I'm suspicious of anyone who's successful and still needs my money to do things for some reason. And when they're asking my money and vague on details, I just assume they're not quite ready for armed robbery just yet and I'll just hold my wallet for now.

[@joshuashoup4261]

Mr Beast doesn't do direct charity, outside of Team Trees and Team Seas which are both charities, so you can see how their stuff is distributed. If you wanted to contribute, the only option would be buying merch, which gives you something direct back. You make it sound like Jimmy is just directly taking money from people and its not true.

[@t.e9147]

@@joshuashoup4261 The comment doesn't directly mention MrBeast...

[@joshuashoup4261]

@@t.e9147 The the whole point of this video. Who else would they be talking about? Why mention it here if its not about him?

[@ikergonzalezsanchez7973]

@@joshuashoup4261 the video is mostly about philantrocapitalism, using mr. beast mostly as an example and never claiming he’s a bad person, if you assumed this video is exclusively about him you need better comprehension skills

[@joshuashoup4261]

@@ikergonzalezsanchez7973 the video is mostly about him. His name is the first thing in the title- at the same time, that very much seems the point of this comment above, to be talking in context of Beast. See, reading comprehension as taught in school goes beyond what is literally said, they encourage you to read between the lines and think about motivations and why someone is saying something.

[@okxa8857]

I have enjoyed MrBeast's videos, but I have always felt somewhat... uneasy watching them. Something didn't feel quite right. This video really helped me to understand. Thank you for this, I really appreciate the effort you must have gone to to make it. By the way, what is that outro music you used?

[@HieronymousLex]

I got that uneasy feeling about him absolutely immediately. I’ve actually never watched one of his videos, but it’s impossible to not know who he is.

[@rolandperlitz8508]

I also feel uncomfortable watching him. This phenomenon is fascinating.

[@nexusorbit2849]

This is how I think too, it is crazy that the amount of power he has behind him, like he is a distraction for background operations.

[@watchcynthiag391]

@@HieronymousLex I was also put off immediately. Someone did a video saying that the 'winners' in his videos are fake. The IG usernames he reads are non existent. However I still know that he's just a character.

[@katscandance]

Right.Some what feels demeaning seeing a bunch of people fight over money or a prize and then everyone praising the multi millionaire for giving away “their money”

[@diego5079]

MrBeast fans on their way to not understand the video and call it communist propaganda because they feel it attacks their hero:

[@smileywarhead5178]

There are so many of these comments like yours, and I still can't find ones by mr beast stans everyone is assuming has swarmed by now. Maybe this echo chamber is fortified enough to shout them out.

[@diego5079]

@@smileywarhead5178 If I typed this comment is because after the "curing blind people" polemic I thought of this video, as it was about a similar thing. Then I tought "gonna sort by new to see if more people thought the same". Turns out, there were a lot of people who were just overly defensive about the polemic and I decided instead of collectively answering them, I would post my opinion on their behaviour. And here we are, arguing against someone else who is saying "echo chamber" but apparently hasn't bothered searching by "new" and seeing all the comments around the date when the polemic spurred. So congrarulations, here's your personal "Stop arguing against anyone who critizises your hero and watch the video", but this time also "stop saying echo chamber and look for the comments I'm talking to" Also- If you would feel comfy about this echo chamber I could reply to the first 10 negative comments that I find, so you could see through the "Other comments in this channel" option. If that would help you find them ; )

[@Melnokina.-.]

​@@smileywarhead5178I found 3 comments with lots of likes from mrbeast simps

[@TheNitram8]

Watching this video again after seeing the latest MrBeast video where he cures blind kids that could not afford treatment. You are so spot on, now more than ever.

[@TheNitram8]

@@aisultanumar9152 we are not talking individual morality here. This is about social systems and, collective solidarity.

[@XavielYouTube]

Yes essentially this video comes off as more of a critique on the system, rather than mr. Beasts motivation or any good hes done. Obviously it would be better for mr beast to use his influence to change the system as a whole vs helping a few select thousand people, so that everyone can afford the healthcare the need. The problem is that alot of corporations could provide free or reduced healthcare at no serious loss, but they choose not to for the sake of endless growth.

[@AlexTorres-fo5eo]

@@aisultanumar9152 🤣did you even watch the video?

[@Solaceon]

@@aisultanumar9152 Did you watch the video AT ALL??

[@projardgreen2568]

@@XavielKZbin I see more people acting and improving society under Capitalism... I don't know why people attack Mr Beast, he cannot change society, he is a good guy, but not Trump... I think he does what he can... Isn't that GRAND and KIND? It's a whole lot better then what they do in North Corea or Cuba or Venezuela... Society has the obligation to educate themselves... not the individual responsibility... Not Mr. Beasts responsibility, it's our's, so be mad at yourself buddy, you failed by not contributing for social uprise, you didn't do your part...

[@FoxyFemBoi]

Wow. This is like the combo of Tom Nicholas talking about KZbin propaganda (sponsorships for especially educational channels while making their video look like it's balanced) and the BS that is "billionaire philanthropy" (or in this case, philanthro-capitalism). Corporations are finding new nefarious ways to manufacture consent every time I turn a corner.

[@Borat69able]

Whats the video where Tom talks about KZbin propaganda?

[@FoxyFemBoi]

@@Borat69able kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX6TkqKed8uIisU

[@nelsonth]

@@Borat69able kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqbQYZWnjMucfdk

[@nelsonth]

@@Borat69able in case KZbin removes the link, it's the one about Johnny Harris

[@Borat69able]

@@nelsonth oh thanks I've actually watched a bit of that video in the past lol

[@samhhhhh]

The rate at which you put out these videos is honestly incredible for the sheer quality of them. Thank you for all that you do.

[@samhhhhh]

@@ShinGarugamesh The difference here is he is entirely self directed. Calling this "capitalistic" is nonsensical, I don't think you even know what it means.

[@slevinchannel7589]

I was wondering for a Long Time now if Mr.Beast is Epic and/or Misguided, though i always knew how harmful Capitalism is.

[@hairymcnipples]

@@ShinGarugamesh what then and now does as a self owner is literally a thing that communist theory advocates for. Incredible take. I wonder when brain-dead capitalism fanboys (news flash, you aren't a capitalist, just another prole like the rest of us - only in your case you've swallowed the liberal worldview hook, line and sinker) will decide whether communism is when you get worked to death, or when no one does any work.

[@HaxorSerialKiller]

I'm sure you don't read all of these, but having followed you for years, I'm so glad that you have started reaching such a wide audience. Your work is fantastic and necessary.

[@doodle8045]

This video needs to spread. How much longer will we allow philanthropy numb us?

[@Auraborias]

Quick question is philanthropy bad?

[@CalTest72]

@@Auraborias No it's not bad but it doesn't solve the root of the problem. Throwing money at a temporary solution won't work. Also the main point of the video is not that philanthropy is bad it's that rich people are abusing philanthropy. Edit: BTW Jesus I literally just went to read some comments on this video and you have replied to like 100 cope my guy not everyone has to agree with you and you clearly did not watch even half the video.

[@Auraborias]

@@CalTest72 its a good way to tell the opinion of the viwers. and i replied to some of them. I was not "coping" whatever thats meant to mean. The main point of this video is wrong, because it based on the thought that one guy at "Evil INC" calls all the shots. Trying to pin "price fixing" to mr beast and the whole reason they gave turkeys to mr beast was to cover up "price fixing" is just stupid

[@CalTest72]

​@@Auraborias I complete agree with you on those points but there needs to be awareness on temporary solutions ex. giving a homeless man 10k vs permanent solutions ex. building more housing making it cheaper but I do see your points

[@Auraborias]

@@CalTest72 I dont think it is a solution is a youtube channel doing a bit of good. To fix the problems the government or private industries need to do something about it. i agree with you

[@spark1128]

I really liked this video, it explored how often Philantro Capitalism can just be a convoluted way to attain some kind of benefit, such as profit lobbying opportunities, better PR, etc. However, my question is: How can Mr.Beast still use his money for good purposes whilst not falling into the fallacies that come with the philantropic projects mentioned in the video? Should he also do philantropy without the need to commercialize it? Should he not accept donations or sponsors from companies that cause the problems they are trying to solve? I do not mean in any way to defend these companies, instead, I ask this out of curiosity, as we currently seem to be trapped in a capitalist system that destroys the environment and creates inequalities all along the world. However, at least in the near future, undoing the evils done by capitalism is something that will be difficult. Not to mention that even if capitalism generates these evils, most of the people here are utterly dependant on it. How can we change these widespread issues if we are facing the most rich and powerful individuals in the world that will do anything to prevent real change?

[@joshuashoup4261]

I completely agree. Corporate philanthropy is a big issue and I see how Jimmy can be used in connection with that for their benefit, but I don't feel at all that Jimmy somehow not doing what he does will do any good for anyone. It's not a new issue, we are submerged in the oligopoly we have and one guy mainly rediverting normal advertising money back into philanthropic events isn't the cause of that.

[@alexd4566]

He can use his wealth to help politicians get elected whose policies would cause systemic changes that would benefit the working class. You might say “oh but he wants to stay apolitical!”. To that I’d say that NOT engaging in politics is in itself a political choice that signals that you support the status quo

[@courier6960]

For mr beast himself: instead of donating to these singular individual / help for a day causes, he could instead refocus on systematic causes (ex. Legal battles, campaigning for legislation, showing his support for certain causes, etc.) As for how we might change from a capitalist system: a stronger form of unionization or a democratization of major corporations would be the most obvious way to cause this change, as then business leaders would have to focus on both what makes them money and what makes their constituents happy.

[@joshuashoup4261]

@@alexd4566 You have no evidence that he can both do that and be able to create the content that funds those very actions. Additionally, the funding Jimmy can feasibly give to push political candidates is a penny compared to the funding going into important races. When this video talks about Jenny-O, they even put that into perspective.

[@alexd4566]

@@joshuashoup4261 You can help someone get elected by doing more than just lobbying like the big dogs do. Organize picketing or canvassing events or community-oriented awareness campaigns... or even videos with a political twist. So much you can do when you are literally one of the biggest moneymakers on KZbin. Throwing your money at random people is definitely NOT the ethically right thing to do...

[@james.d.fowler]

I had an inkling that Mr Beast was profiting from his philanthropy through his channel and advertisements, but I'd assumed it was all in good faith and only a fraction of how much he was regularly giving away. Still, the fact that his donation events and videos are also subsidized by companies as PR and for ulterior motives feels like the curtain pull I was waiting to see. Not that I think he's a bad guy, but I knew there had to be another finger in the pie.

[@GermanKinsmen]

Did you think he was just pulling infinite money out of his ass? It has to come from somewhere, considering he wastes millions of it on a daily basis.

[@Jimbo7]

Well yeah, that's what the channel is as a basic premise, the monetization of charity. If he stops giving away so much money explicitly for and in his videos, his views would significantly drop. He would then pull less sponsor funding, and in turn spend less on giveaways for his videos. I don't like that it's something any one person should ever HAVE to do, but looking at what he does in a vacuum, taking away that money would probably be a net negative for the people he would help.

[@aben1466]

@@GermanKinsmen yeah this is a dumb take, how else do you think he can give people so much money? He gives and gains and does it over and over to help other people

[@joshuashoup4261]

Most of these takes are wrong here. Looking at Mr. Beast's philanthropy channel- for one he had some sort of "sponsorship" on only 50% of the videos. When you take out ziprecruiter and skillshare, its about 85% have fair advertisers. Only the Jenny-O video and one other are this sort of idea. It also seems even less common on his main channel, I can't feasibly go through all of his videos there. Additionally, he doesn't profit all that much. Mr Beast doesn't have a fancy house, he doesn't have a bunch of fancy cars. He very well could dip into that at any point if he wished, but for the time he has put it back into the content like he has said he would. The easiest proof of the house thing is when Jake Paul pranked Mr. Beast, if you don't believe me. And thats the issue with this video. It throws the guy under the bus when most of what he is doing is paid for through ads like this channel has and his merch. EDIT: Not to mention, the revenue from these videos on Beast Philanthropy directly goes into a literal charity. You can see how their assets are distributed, as is federally required.

[@joshuashoup4261]

@@GermanKinsmen Most of it comes from ads and merch. Its more feasibly with a very high viewer retention and an average view count of 80 million.

[@t70281]

This reminds me of those videos/news articles of children working to pay off other children’s school lunches. Like they don’t make me happy they make me frustrated.

[@someundeadtalent2016]

Random fact by the side cause you mentioned Akzo Nobel sponsoring Ocean Cleanup: Akzo Nobel is a HUGE company that makes different paints, and has a lot of daughter companies, for example Sikkens, which is a brand for car paint. As a Full time car painter, for me one of the worst industries when it comes to greenwashing is definitely paint companies. Sikkens (and other big car paint brands) often advertise with being „water based“, which means virtually nothing, because a) clear coat still isn’t water based, neither is primer nor 2-component-paint or anything else and b) water based doesn’t mean environmentally friendly. Also a lot of the equipment that’s used in car repairs and painting especially is single use, and more and more is made to be single use (think cups you put your paint in, mixing sticks, protective films, etc etc). The fact that they’re sponsoring a company like that with coating their devices and designing the machines instead of SOLVING HOW TO LESSEN SINGLE USE PLASTIC AND IT NOT ENDING UP IN LANDFILLS, OR RIVERS- makes me seriously mad. So yes, the greenwashing here is insanely strong - not only the companies that sponsor Ocean Cleanup, but also how ocean cleanup works. They tried to at least start with cleaning up the most fucked up rivers (so the trash doesn’t end up in the ocean), but the ecosystems are way too complicated and a lot of the trash is still micro plastic that cannot be removed like ocean cleanup does. It’s a scheme to make people feel better, while not actually challenging the way we do things.

[@SebastianRAWendt]

When you're already thinking these philantropy scams are bad and realise during the video they actually even worse... thanks for this great content! (edit: spelling...)

[@famousbowl9926]

@@makeitthrough_ mostly its just gullible easily impressionable little kids.

[@dexorne9753]

@@makeitthrough_ i remember just being disgusted by the amount of money presence in his videos, money makes people act in humiliating and shameful ways and i hate it

[@Bill-ou7zp]

When Mr. Beast made a recreation of Squid Game - a show deeply critical of modern capitalism - he stripped the show of its satire and social commentary in the pursuit of profit/entertainment. What a sad irony

[@otto_jk]

Squid game is critical of capitalism, but right wing minded people are incapable of understanding the media they consume. Again the old joke about Left and right wing people applies here: Left winger, "This show agrees with my politics, therefore it's good" Right winger, "This show is good, therefore it agrees with my politics"

[@Bill-ou7zp]

By that logic, no piece of art can be deeply critical of capitalism. I think the point is that anything critical of capitalism can be coopted/perverted by the culture industry. With Beasts' recreation being a prime example ​ @مسعود میرنوری

[@YouKnowItsEn]

i understand that remaking something like squid game in real life and marketing it is definitely wrong, but calling out mrbeast for it and not the actual studio that 1. definitely spent a lot more money on the production 2. definitely marketed and advertised it more 3. put it on netflix, which you have to pay for 4. apparently is talking with netflix to make a second or third season, which is not necessary at all 5. and really hasn't done any charity or philanthropy of course, big studio with big money doesn't always mean they are a bad studio, but they've done the same things MrBeast did with his video, just amplified

[@larryfoulkeofficial8609]

Corny

[@naveenjacob2440]

Even the creator of Squid Games was fine with Mr.Beasts recreation of Squid Games

[@capn_toad]

pretty much every time i try to criticize mrbeast, someone always pipes up and says "but he's such a good guy! do you think he should STOP giving money to the poor?". this is a great video on the topic!

[@frusia123]

I once worked for a person with this mentality. She exploited us as much as she could, but every Christmas she bought generous presents for each employee. I honestly thought it was disgusting. She was Christian and I'm sure she did it just to feel better about herself, she didn't care about us at all. Needless to say I only had one Christmas as her employee. I don't need presents, I need fair pay and fair treatment. What's ironic is that when I got that job, she expressed a hope I would last, because so many before me didn't, and she said she didn't understand why people didn't care about keeping a job. I lasted 10 months in her company, it will soon be my tenth anniversary with my current employer.

[@UdderlyEvelyn]

As an aside, anyone ever notice that when things like lawsuits about price fixing schemes happen, the money just goes to the government, never any sort of compensation to the customers who might have spent a ton of money on various products with inflated prices? Seems like an obvious thing for people to be mad about yet I don't think I've ever heard anyone bring it up.

[@UdderlyEvelyn]

@Wind Rose You say there's no way, but they track every sale and customer in most business models today, especially for large enough companies for this to occur with.. This is what they do for class action lawsuits which do pay every affected customer, actually, in some form. If they really don't have the data, though, they can have customers prove that they paid the inflated sum by some means and compensate at least those people. It's really not impossible.

[@vylbird8014]

Not always. It can go to the customers in a class-action suit. Though in such cases, it's not usually worth the effort to claim - if the company is ordered to pay ten million dollars, but has one million customers who were wronged... yeah, enjoy filling out lots of forms for your $10.

[@WillyWompa]

@vylbird8014 collecting restitution from a class action lawsuit, for me, was extremely easy and only required 2 pages and 10 fields of information. This was to collect on a data-sharing lawsuit against facebook. I think my payout will be something like $2 but the principal is the same. They could easily pay everyone out individually.

[@justinwatson1510]

Thank you for making this video. Dealing with the pissed off 12-year-olds can’t be pleasant, but someone needs to be saying these things.

[@ClementinesmWTF]

@@MrMrSwitzerland1 12yo found. It’s like catching flies with a light

[@fuz5567]

@@MrMrSwitzerland1 imagine reading this comment when you finally manage to attain sentience

[@justinwatson1510]

Lol, your capitalist heroes are going to leave the world so completely fucked that you’ll probably die in a war for water before I retire.

[@bobograndman]

@@MrMrSwitzerland1 duration of life is not important if you do nothing with your time alive. Some day you’ll understand that bud

[@bobograndman]

@@MrMrSwitzerland1 oh no! A whopping 10 seconds to think and type this. I’ll never recover

[@ishathakor]

the team seas thing reminds me of this community service trip we used to have every year at our school. you had to volunteer for it and we'd get on this bus that takes us to a port by this beach and then get on a boat that goes to a random small island. this was off the coast of pattaya for geographical reference (i grew up in thailand, we didn't cross international borders for a volunteer beach cleaning trip lol). and then we would have like 40+ people spend the entire day cleaning garbage out of the reef (divers and snorkellers) or the beach (they'd get in a raft and go to the shore). and we'd have these huge bags of garbage at the end of the day. and i was just a middle/high school student at the time so it was a good impact for what i could personally have done i think, but it's kind of frustrating to see the same actions from mr beast, but just on a larger scale. my friends and i understood going on that trip that our actions are ultimately quite small because that trip literally happened every single year and we went to the SAME island every time. but as a 15 year old with no money and influence and power we couldn't really think of anything better to do. meanwhile mr beast has SO much money and influence that he could personally just start lobbying local officials to put into place more regulation to prevent and reduce water pollution and that might actually make a difference. if mr beast wanted to use his platform to create lasting change (on a societal level, not just on the giving a person 50k level), he could. of course, then his income would dry up because no company is going to sponsor the conversation the logical endpoint of this thought process leads you to. pepsico will be happy to give mr beast hundreds of thousands of dollars to do philanthropy but if mr beast then starts talking about how society shouldn't be organized like this in the first place and he shouldn't even have to send a water roomba into the ocean or give cash to unhoused people because this is just inherently unequal and we should instead create systemic change that makes all of this unnecessary.... well then pepsico wouldn't pay him. i don't think mr beast is a bad guy but i do think he's just extremely focused on the business side of things and making more money while also doing these insane acts of philanthropy, probably because he feels like he should but doesn't realize there's a much better way to use his resources and that would include not painting huge corporations in a positive light just because they gave out a bunch of turkeys

[@Amantducafe]

I worked with many non-profits as a volunteer and witnessed with impotency the corruption these big organizations are capable of enacting. Instead of becoming cynical i encourage people for small, local and decentralized charities which are more open with their donations, intentions and also self regulated by its members. I always avoided Mr.Beast content precisely because i saw the big picture behind the theatrical presentation however when someone came boasting the philanthropy of lots of youtubers encouraging the beach cleaning i became more vocal against it because of how terrible all the ordeal was. This 1 hour long video is basically most of my talking points against people that think companies/corporations are your friends or that charities are better than government regulated programs. Obviously, i'm aware the government can be inefficient and also corrupt which is why i always tend to gravitate on promoting decentralized, statal or community programs rather than nationwide federal programs. Oh, btw you just earned a subscriber with this quality video

[@porpy_]

This is what I wish modern journalism publication could be. Thank you for this, spectacular video man 💙

[@getbbudded23]

that would be wonderful

[@eruusky]

What a great video! Whenever I have criticised Mr Beast and charity/philanthropy, I get such a dismissive reaction. I’m glad you’ve explained it so well, and I hope more people come to understand the problems you address.

[@funnybeastvibeo]

how 2 commodify environmentalism in roblox?

[@getbbudded23]

This was beautifully orchestrated, so honest, so real and unbelievable. This system really has no shame.

[@cooper8357]

I’ve never trusted charities ever since I found out donating let you pay less taxes. If you’re going to give to charity you shouldn’t have any materialistic incentive to do so.

[@Bumalicious20]

I think this is some of your best work to date, which is a high bar to clear for sure. I've been trying to make my own writing less abstract to make theory a little more tangible and in those terms you're the best creator on KZbin today. Keep it up!

[@bnpixie1990]

This video is so revealing! I feel like any one topic or situation you mention deserves it's own video. But in this video it is great because it shows the larger pattern.

[@rhythmandblues_alibi]

If these massive corporations paid their taxes and our society had a fair distribution of wealth, instead of focusing it in the hands of a few, we would not need philanthropy. But corporations get no clout from merely paying taxes so of course they'll lobby for an unfair system where they can give a piffling amount of their total revenue for surface-level do-gooding but get maximum social credit as a result of the marketing spotlight they make sure to shine on those meagre efforts. Truly sickening. Excellent video 🙌

[@dianagomez6651]

It's so sad to me that we can point out all these flaws and expose their truths but when we try to do anything about it, it's us that don't know what we're talking about. It's like an emotionally abusive relationship with a parent. When we point out their mistreatment of us, we get gaslighted into thinking that their word is correct just cause they are the owners of the house and the ones that brought us here. In context of big business, we're told that "it's just the way things are" or "this is the only logical order of things" and since we don't have the resources or means to change anything, that "it's no use trying". It's even difficult for me to want to vote because I know that, ultimately, none of the people that I vote for are actually going to help people like me out. And if they are on the ballot, they won't even get a chance just cause they're neither Red or Blue (which is literally like trying to make situations Black and White when really, things are FAR more complex than they are). What can we, as people in the working class who want to make a change and try and do things to help as many people as possible (and our planet) without ending up doing all the harm that these big corporations and people have done? It's all about getting down to root and systemic causes like racism, lack of mental health awareness, xenophobia, etc. that need to change, but how do we even tackle huge problems like that if the people at top will lose their status if these changes occur?

[@Thryllos]

Very well said, it’s sad to see so many in the working class being gaslighted into believing that capitalism works for their own good when in reality they are only viewed by millionaires and billionaires as another cog in their wheel of production, ready to be replaced as soon as they are a liability by someone else who has nothing and is willing to do anything for minimum wage.

[@greencurtain1718]

You're one of my many inspirations to write a philosophy book regarding my ideas in the subject of ontology, phenomenology, economics, and social theory. Even if I'm a Filipino where philosophy isn't in the service of our people. And even if I'm only an autodidact. My sincere love for writing, researching and philosophy makes the journey realistic. This is my way of rallying for intellectual freedom. I hope you write a book too since you're one of the best philosophical minds in youtube. Salud.

[@kingstarscream320]

Best of luck, friend. We live for a measly 70 years or so - a flash-in-the-pan in the grand scheme of time. Live your dreams without hesitation.

[@catharticexperience745]

Hiya brother! Fellow Filipino philosopher here. It is a shame that Philosophy isn't much of a quintessential virtue here, and I completely understand why it's sometimes disheartening to pursue it--especially if much of your peers don't have the heart in it as you have. But yeah, write that book! We need more Filipinos to rally the mind of the free. Keep at it brother.

[@greencurtain1718]

@@catharticexperience745 thanks bro! Really? Is there a way we can keep in touch? My intention is to bring back philosophy to the service of the common person. This global crisis shows that people actually need to "think." deeper.

[@greencurtain1718]

@@kingstarscream320 thanks so much friend! Indeed! Global crisis. If most people start pursuing wealth and security, why not take the road less traveled? Love your decepticon choice there.

[@leafy7081]

Hello, I'm a Filipino as well. And I also want to be updated with this book you're writing. I'm intrigued

[@thunderheadcinema6743]

Mr. Beast's giveaways treat the poor like a circus exhibit to entertain the viewers

[@genghischan69]

Well done investigative journalism. It really does raise an eyebrow though how a company like coca cola has such sociopaths under their wing, who value children's lives as nothing more than dollar signs. Assuming they don't just twirl their moustaches and laugh it off (though probably there are a few like that as well), what mental gymnastics might they employ to justify their actions.

[@virtueisdead]

it's bizarre because i was subscribed to him 6 years ago back when he never had any money to throw around. it's been weird seeing him go from 10k subscribers to where he is now

[@Vence.]

This man is a great content creator, extremely insightful

[@Lucy-cl2qk]

@Sentinel god I wish

[@abrahamraji1605]

@ SERPENT lol dude that amount of research is nothing to joke at. Having first hand experience trying to write a decent paper with good sources, I can tell you this is nowhere near a high school level essay.

[@krhashatha1267]

Wish, he looked *a lot* _less like_ Knowing Better...

[@slevinchannel7589]

I was wondering for a Long Time now if Mr.Beast is Epic and/or Misguided, though i always knew how harmful Capitalism is.

[@northern_limit]

Great video! None of this stuff was new to me but I really appreciated the way that you structured and organized your points. Really high quality video with a lot of important information in an easily accessible format.

[@krttd]

Phenomenal essay, thanks for shedding light on this. The food industry (and many other industries) are so fundamental that they're easy to take for granted, and walking around grocery stores I get a false sense that there's a lot of market diversity. The companies producing the food never even really cross my mind except through the lens of their own PR. They do a good job of hiding the cycle of consolidating, lobbying, increasing profits, and driving down costs, which seems so recursive and unstoppable.

[@iberomagazineiberomagazine9251]

we don't need philantropy, we need rights

[@Bushviking]

Well, this is a full blown documentary in my books, and a VERY good one. Where is the line between "doing good" and "looking good" indeed....

[@ZeekarPRIME]

This video is fantastic. I hope it makes rounds on the internet because more people need to know about stuff like this

[@naughtydred8538]

No idea how I got here, but I'm glad I did. Great video, well researched and presented. I look forward to bingeing your back catalogue

[@justmonika1]

Genuinely eye-opening, thank you for putting this whole thing together.

[@Valenspire]

Thanks so much for making this video, like many have expressed it was something I had wanted a in-depth video into for quite some time. Super thought provoking and folks have left really interesting comments and discussions.

[@kanojo1969]

This is probably your best work yet, it's fantastic. I hope it blows up because it's vital that people understand this stuff.

[@fothrmuckr]

I hope Mr Beast saw this. This was extremely in depth, so thank you for disseminating this information in a way anyone can understand.

[@jasminhamilton1147]

Thank you for making these videos. They give us an opportunity to pause and give thought to what is going on in society around us. They also encourage us to look inside our selves and reflect, becoming more self aware, which is crucial for our growth and development as individuals and a species. Keep it up!

[@romanmanner]

If this is pointed out in the video, then I apologize. But if not, I think you might also find it interesting that charitable expenses are tax deductible in the United States. This applies to individuals as well as limited liability entities like corporations, LLCs, etc. I believe an individual can claim up to $600, and corporations can claim much more - obviously. These companies deduct the food giveaways' expenses/costs from their tax obligation at the end of their tax year. That's also why the US is regularly touted as a "highly charitable nation." The reality is these companies get the PR boost a tax break :)

[@aaronhoy3410]

"I believe an individual can claim up to $600, and corporations can claim much more - obviously." - Um, I'm not really sure where the hell that number came from but that is not how it works at all. There is not a set dollar amount limit on them. For individuals there is an overall limit that equates to 60% of one's adjusted gross income [the taxable income amount of someone,] though that is for cash contributions. There are 3 other categories that charitable contributions can be put into & each of those have different AGI percentage limits that they can deduct. One of them is limited to 50%, another to 30%, & the final one is 20%. Obviously since wealthy people who do this sort of itemization tax filing will have a mixture of them to deduct it would apply the lowest limits first & then move up through the categories to whatever it is able to reach up to potentially 60%. For corporations it is limited to 10% of their taxable income. LLC's & other businesses that are not incorporated as a C-Corp & certain S-Corps are pass-through entities meaning their taxes are not corporate taxes & instead are more like individuals taxes [though more complicated,] thus they have the same limits as individuals. Also, for 2021 & 2022 due to covid legislation the limits on both individuals & corporations were temporarily increased to 100% for individuals & 25% for corporations. Another reason the US ranks so highly in the value of charitable contributions is due to the disproportional level of religiosity of the society for its wealth. Donations to religious entities constitute nearly a third of all donations [these include things like tithes.] Almost another entire third goes to benefiting non-human animals. Also, in regards to "These companies deduct the food giveaways' expenses/costs from their tax obligation at the end of their tax year." That isn't exactly how it works either. For one, both people & corporations who exceed the annual charitable deduction limits can carry over that excess amount into the next tax year. But, more to the point they deduct the amount from their tax bill for individuals it is a deduction to their AGI & for corporations it is a deduction to their taxable income. So, these happens before the tax bill is calculated. Doing it after they are calculated would not only be more like a credit than a deduction but it would also mean it had a multiplier effect because the taxes are only a percentage of their taxable income/AGI. For super simple purposes let's say an individuals or corporations taxable income is $100, they had $25 in charitable deductions, & the tax rate is 12% The way it works would be $100 - $25 = $75 x 0.12 = $9 in taxes owed. If it was done afterwords it would be $100 x 0.12= $12 in taxes - $25 = either $0 or if in this scenario it was refundable they would actually get $13 in refunds.

[@willowpets]

I’m pretty sure charity deductions mean you don’t have to pay taxes *only on the money that you donated*. The company isn’t actually saving money by doing this. Say the company makes $1000 and donates $100, and the tax rate is 10%. Then they pay $9 instead of $10 on taxes, yes, but they’re still paying the same rate on their profits. I agree with the PR part, but companies are still losing money this way. It’s not like they pay $100 less in taxes because they donated $100.

[@Hideyoshi1991]

many countries have tax deductible donations, the only way it makes the company more money is through using fake charities to launder it.

[@daniellegustafson3381]

I dont comment very much at all, but I hope your channel gets the recognition it deserves, your words have struck so many cords with what I have personally been struggling to come to terms with these last few years. I hope for change

[@alienillusi0n]

I never really liked MrBeast’s videos. His huge giveaways always made me feel uncomfortable and I didn’t understand why. Now I do

[@jumbotron8103]

wat

[@BrunoSa96]

Given this week's events, I came to rewatch this video, and boy it aged well

[@melmel1-3-4]

What events?

[@WhatWillYouFind]

If the Capitalists were actually being generous, there would be no hunger. If Capitalists cared, they wouldn't volunteer their money and market their goodness helping build houses . . . they would stop buying up the houses and inflating the prices which further squeezes out REAL working Americans. If Capitalists wanted to make the world better, they would modify their Profit Motive and take a few % less each year to ensure their workers beat the inflationary mechanism baked into Capitalism so they can further grow the economy long term. If Capitalists were benevolent and good for society, they wouldn't be both so idolized and hated. Capitalists hate labor movements, they hate when their power is reduced and their profits lessened. Philanthropy is just a way rich people can gas light the populace into not repeating another French Revolution. Charity itself is for the general good, when it isn't plundered and misappropriated. Philanthropy should be further scrutinized, because it seems people are so easily duped.

[@mirinah4719]

True look at Elon Musk, spends billions on buying an app. Not once has he donated to Africa, Asia or South America

[@aspektx]

If all you needed to do to "make it" in capitalism was to work hard, almost every woman in Africa would be a millionaire. Not sure where I heard a similar quote, but it's not mine.

[@slevinchannel7589]

I was wondering for a Long Time now if Mr.Beast is Epic and/or Misguided, though i always knew how harmful Capitalism is.

[@Bourikii2992]

Africa isn't a country and I'm willing to bet the majority of the countries within it are not capitalist.

[@aspektx]

@@Bourikii2992 I think we are all well aware that the continent of Africa is not a country. Just as we are aware that Europe or even the EU are not nations. Or that South America is not a nation. Kudos for stating the obvious. You lose points for thinking the majority of African nations are not capitalist. Your final loss of points comes from asserting two points that have nothing to do with my anecdotal comment. I'm not sure what you think you're proving. Whether Africa is a nation or not and whether the nations of Africa are capitalist or not has no bearing on the amount of labor most women in Africa (the continent) perform every day. What I'm guessing you dislike is the assertion that people who work their asses off might still be poor. It is a fact that neither intensity of labor nor the amount of labor has any consistent correlation to wealth.

[@Bourikii2992]

@@aspektx Dude, if you didn't know the majority of African countries were run by communist ussr backed dictatorships that only started to wane after the fall of the ussr. For majority of time African countries had warlords and dictatorships who had central planning and control on everything. That is literally not capitalism lmao. Because of capitalism in Africa life expectency has gone up by 8 years, birth mortality rate has nearly been halved despite the population nearly doubling from 2000-2011 the extreme poverty rate dropped 58 down to 44% and is expected to be as low as 24% by 2030. You talk a lot of shit but it's clear you know nothing lol.

[@someundeadtalent2016]

Yk, it’s one thing when a single private person with not a lot of disposable income donates a bit of said income. But companies and huge people in the public eye that actually COULD start initiatives for finding and creating actual solutions and still don’t do so cause it’s against their favor- my goodness. It’s so insanely evil.

[@graemelaubach3106]

You've put out some very wonderful content throughout your KZbin career but I have to say this one takes the cake for me. Super duper interesting and very important message. Thank you for your work!

[@Emel_unlegit]

honestly, with this powerfull of a statement and soo mutch research, i half expected this video too have more then a million views. This is an importent topic,this video and chanal is chronically underrated and the word needs to get out.

[@godot5643]

For some reason his videos just don't get picked up by the algorithm.

[@cattysplat]

@@godot5643 Hmm I wonder why. Truth is antithetical to KZbin's propagation of scams.

[@Blue-Apple-fc9eo]

@@godot5643 Because youtube doesn’t want this video to be viral.

[@nothingiseverperfect]

Gosh gosh gosh. Thank you SO FREAKING MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO. I have always wanted an in depth analysis of Mr Beast as a broad topic to talk about capitalism and philanthropy. This is absolutely amazing mate. Thank you.

[@smhsophie]

like a lad on christmas day

[@ponzipuppet]

This is one of the best video essays I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely the best video essay about capitalism that I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for doing the research and for artfully crafting together such a compelling narrative.

[@al_my_pal]

We have to wonder... Does Mr. Beast understand that he is not solving the problem? Does he know that a particular economic system just provides him with an endless stream of impoverished people for content? I don't even want to say it, but I think he knows this. I sincerely hope that when push comes to shove, Mr. Beast chooses to use his influence to encourage and lead in worker solidarity against the powers that be instead of just making KZbin content for the sake of it. Really hope he gets over his KZbin obsession and uses his power to make a change for more than just 1 person at a time.

[@paulvelez7499]

He is using youtube for revenue to get the money he needed for charity. I’m from Nicaragua but I would rather live in a capitalist world rather than utopian socialist fun house

[@al_my_pal]

@@paulvelez7499 the only guaranteed aspect of socialism is that workers have ownership over the means of production. All other policies in whatever style of government of said country is a separate entity. We don't blame capitalism for slavery the way we blame socialism for starvation. Pro-capitalist propaganda runs very very deep.

[@OrEe87]

@@al_my_pal I think both systems have shown some very big historical weaknesses. That’s why you mainly see mixed economies in todays world, the ongoing issue is going to be trying to find the perfect balance for each individual countries unique profile.

[@al_my_pal]

@@OrEe87 Capitalism in the nature of it's concept inherently exploits workers by stealing portions of their created value and giving it away to the owners of production. There is no leeway in the concept of a fair and just society with capitalism serving as part of an economic system. Trade, competition, and commerce can be done under socialism. Too many people fail to understand that.

[@natethebluesman]

I used to watch MrBeast back when he had about 20,000 subs and eventually stopped watching him after his videos became bigger and contain millions of dollars worth of production. Idk, ig something just didn't feel right to me at the time.

[@brentt6714]

I've instinctively felt something was very wrong with Mr. Beast and his content since I first heard of him (just last year) but wasn't able to articulate the actual problem I had with him. Now: He's making a fantastic living out of performatively treating the symptoms of capitalism, while providing cover for the disease to continue destroying our world and the people who live on it.

[@nbshftr]

why doesnt it feel right? do you feel that theres some underlying issue with the videos? or was it the style change?

[@kenos911]

I watched him from 10k until around 1 mil I’d say, it was mostly me growing out of his content since I was pretty young

[@t.e9147]

@@MrMrSwitzerland1 You're quite the obsessed fanboy, aren't you? This is the fourth comment chain I've met you on.

[@t.e9147]

@@MrMrSwitzerland1 No, not really. I only commented on two of them, and I didn't say I was in all the comments you were in. I'm not the one making snide remarks on any comment that even slightly disparages Mr. Beast. You can continue to deceive yourself that me casually strolling through the comments and seeing a familiar face twice is even remotely comparable to your obviously abnormally obsessive behavior though.

[@TheBurgerkrieg]

I made a video on the whole #teamseas thing a while back, but this right here does a fantastic job at actually putting together the greater picture and contextualising it in capitalism

[@Robin-rr2ue]

Very interesting to think about. I find it strange how little the corporations spend on these donations compared to lobbying and ads. These numbers are so revealing, yet go unnoticed :(

[@skullisbones]

this is a really well put together essay. super understandable and makes for great talking points

[@marcor343]

Just love and respect for what you're doing. We share the same language/energy set and that got me shaping my own thoughts. Kind regards and wish you the Best!

[@paolobarrerolira4665]

Incredible! You’ve changed the way I think about philanthropy; thank you for this man, cheers from Peru!

[@racool911]

"India had Brahma and Vishnu" Shiva followers fuming

[@m.f.3347]

Shivacels seething at Vishnuchads