Are You Really "Free" Under Capitalism?

For decades, Americans have used the words "capitalism" and "freedom" as synonyms. In this video, we'll explore why capitalism not only fails to provide the freedom it promises, it also actively suppresses real freedom.
Additional reading:
Socialist Party of America Platform 1912: sageamericanhistory.net/progre...
Life expectancy: www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/he...
Medical debt: link.springer.com/article/10....
No mandatory paid leave: www.dol.gov/general/topic/wor...
Are You Really "Free" Under Capitalism? - Second Thought
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[@guamae]

Legalized Corruption is what makes America "special".

[@idontknow898]

*Laughs in Australia*

[@mattgilbert7347]

@@idontknow898 You read my mind, mate

[@gunpowdervanilla4381]

No, but it’s also isn’t capitalism.

[@evanorizamen3619]

It's just more legalized corruption than in other placed. You're not so special

[@issataysissemali3203]

@@evanorizamen3619 in my home country it's more like: "Well it's illegal, but since we run this place we can do whatever we want. It's not like someone is going to punish us or something." And this bs is going on and on for 30 years of my country's "independence"

[@F22onblockland]

Rather than a state having a military, Prussia’s military had a state Rather than a state having corporations, U.S. corporations have a state.

[@babycat5001]

The government wasnt created by corporations, they influence it because it is working against them.

[@docan5248]

Baby Cat You’re a reactionary corporate apologist.

[@joerionis5902]

Baby Cat and would influence it more and more

[@pushkard9377]

State having corporations? CHINA: let me introduce myself.

[@diablo.the.cheater]

@@babycat5001 Corporations should not influence any state, as the state serves to work against things like corporations.

[@chaoszero6867]

What a strange concept: "we need a system that values human life over profit." If anyone believes that our system does value human life, sorry, but you are wrong. The pandemic has proven, without a doubt, that our system will always choose money over life. This is inherently evil.

[@tl6359]

@@BlindManInsane because whatever system that may be seen as an alternative is one way or another directly or indirectly to either capitalism or socialism primarily

[@tl6359]

@@BlindManInsane Oh sorry, I think I misread what you said there😅

[@kaufmanat1]

What's funny is I think the system shouldn't have shut down at all. A virus that has a survival rate of 99.8 percent should not cause a government to forcefully prevent me from doing my job. Absolutely a violation of my right to work.

[@kaufmanat1]

@ProSocial Pessimist ah, I see the problem. The work I do is actually important. You obviously don't feel that way about what you do. I can see why you feel like you're being oppressed... You don't value what you do. It seems you're little more than a cog in a corporate machine, or at least that's how you view yourself. What I value more than my right to life is my right to liberty, my right to self determination. Give me liberty or give me death, as they say. Life is penultimate, as a life without freedom is no life at all. If you're so scared of death that you'd willingly forego providing for your family in fear of catching a virus with a 99.8 percent survival rate (higher if you have no commorbidities), then I'm afraid your willingness to sacrifice freedom for security shall result in you ultimately losing both. In other words, you're pathetic.

[@kaufmanat1]

@ProSocial Pessimist I live in a state that barely shut down (Thank goodness), I've treated many people that were infected and were hardly symptomatic, I've seen some get very sick from it. That something exists as a threat to someone does not mean the government has the right to prevent EVERYONE from engaging in a normal daily life. The flu is dangerous, why don't you think we should shut down for the flu? 60,000 flu deaths in a single year, no one bat's an eye lash, but a 100,000 covid deaths and everyone's fine with destroying people's livelihoods? What?? So where's the cut off then? Is it at 80,000 deaths, that's the line? Whats an acceptable number of deaths for a disease to be allowed to spread? Clearly 60,000 deaths a year is fine because no one gave a crap about the flu. And no, not pivoting, being very consistent. I work because the work I do is important. That I get paid is an ancellary benefit. I don't work because I have to. I could stop working today and I'll still live. No one's got a gun to my head forcing me to do anything. I work because what I do needs to be done, plus there's the added bonus of getting paid for it and improving my quality of life as I see fit. If you're a slave to a tyrannical government, then no, your life isn't valuable you ideologue. Freedom first. No one's forcing at risk people to go out. They can stay home. Why am I being forced to stay home? That makes ZERO sense. And freedom and security are not an American dichotomy. The man that gives up his right to self determination because he doesn't trust his neighbor with the same right is sacrificing liberty in the name of security. It only seems like an American dichotomy because everyone else has already foregone the choice and sacrificed real liberty in the name of theoretical security. The US is now in the process of doing it as well. If you trust the government to protect you, your trust is misplaced. A government that will imprison you for open g your business, but do nothing to protect you from looters and rioters is not a government you should trust with determining whether or not it's safe to go back to work... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHbGYaqvlNJ4d5o

[@claiminghawk]

In the words of Rick and Morty, "that sounds like slavery with extra steps"

[@joshuawaring4180]

Please do not attempt to join into a serious conversation with a Rick and Morty quote.

[@claiminghawk]

@@joshuawaring4180 well let's be honest the quote does make since to the topic and is valid.

[@erikstolzenberger1517]

@@joshuawaring4180 I don't know how you thing you are entitled to rate anyone's comment at all...freedom of speech applies to everyone...

[@erikstolzenberger1517]

@@ConnorisseurYT If you're paid a wage so low that you can't live of it and are forced to have several side jobs just to make ends meet, that in fact is slavery...grow up and get a job yourself girl

[@erikstolzenberger1517]

@@ConnorisseurYT Well, I'm fine, thanks...especially being not in that hellhole called the U.S. of A-holes, ty ;)

[@igorlukyan206]

I remember how my dad used to say, “The US has more control of its people than the Soviet Union ever dreamed of achieving.”

[@tyndaldi7569]

@Aiden Harvey Ikr. Glasnost and Gorbachev took what was positive about the US and applied it to the Soviet Union causing it's literal disbandment and birth of the country of Russia as we know it today. Igor's statement is one proof of why America's youth hates America today... their ungrateful, bitter parent's taught it to them.

[@igorlukyan206]

Aiden Harvey my parents lived in the USSR. Holding an entire population in fear is not as efficient as making everyone think theyre “free”.

[@JastwatchingYT]

@Aiden Harvey eyes (only works if you are not blind batteries not included)

[@theboringprogrammer4444]

Wtf lmao that's false as hell.

[@tannermcateer1463]

Most of us (humans, that is) are indoctrinated from the time we're small children into feeling guilty for existing, and are taught to grovel and look to our oppressors for validation. Christianity is the quintessential summation of this attitude in religion, and capitalism is a fairly straightforward economic expression of it. That's whats so insidious about American debt slavery; we feel as if we should be grateful to those who rule over us for allowing us to continue eating and breathing on their earth.

[@466chalk]

America's problem is that we have a blind spot for privatized problems. We don't complain about corporate surveillance, bureaucracy, moralistic rules, etc. As long as it's not the government, right?

[@christiangreen2324]

The thing is if we do, we get fired, we cant fight the machine or we die, we have nothing

[@docan5248]

Christian Green Corporations, Capital, Bosses are nothing without Labor. What we do have is the possibility of worker solidarity. James Baldwin: “I’m alive, so I can’t be a pessimist”

[@Oldage429]

I mean, under the right circumstances people will also just roll over an accept the same from the government. NSA, ICE, FBI, DEA, etc

[@shadow_of_thoth]

Silly COMMUNIST, you need to learn basic economics!!!1!!1 When private companies (which are totally unaccountable to the public) are the ones behaving in ways which might be perceived by some as suspiciously authoritarian, according to selfish individual profit motives, then that is simply called "individual liberty." On the other hand, when the democratic government does the same thing, it is tyrannical oppression that is directly opposed to the best interests or beliefs of the majority of people in society. The relationship between the law and citizenship is non-voluntary and imposed without the expressed consent of those subjected to the decisions made by the democratic public! The common folk just don't know what's good for them! That's why we need intelligent, rational, billionaire sociopaths who are unburdened by the natural human emotions which contradict our human nature (such as how the feelings of empathy, guilt, and remorse make absolutely no sense for a selfish, RATIONAL species like us, and thus, they must be totally ignored as unnatural and unreasonable distractions from the sort of pure, logical thinking included in this comment).

[@jamesbunda806]

Well we allow it under the guise of personal freedom

[@kaninma7237]

I immigrated from the US to my central European ancestral homelands, and my life is so much better here. Everyone has good health care, and everyone gets at least 4 weeks of paid vacation. If you are inclined to do so and are able, relocate to an EU country. It is not perfect, but it is so much better than the US. Thank you for the work you do.

[@LukyPukyBear]

which country

[@ThuanTran-nv9yb]

There's a saying for every great wealth, there's a great crime. We need to take big money out of politics but that will never happen since it requires our politicians to vote against getting paid.

[@peterirvin7121]

Where did that saying come from?

[@Bonanzaking]

what you do is take the power of money creation away from government. That’ll do more good. Money should be apolitical like the old gold standard was or the newly being adopted version that is bitcoin. Also works more fairly for international trade. A lot of issues come with having the world reserve currency. Have to balance domestic with foreign because the global community can rek you.

[@konstantinpolikarpov9944]

Just imagine a socialist revolution in the USA!! No one could stop them if more than half of 300 milion are going to start a civil war xD

[@Bonanzaking]

@@konstantinpolikarpov9944 🤣🤣🤣 well you guys always just sit and wait for the Revolution. We capitalist apes have banded together on Reddit and are having our own revolution.....using our wallets. Just look at GameStop as we’ve bankrupted hedge funds we the little guy and if the system ultimately manipulated against us we have crypto, we beat them at their own game. You aren’t seeing occupy Wall Street, turn on the news and you’ll see infiltrate Wall Street and wreck them using their own greed. Keep an eye on GameStop, bitcoin and dogecoin. We apes will win.

[@scifirealism5943]

@@peterirvin7121 the godfather

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

"The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Aussie God So where does that leave Saudi Arabia

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

FDR stil more liberal than Bernie dam how far have we fallen

[@WRC_Citroen940]

@@aussiegod4269 A lot of european countries are socio-capitalist and work just fine, no dictators.

[@wavyy]

@@aussiegod4269 "ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power" in real life communism the people have 0 power in politics so they dont contradict this definition

[@babycat5001]

Well true capitalism has no government, only marxism/socialism. Its a decentralized system..

[@Snoozie]

Inb4 a bunch of americans just come in and say "okay commie"

[@SecondThought]

Happens every time

[@cammiescorner]

@@SecondThought always ironic to me when people called me that in middle school and high school just because I was able to recognize the path the US had been taking for generations thanks to my love of history. Imagine being so brainwashed by a system to believe that everyone who doesn't think the same as you is a communist, even if their beliefs directly clash with communist ideals.

[@aidnic901]

Communism is basically a slur in the United States They don't even know why they hate socialism/communism

[@Dsonsee]

@@aidnic901 Ok commie

[@savagenovelist2983]

Aidan Nicholas Sadly, anytime somebody says “Socialism” or “Communism”, people hear the Soviet Anthem playing in their head. When they hear “Socialism”, they immediately picture Soviet troops shooting innocent civilians. What people can’t seem to get it THAT’S THE AUTOCRACY AT WORK NOT SOCIALISM. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when an Autocracy shows up in America, we’re seeing the same things happen from the Soviet era in the modern world. EDIT: How is THIS, out of every comment I've ever made, the one that gets the most likes? Like, seriously, thank you. But, C'mon, this one?

[@ZilbaFollie]

"fun" little thing I do every time I watch a Second Thought video: 1. Before watching, go down in the comments and sort them by newest first 2. Read comments that criticize the video 3. Watch the video and see all said criticism being addressed and debunked in said video. I don't know what I expected since a majority of people won't even read past article headlines, but it still kills me inside every time :')

[@someguywithalastname2513]

Expect nothing. Have no faith in humanity. It's how I live and I get by alright

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

As far as I can tell those people never even watch the video

[@imperators_8700]

But the vast majority of comments are positive? Like I have been unable to find a single critical one

[@monika.alt197]

Bold of you to assume that the "communism critics" actually watch the video in the first place. They probably comment the same copypasta everywhere.

[@randomstranger623]

@@imperators_8700 Sort by newest first.

[@jonasklapper2875]

Uncontrolled capitalism is like saying to someone with no legs: ,,Hey, you have the freedom to walk."

[@toromontana8290]

False analogy. Legs don't grow back. Wealth can accumulate even if you're starting with essentially nothing. Also, uncontrolled capitalism exists nowhere on Earth and controlled capitalism hurts small businesses far more than it hurts big businesses. Regulations are often used to kill competition if not entire industries. Answer: less regulation (encourages more competition and allows more people to be self-employed or start their own company) Maybe we should actually give uncontrolled capitalism a try. Basically the non-aggression principle.

[@15justt]

@@toromontana8290 Did you even watch the video? Big businesses own the country and destroy the market for small businesses. Less rules = more ways they have to fuck small businesses up and maintain their monopolies

[@HamsterCrusher13]

@@15justt When big businesses own the country and destroy the market for small businesses we have almost the opposite of capitalism -- corporatism

[@Infamous_B_C]

Toro Montana don’t even bother, they think corporatism is the same as capitalism. Can’t change a brain washed communist.

[@15justt]

@@Infamous_B_C Ah, labels, so awesome. Uncontrolled capitalism always leads to corporatism / socialism for the massively wealthy, there's no way around it.

[@nobodynowhere21]

Honestly realizing this and realizing how reactionary my family and friends all are ... It's extremely depressing. I've had to deeply rethink what I'm even living for or how to stay motivated at work.

[@luddity]

Look for a job that means something to you. There are ways to get paid for doing something you care about. Find them.

[@wilkerwilkerbese905]

Take the primpill, go into the woods and never come back, you will see true happiness, hell go on a hike and you might reach a glimpse of what ancient man enjoyed heartily

[@Shack263]

I recently came out as socialist - not in a big reveal but rather a slow process. I have had many of my privileges taken away, which of course my parents can do, yet I will not gain them back until among other things I am not a socialist. Constructive discussion seems impossible - the tired arguments repeat. I really wish this wasn't so taboo. Good luck friend

[@lolno5632]

I feel you all too well. I am in a similar situation, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. But I can tell you, I'm not going to live like this. I'd rather die than allow this egotistical system to control me.

[@Atipaj]

Or just overthrow the system all together...

[@djsiii4737]

Billionaire: Anyone can get rich if they work hard enough Me: how did you get rich? Billionaire: under paying people who work hard

[@keithprice6581]

Any idiot can box up consumer goods from China. Not any idiot can successfully start a business. Amazon was a guppy at one point too.

[@saphlistser1265]

@@keithprice6581 Correction : Almost any idiot can also "start" a business (but be an idiot for doing so). It takes a special kind of individual to realize that being a predator is how one finds the kind of success avarice demands in modern society, barring niche markets or new tech endeavors (though these have their time as well, unless one can buy off the legislators early).

[@Tecolote41]

It’s to keep that carrot on a stick to keep you running for longer in the hopes of a better future. “It’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” GC

[@jackdereeper6182]

@@saphlistser1265 if almost any idiot can start a business then the so called exploited worker can leave their job and start a business

[@austroasian4123]

I don’t see a problem with that, it’s called working smarter not harder like a dumbass

[@harrybarodawala3588]

We don't need Billionaires, however, Billionaires need us. Let's starve them!

[@lolno5632]

If only there were a way of convincing about 7.8 billion people to coordinate on that.

[@Scroteydada]

Boycotts don't work.

[@NotAn_NPC]

@@lolno5632 or atleast millions. For me revolution and throwing the super rich under the bus is the only solution for saving the world.

[@PayHomageJC]

@@lolno5632 exactly

[@dancypants1023]

@@telomettotittettori8218 google didn't make youtube.

[@tsarkiel8471]

I have no idea how people can bring themselves to defend capitalism, because like, what has the system done for you specifically?

[@suicune2001]

It's just what people have grown up on. We're told from the moment we're born America is the best and everything about it is the best and capitalism is amazing if you work hard enough. Even anthropologists find it hard to see their own culture for what it really is because it's so ingrained in us. Ask someone in another country would you trample someone to death for a tv on a thing called Black Friday and they'd probably look at you like you were insane. But that seems to be a normal thing here. How is that not the hunger games? Except instead of food, you get a crappy tv which you won't appreciate because capitalism will tell you next year a bigger and better tv has been made and you TOTALLY need THAT one. The one you killed someone for sucks now.

[@SpoopySquid]

"Freedom in capitalist society remains about the same as it was in Ancient Greece: freedom for the slave holders." - Lenin

[@theboringprogrammer4444]

This whole critic of capitalism's pretty shit, I would recommend you look up how economics work and actually take the time to listen to the other side.

[@Huddy52]

@@theboringprogrammer4444 What holes did you spot in this critique. Is this the part where you say Jeff Bezos worked hard to become a leech therefore its good.

[@theboringprogrammer4444]

​@@Huddy52 It ignores the following: Regulations, competition, anti-trust laws, and more.

[@masoclevine836]

@@theboringprogrammer4444 not like we're doing great in terms of competition or regulations either lmao

[@theboringprogrammer4444]

@@masoclevine836 Are you oppressed? I know I'm not, and I'm middle class: I can very well afford food, water and shelter.

[@TheEvertw]

People should read more books by Dickens. He made the results of hyper-capitalism painfully clear. Next time you read or see something based on "A Chrismas Carol", realize that the misery of all people in the story is a direct result of hyper-capitalism.

[@curiousone6435]

Love this comment! I'd also add that if you're interested in poetry, try out William Blake, too -- "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Experience still haunts me to this day. We definitely don't want all the power to be on the side of capital. The employers would re-enstate child labor and slavery if they could get away with it -- let's not let them.

[@grayman7208]

nonsense.

[@OpusTheLeftie]

@@grayman7208 [citation needed]....just kidding, I know you don't have one to offer LOL

[@grayman7208]

@@OpusTheLeftie " citation ? " try " economics 101 " and " history 101. "

[@grayman7208]

not true. you seem to confuse selfishness with capitalism. selfishness was the point of the book. not capitalism.

[@cavebeastdemon3631]

I actively fought this for twenty years at the expense of my entire life and mental health. I sat across the the table from these greedy corporate executives. I lost but I would do it again, only more carefully. We had a better system in THIS country from the time of the New Deal until about the time the “great” Ronald Reagan” was elected. It has been down hill from there.

[@rjvowels]

I agree.... Reagan and Nixon fucked this country up!

[@mcihay246]

@Liberation They're definitely not a troll. A troll would've left the argument earlier and let others acknowledge their pitiful existence, or give little details supporting their argument for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of another. From what I can see... You've only really argued about the Fox News part of their comment. Does this perhaps mean that all the rest of their statement is true?

[@mcihay246]

@Liberation Uh. No thank you. I was merely curious, and asking of your thoughts. Plus, the Political Economy isn't something I should debate about. Especially when I know nothing about it in comparison. I will however ask... If you were to perhaps believe there is a means to improve Capitalism, do you have any ideas on what could be done? If anything at all?

[@mcihay246]

@@cavebeastdemon3631 Question if you don't mind. If (that's an if) Capitalism was abolished in the USA, which specific type of Socialism is preferable in your eyes?

[@mcihay246]

@Liberation Much obliged. That was rather enlightening.

[@AzazelSylphson]

I don't know what's worse, our exploitative system, or the decades of anti-socialism propaganda that's conditioned most people in the US to view socialism as a horrible thing.

[@twilightgarrison3671]

It’s damaging because anything that’s actually helpful that comes from the Government is rejected due to this hyper obsession with individualism and personal responsibility. This is why I claim that Regan and Reganism was the biggest L this Country has taken.

[@SymbiSpidey]

Unless...the propaganda might be worse. We actually have the power to combat this system if we were unified in our goals, but the U.S. has done a great job of convincing a lot of people that any alternative to good ol' capitalism is an infringement upon freedom.

[@GoodWoIf]

Bernie: "[Everything in this video]" Democratic establishment: "We're gonna go with Joe Biden and them say his platform is the most progressive ever."

[@SvendleBerries]

Bernies Campaign Staff: "If Bernie doesnt win, we will burn cities to the ground!" Looks like they werent kidding.

[@erichdiebenow4727]

@@SvendleBerries hey look a boot licker!

[@nassimb7151]

SvendleBerries you clearly don’t understand his campaign. Please stop listening to American propaganda

[@Otzkar]

Neoliberalism sucks

[@giojacycadalzo752]

To be fair, they compromised with the progressive wing of the Democrats through the form of Kamala Harris as VP.

[@JustinY.]

We love in a society

[@beezmanit2683]

@Hon. Ian OK SIMP

[@Rxdino4429]

You're back? 😳

[@HenkGootjes66]

Wow you're still alive?

[@denzelsmashsymptom4264]

You are dead !

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Hon. Ian what do mean by feminist btw I’m going to flap to hentai now

[@THECOMMUNISTCHANNEL]

USA: *FREEDOM!!!!* USSR: But "freedom" includes "FREE" USA: *confused screaming*

[@rohentahir4696]

based!

[@TheLucasbr152]

A communist talking about freedom? Ironic...

[@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1]

@@TheLucasbr152 “It is difficult for me to imagine what “personal liberty” is enjoyed by an unemployed hungry person. True freedom can only be where there is no exploitation and oppression of one person by another; where there is not unemployment, and where a person is not living in fear of losing his job, his home and his bread. Only in such a society personal and any other freedom can exist for real and not on paper.” -Joseph Stalin

[@TheLucasbr152]

@@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1 Why are you eating while thousands of children starve in Africa? It's the same logic. Other irony, is talking about liberty quoting a sociopath dictator that killed and enprisoned millions of people only because he wanted and he could. Forced millions of people to starve deliberately just because they weren't producing enough. I Can't take that kind of bullshit seriously.

[@TheLucasbr152]

@Exploited unlivable wage voluntarist more like "work or be raised by a worker"

[@internetperson9813]

The former slaveholders had an eureka moment when they realized that instead of having to pay for food and housing for their slaves they only needed to pay money to their workers (and that money could theoretically be less than what it would cost for food and housing)

[@TheSpectralFX]

[@willmungas8964]

That doesn’t remove the bad effects of socialism... look at history. We need to combine socialist elements with the intended freedoms of capitalism, so that we are actually rewarded for our work and motivated to do it. :)

[@miserum8206]

Will Mungas What is bad about public ownership of the means of production/ the abolition of the commodity form? One is literally just worker co ops (which are shown to be better than traditionally owned firms in every way) and the other allows for at least everyone’s basic needs to be fulfilled.

[@ongoinglife]

@@willmungas8964 So, how fair is the "rewarding" system in crony(predatory) capitalism ? How about the "unearned revenue(income)" ?

[@saphlistser1265]

An idea I've heard among economist friends : Maximum Wage, not Minimum Wage, based upon how much the lowest paid worker or contractee in one's company makes, including bonuses, stock shares, etc. Something along the lines of "A max of 100 times what the lowest makes" or similar. A 2ndary notion involves community service to raise one's maximum earnings, or lower the tax bracket, whichever - but service one MUST do oneself, and not pay off/buy or have someone else do. Things like food kitchen volunteering, helping the homeless, or similar "seeing the repercussions of macro-impacts" sort of duty, thereby increasing likelihood of community engagement, rather than numbers on spreadsheets serving the next mansion, yacht, etc. purchase. Certainly free to not do so, if one would rather pay the higher tax, etc. which would then still be used to address those problems, provided a competent not quite so corrupt political system.

[@princess4509]

Miserum Fortuna public ownership good but it often times becomes wrongfully practiced as government ownership which is the scary part

[@hamzamahmood9565]

When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, the last mine is mined, the last stream polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, will we realize.... that one cannot eat money.

[@rajuseth1683]

that is for poor,rich will take some slaves and call them astronaut and would be mining mars

[@Cneq]

What is "money" ? Go ahead, give me an answer. If you don't even know what money is you're sure as shit in zero position to be giving opinions about anything of substance, go get educated.

[@emiliospowerballer1441]

money is just an item agreed upon exchanging items. thousands of years ago it was bartering, the oldest form of commerce. so it is inevitable that we exchange money for items in the 21st century, its more practically convenient. one can not eat money, but its certainly harder to barter, when you want to exchange corn using peas. if you have better ideas, we are all ears.

[@hoodee1334]

@@emiliospowerballer1441 I think you are misunderstanding the point of the main comment you replied to. Money does not equal natural resources. It's exchanged for them, but one can exist without the other.

[@jsthltrJ]

you can't eat money because there isn't any protein in it, but the rich are full of protein!

[@azurescenss]

every Second Thought video has at least 3 cut scenes with a depressed man behind a desk tossing his papers off to the side... and I love it.

[@specialops4321]

This shit really got me thinking, I’m a libertarian and believe in capitalism but got damn, this shit has me thinking.

[@JNiu.]

Well tbh this video doesnt have any real practical info. It's just pitching an utopic ideal society, but without any real plan or adivice for how to reach it, and most importantly how to reacht it humanely if possible (which we know it is a problem with comunist countries). I think that my biggest problem with socialist or marxist videos is that, normally, they completely discredit capitalism's system as a whole without realizing or that the most social or wellfare economies are also capitalist (or some sort of regulated capitalism). So if we know that capitalism can achieve that in some way, but we don't know if this ideal society is possible, then why do we condeemn it completely?

[@corvuscallosum5079]

Always good to question yourself. That's how we keep improving ourselves, and hopefully the world as well.

[@corvuscallosum5079]

@@JNiu. I'm glad you're willing to think critically about the merits of capitalism and other economic systems. Most people are too entrenched in their positions. I want to point out that this video isn't primarily about planning a route to reach a better world (a very complicated question that I agree is probably the most important one we face right now), but more about pointing out the systemic problems with the capitalist system we live under. This video doesn't set out to provide a practical roadmap, but rather to get people thinking outside the usual box that most of us grow up inside. Regarding the question of why leftists tend to condemn capitalism entirely rather than seek to reform or regulate, it's generally because the capitalist system is inherently structured in ways that rely on oppression and exploitation. You can have capitalist societies that are far more merciful to their own citizens than others (with strong social programs and the like), but even these are still exploitative, and rely on the even more exploitative labor of poor workers from other nations, often in "developing countries". If you want to dive more deeply into this kind of thing, there are plenty of books and other content available on the inherent flaws of capitalism. In any case I want to reiterate how encouraging it is to see people thinking more deeply about this kind of thing and I hope you continue doing so.

[@JNiu.]

​@@corvuscallosum5079 But capitalism isnt technically the mechanism of the free market, offer and demand? Like look I totally get the point that it can be exploited by people. Of course. Any system can be exploited. But saying that Capitalism (a mechanism for the economy that is literally free market) is inherently oppresive is deffinitively a radical position and tbh I am not a fan of those at all. Unless it is iustified, and I just don't see how people reach to that conclusion. Like look I have my own set of humanistic and animalistic unpopular positions (that normally feminists, interseccionals, etc don't like xD), some even more unpopular because of my country which is a developing country. But I separate the system and morality completely (unless there is def a systemic ruling that is racist, clasist, etc). To say that capitalism is inherently bad takes away completely self moral autonomiy and autority in the reasoning. Is capitalism jerachical, yes obviusly, as any system would be. Comunism and socialism also needs some sort of jerarchy for it to function. But to say that the formed jerarchies are oppresive, in the sense of it being unjust, is a long stretch. If you are saying that capitalism is a mechanism that creates preassure to survive, well yeah then most definitively it can be that. As well as any other system for living has been to even a much greater extent. Free market on paar with free speech at least opens up comunication and colaboration undiscrimantly. I only see two options from what marxist propose if we deny capitalism fully. First, going back to the roots and what it involves, every man or tribe for himself or the state ending up providing everything. Also, I know that comunism means to give the workers the means of production and that technicaly the state shouldnt mind on it, but I don't see how that would work without the state having to intrude and managing it, specially in a third world country cause it literally means first, violent insurrection by the worker or enforcing apropiation of bussinesses by the state, and the thing is that in either case how do you expect the business to continue producing if it is in chaos, at some point without a system or clear jerarchy in place the state would intervine at least until it is stable, and what if it never is and what of the people that didn't want this change which was enforeced on them? Which wouldnt just be the higher classes. At least I come from a society that normally despises this sort of ideas, be it low or high class, and I would extremely doubt that they would take lightly this sort of enforcement. And from what you said of developing countries, let me tell you, having grown up my whole life in one, that the position in which we are right now is our fault too. Completely. I am sure there are some examples of countries that were manipulated or forced into becoming pawns of larger countries, but even so, we end up like that mainly due to corruption and lack of education and technology. I don't know how many times my country has managed to fck itself up since the indepence. Blaming a system inherently for these failures of character, logistics and vision is dangerous, specially if the system is one that basically mantains free trade between people.

[@JNiu.]

@@corvuscallosum5079 Nonetheless, I agree with you about the questioning ourselves. Definitively. The reason why I have such a strong opinion against marxism and socialism is because I was socialist for some years, until I met other socialist and marxist and well it got me thinking a lot. The thing is that I was vegan and socialist, and seeing them use altruistic motives for masking their consumption disgusted me, and specially to the point that they could bring it up. At least with a conservative is mostly pure egoism with some sprinkles of altruism but that was egoism masked fully in altruism. It woke me up and left me thinking a lot on my positions, and I noticed that making radical statements on utopic pitchings or dreams when talking about the system and the colectives is extremely dangerous. Because no matter what economic mechanism you have, moral corruption will not be fixed by it. Comunism has been implemented ABYSMALLY, with even more terrible results to their populations than freaking nazi Germany, and all of them had altruistic motives. Like damn just check some of what Stalin said. Some of his quotes if taken out of context makes the man seem like a visionary. My country had also its own comunist insurrection (well two, one more extreme than the other), and the result that it had for the common people that just wanted to live their lifes on peace or on their own (be it by capitalism or not) is the stuff from nightmares and all done due to altruistic motives for a promised utopy. To what I am trying to go with this, is that my biggest critic on marxim and comunism, is not only on what it proposes. My critic goes also towards marxists, comunists and ideologues that seem to believe that a fix on the system means a fix in the people. Which isnt true, and by far. That line of thinking will end up in autoritarian states in order to implement the utopian dream (like if it hasnt been done before), and everyone that thinks that that is necesary and that he or they could do a better job than Stalin, Mao, Abimael, Che, Castro, etc atc then I believe you should start to better reconsider what you are saying. In the end, these ideologuies end up masking the corrupt and any true opressors by creating a narrative that focuses and runs on the hypotetical colective's opression. It foments the creation of altruist ideologues that are willing to sacrifice the individual, and personally I would like to see more socialist denouncing this sort of ideas in order to have less pure ideology driven convesations with the people that swear they are defending equality.

[@Rodiacreed]

I don't even live in America yet I keep up with all the recently released content because of how educational this channel is.

[@alexc6088]

That and the entire world is built upon capitalism. Any and all countries no matter how socialist their policies have to navigate a world ruined by capitalism and profit.

[@alexsmith2910]

From an American, thanks and I'm sorry for my nations stupidity.

[@ed_sylveste]

@Rodiacreed Same here

[@alexc6088]

@@imstillacunt8648 I was more referring to learning from Americans since even in a more socialist country like Canada we're just steps away from being America.

[@nikste23]

I'm watching so it gets more attention, so USAmericans wake up already and start doing something sane for once.

[@drunkdrivert-3446]

This is the main reason why I no longer recognize the U.S as a full democracy.

[@lightningrOdZ16]

It never was.

[@aidnic901]

the US is not even a democracy anymore, just an oligarchy

[@AALLAN-hc8ck]

America is a republic

[@aidnic901]

@@AALLAN-hc8ck A republic is a system in which the people elect their representatives and the representatives make legislation

[@patchmoulton5438]

@@aidnic901 Which is how it's done. We elect our reps through the House of Representatives and the Senate. Our President is our representative for the world stage.

[@Phoenix_Right]

Found your channel a few days ago and been obsessed ever since. To me, a person from Eastern Europe, seeing an adequate western Marxist person is kinda surprising. Your understanding that the cause of oppression is not the race, gender, religious beliefs but the system itself, is worth praise imo. A left wing which does not indulge into division but union is something I do not see often in western media 🙌🏻

[@aldenheterodyne2833]

A Conversation I had yesterday: Me, watching a documentary about the guilded age: dad, what's a "Robber Baron"? They keep saying that word. My dad, focused on reading something else: it's a billionaire that got their wealth through unethical or illegal practices. Me, visibly confused: what's the difference between a Robber Baron and a Billionaire then? My dad, still only half paying attention: a billionaire didn't do anything unethical or illegal to gain their- *Dad goes quiet and looks at me* Dad: Oh.... Yeah, good point. I don't know.

[@mkilver9]

The difference between robber barons and billionaires is that billionaires have far more money than robber barons could conceive of

[@Fluufie]

I love when people tell me to leave. I have spent years researching how to get out and get to Europe, and I just don't think it'll ever be feasible for me. But man oh man thats the dream

[@freeblowjobs3006]

I hope you mean Scandinavia when you say Europe, because eastern Europe is just as, if not more corrupt than the United States and western Europe has alot problems of it's own

[@Brother_frojd]

Go to Norway. And thank me later once you have arrived.

[@Fluufie]

@Evop Fx I mean infeasible more because of the thousands of dollars, excess time, and job and other resources required, not because I don't know where to go. Nederlandia is my top pick but I'd go to anywhere you mentioned in a heart beat

[@Meandyoujustus]

@@Fluufie yeah, it's great here... What is your current occupation? If you're willing to start from scratch, it shouldn't cost too much. Let me know it I can help you in any way.

[@Fluufie]

@@Meandyoujustus I'd be willing to beg on the streets were I in a country that could provide decent opportunity for my future children. And frankly just the legal and application costs and the moving costs... I have a number written down that I sat down and worked out probably 5 years ago, and our savings has only ever gotten farther away from it. It's hard to start something you know will cost so much when you live paycheck to paycheck. I appreciate you reaching out.

[@MYG]

People don’t seem to understand wage slavery

[@zedderr_391]

This comment deserves much more attention

[@emiliospowerballer1441]

explain ..

[@forestgreen9002]

@@emiliospowerballer1441 Theres the theory that all work is slavery being its predicated on exploitating one's labor and taking the majority of the wealth produced from that labor and paying only pennies back on the return. For example at work today in a restaurant I made on average 35-50 orders per hour for 8 hours. In total I made the company approximately 6,000 in profits for my work but will only be paid back $70 for one day of strenous work with wealth made only possible through my labor. Theres also the dilemma laborers find themselves in. People with low paying jobs become enslaved to those jobs they dont have another choice given they have no better skills, they cant aquire better skills because the vast majority of their time is devoted to working long hours, leaving very little if no time at all for school and other avenues to progress, to which if theyd stop they would become homeless, so essentially they're enslaved to a poor wage with no hope of escaping it, which describes the vast majority of the working class.

[@emiliospowerballer1441]

@@forestgreen9002 first of all i get your point. i know where youre coming from an idea point of view. it is a valid argument. first of all, companies have expenses, so its practically impossible to keep all the profits for them selves. secondly, if you are paid a low paying job, chances are that what youre doing isnt hard, or at least as hard as preparing the balance sheets for the business. i dont believe anybosys 'enslaved' in any way, we all have freedom of choice. if a particular job is giving you enough to survive, you can certainly negotiate or leave. finding work from my experience isnt hard at all. i tried this. i went for a walk downtown and asked 10 shops for a job. 3 of them said yes. so you can find a job if youre unemployed. otherwise, how broke can you be. the internet can be a good source of income if all is lost. my point is this. capitalism has managed to bring countries out of poverty. what seems to be necessary is a somewhat third party intervention to keep things fair. for example, im from cyprus. our president made a plan where everyone regardless of their job has to be paid a certain amount as minimum. so theres that. salaries are not allowed to be lower than 850 euros in my country. i think it could easily be a little higher. but its a start. im not american obviously so i cant speak for america on many areas, but its true that american businesses care about profits and good looking balance sheets. so labor is being exploited either way. at the same time, whats also important is having goals, so that you have something to live for. so its not a few parts forming an equation, its a lot of them. its easier navigating your self through this shit than have someone else do it for you. lastly, there a few things that need to be mentioned. education in my opinion needs to be free including college. universities can be much cheaper, and in europe in some countries it is quite cheap. if education is free/cheap, it wont leave people with debt, they can easily find a job, especially in the field they studied, and good chances are if you have a degree, you can find a relatively good/high salary. this needs a very wise government intervention, but the government is no expert at economics. american businesses are full of 'cut expenses' type of thinking, which shows that they value money more than human life. the internet is a great platform for such information.

[@kurtjohansson1265]

@@forestgreen9002 dude just start a co-op It's not that hard, just solit profit with your employees.

[@mikhelBrown]

I wish all All Americans get to see this video, put their differences aside and rally around against lying politicians and Wall street... America will become the envy of the world once again in no time.

[@juicebox9465]

I don't remember when Second Thought became a socialist channel. But I like it😊

[@EclipseSystem]

I see this as an absolute win!

[@bobboo101]

It’s almost like the intelligent go left rather than right. But they’re the smart ones and we’re the unwashed masses.

[@bingus3582]

I recommend everyone watch the economist Richard D Wolff

[@SecondThought]

Wolff is fantastic.

[@danthomas6587]

Wolff rocks. As does Chomsky and Zinn

[@josephcochran1607]

Yeah, Dr. Wolff does such an amazing job explaining Marxist ideas in a way that is easy for everyday person.

[@superduperfreakyDj]

And Varoufakis

[@babycat5001]

I recoomend Peter Schiff for all the lefties here, it will make you think about capitalism in a more rational way

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

I’m not a communist but I do have to agree. Capitalism is overrated. While Democracy is freedom, capitalism is really authoritarian. Like do you have any say in what you do for your boss or how much money you get? No. If we want to make America a better nation. We have to fix our broken economic system.

[@compulsive_jaywalker1861]

Just putting this out there, critisizing capitalism doesn't make you a commie.

[@randomaster138]

@@imstillacunt8648 the government is a factor but so is run away capitalism. The ultra wealthy own the government and it does what they want most of the time. Plenty of the USA's provlems are caused by capitalism.

[@babycat5001]

Yes you can choose your own work and set your own rate as a freelancer and if you are valubale to the company ypu can negotiate. Dont be a victim.

[@brandonmiles8174]

You can certainly be "not communist" and be post capitalist. Although, don't rule out reading much of the theory, history and praxis written by people who labeled themselves communist or otherwise, as many great thinkers once used such labels.

[@NicholQueen]

@@imstillacunt8648 the US had a "weak government" at one time in its history. You wanna know how that ended? Horribly, they scrapped that idea and went with the Constitution after that. Weak government has it's own issues, however, wealth redistribution would solve a lot more than getting rid of our government.

[@erichtrinidad8144]

RIGHT!!! this video won't be sponsored by ads because of its content! I will donate on your patreon!

[@SecondThought]

Thanks so much for your support!

[@erichtrinidad8144]

@@SecondThought I love your work by the way! MORE POWER TO YOUR CHANNEL!

[@notlikely4468]

200 years ago my family owned slaves... Now we rent them And....it's cheaper to rent

[@dianerose7631]

Ha ha ha that is soooo funny.

[@dianerose7631]

Mortgage payers are slaves too and you are slaves to shareholders and board of directors and the town you rent to

[@notlikely4468]

@@kenabbott8585 Bravo.... Excellent righteous indignation..... The point being made...and clearly lost Is that there are very few people who are NOT enslaved economically And when that 10 year-old who's making your running shoes has his hand crushed in the machinery His life is over Because he's a rented slave....he has no long term value But if you own a slave...you have an investment When a slave gets injured that investment is forfeit Hopefully....that makes you think

[@hg3727]

another thing on “Just start your own business forehead” 1 not everyone can just up and start a business for a million different reasons 2 you still need workers

[@babycat5001]

Inlfation and taxes is the main reason workers are poor now. Look at the living srandard of america in the 50s

[@brettmcclain9289]

The reason you can not is because of the government mostly.

[@babycat5001]

@@anahata3478 yes government exisitance basically

[@th3Arisaka]

Baby Cat you should look up the top marginal tax rate in the 50s

[@babycat5001]

@Frenky's prod. inflation and recessions are caused by a central bank. Before the 70s the usa had a gold standard with much less printimg. Imperialism is led by governments organisations (recently iraq), slavery too

[@tubs1979]

This is why electing another president, means nothing

[@chengkuoklee5734]

So you mean everybody should give up and accept fate?

[@johannageisel5390]

Electing another president will not bring the US the end of capitalism, but it is necessary to stop the complete descend into fascism.

[@sebastianwei7721]

@@johannageisel5390 trying to agree more, but you made it impossible.

[@hikarihikari4501]

change the whole system, aka “revolution”. but apparently that’s not an option for you anyway, so yea, accept your fate

[@mythicpeyote]

Checkmate Chess Channel you don’t even know who I was replying too lmfao

[@michaelsantangelo7997]

In a monetary system, you are only as free as your purchasing power allows.

[@wintermath3173]

I didn't agree with everything here but I love the realization that being able to choose to not work - that is, not devote most of your labor to something society sees as valuable, even if you don't - is a freedom most people in the world don't have.

[@ThatBoomerDude56]

It's also not a "freedom" at all.

[@cavangriffin1514]

America is very literally one of the least free nations in the developed world: the most proportionally incarcerated, patriotically indoctrinated and egocentric.

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

The last great bastion of nationalism in the west. Until Brexit came along and had England officially join the party.

[@caddylover10]

and none of what you said have to do with freedom. If America is such a terrible place why do the people who hate it not just leave and why do millions risk life and jail to get here.

[@mozesmarcus6786]

@@caddylover10 Because of 2 main reasons: 1.) The USA is amazing at marketing itself and the only ones who know what the USA is like are trapped there, or are the millionaires/billionaires who don't see a problem with the system. 2.) The USA may be terrible, but more than half of the other countries are worse. In India and China, the workdays aren't just 8-12 hours, they're 16-24 hours! And those are countries you can actually find a job in and won't let you die of a million horrible diseases and starve to death before you even get to an age (>5 years) where you can work (not legally, just physically). Do you understand now? (coming from an European)

[@caddylover10]

@@mozesmarcus6786 Im not a millionaire or billionaire and im by no means trapped anywhere. Your argument of only the worst nations are the ones coming here...all you have to do is look at the number of visas granted and you can see that a large number come from Scandinavian countries, and an equal nuber from all over Europe.

[@mozesmarcus6786]

@@caddylover10 Good point. Might come back to it later, in agreement or disagreement.

[@Lego4LifeProductions]

Leaving a comment for the algorithm. People need to see this and realize just how broken our current system is.

[@aleksanderbrygmann279]

I see your point. But capitalism is not broken, it is functioning exactly as intended. (as in poorly)

[@Cod4Wii]

Yes, the system is broken and we need to fix it! WE THE PEOPLE must stand together and unite in order for change to happen! The government of the people never got in the way of change, and it has been that way since the very beginning of the United States. We the people declared our independence from Britain after the revolutionary war, we abolished slavery after the civil war, we ended child labor and exploitation after the industrial revolution, we helped women's suffrage allowing women to vote after World War 1, we supported the civil rights movement and ended racial segregation in USA after the Vietnam War, AND NOW, after this pandemic, I have a dream, that one day, the middle class Americans will prosper into a healthy society with free healthcare and free college, abolishing minimum wage, so that the majority of Americans will no longer have to live paycheck to paycheck, and everyone will have a FAIR livable wage, so that every American can live the REAL American dream, the way that Franklin D Roosevelt wanted when he proposed the 2nd Bill of Rights, which never got passed. I have a dream...

[@GhostEmblem]

good idea lol

[@kythrathesuntamer9715]

subbed and clicked the bell. You are AWESOME. Thank you so much for this! Your videos say so much of what my small channel couldn't but people like you instead of me.

[@Telltaletracks]

We are hostages to an absurd system. It doesn't have to be this way. True cost pricing(like a carbon tax) can help out Labor and environmental problems, modern monetary economics can rebuild our economy (if invested well), preferential voting systems can break up the two party duopoly, a ban on corporate political donations could drain the swamp for real and tax loopholes on the super rich can be closed. A better world is possible. The leverage points are the public via the media and the politicians via the public. Content like this is crucial. Thank you for making it!

[@TroyEagan]

Once again commenting just to let you know how much I appreciate your continued work to educate people on these topics. I grew up in small town America, spoon fed capitalist propaganda, but thanks to resources like yours and a will to learn, I was able to.

[@praticle]

Thank _you_ for being willing to learn 🥰

[@babycat5001]

You drank the marxist kool aid my friend

[@praticle]

@@babycat5001 And you drank the Capitalist Koolaid... Good job?

[@babycat5001]

@@praticle well at least i came to this stance (classical capitalism) after long thinking, my culture fed me socialism, so at least i am original

[@praticle]

@@babycat5001 And I had the opposite experience, what's your point? That's an awfully high horse for such a little cat...

[@cameosix7077]

Amazon(forest): Gives natural resources for free, reduces earth's CO2 level. Amazon(company): Sucks away resources, doesn't even pay taxes.

[@bootmii98]

muh climate pledge

[@armanigenes]

Lol they pay taxes

[@JastwatchingYT]

@@armanigenes not in the us

[@armanigenes]

kiran kiran lol yes he does he just didn’t pu federal income taxes one year coz he wrote off his profits as employee salary and also amazon has been running at a loss for years

[@fartface8918]

@@armanigenes I don't know if you pay taxes but I currently do this year about 15% of my income went to taxes the amount Amazon spends on taxes is a percentage number so small that I cannot type it out, they are robbing the country and taxpayer wholesale fullstop

[@ablanuza76]

"The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything." - George Carlin

[@DrillEntertainmentNetwork]

You picked the right time to release this video, this would never fly back in 2018

[@ilenastarbreeze4978]

Maybe not for some but ive said this for years expecially to boomers who never understood that i dont support capitalism

[@Veronica8846]

Good luck with that. Most Americans are too proud to admit their system is broken

[@The_Rising_Dragon]

Not proud. Arrogant.

[@Dimnzy]

Americans system is not broken, the whole of the western world is broken, the use of the tools granted to us by our forefathers blood and sweat gets tossed aside, false pretenses are presented and the system gets changes, what was even 50 years ago is not the same as today. the problem is not capitalism, the problem is the human factor, nothing will ever change the fact that someone will always find a way to break the system, to work less, to bribe, to cheat to steal. this is how we are programmed, stoop to the lowest point of human morality and you'll see a supply and demand system running there. the change is already coming, the system is pure P2P society, you will hire directly as a consumer no fees,no taxes and pay without knowing the person, only his rating system, the person will perform the task he set himself to do. pure supply and demand. at its core this is simple and efficient.

[@captainclarky5352]

Capitalism and imperialism are not exclusively American. While the USA is the foremost imperialist power, the PRC, Russian Federation and the EU are also imperialist

[@Dimnzy]

@@coopsnz1 the "you didn't read my whole comment" thing

[@Dimnzy]

@@coopsnz1 ok drone

[@daniel1c]

Love how this channel made a swift change from science and abstract topics to political and societal issues over a year

[@irok1]

Hope they'll return to abstract again, but there's definitely a viewerbase for this, so maybe we lost another one to politics

[@Nachemanya]

This is political science

[@FennecManHandlesYou]

I'm not complaining this topic peeks my interest

[@FennecManHandlesYou]

@@irok1 it's not really politics as it's more the errors of capitalism that us as a society have to overcome

[@ooooooop_6067]

I find the political topics a lot more interesting

[@wayoftheroadwarrior]

Definitely my favorite KZbin channel now. So much stuff I have been feeling gets explained with brutal honesty. Keep up the good work, I'm really considering becoming a Patron

[@joshuaamaron]

“IN A COUNTRY WELL GOVERNED, POVERTY IS SOMETHING TO BE ASHAMED OF. IN A COUNTRY BADLY GOVERNED, WEALTH IS SOMETHING TO BE ASHAMED OF.” - CONFUCIUS

[@unlimited8410]

damn confucius turn off the caps

[@xversed5544]

Why am I always left feeling like things will never change and were all basically condemned to death

[@strega1380]

Because we are. Global warming will kill the majority of planet's population.

[@goofytuna6077]

Because every living being on this earth is condemned to death?

[@RobertTempleton64]

@@user-gc1wj8tt2p There are millions of people in the USA currently starving (food insecure). And there are about to be millions more without homes. And we have around 50 million (some say 30, others say more lieke 70) with no health insurance coverage (I am one of those - working FT in manuf.). Yet, the USA is the richest and most powerful nation in the recorded history of humanity. Your point fails miserably. Stop cheerleading for the corporate authoritarians!

[@saphlistser1265]

@@user-gc1wj8tt2p It has less to do with them being Socialist than it does with the fact that their system, like any other, is also run by imperfect humans who, at some point, give in to the same vices humans do everywhere. Their failure is the same as even Capital systems ultimately turn out to be, left unchecked : Those focused on power, wealth, control, and the like will eventually do all they can to leverage their way into control and undermine the system. The beauty of the American variant, envisioned and put into motion by the genius of its founders, is that it was complicated and convoluted enough in design to make succumbing to such a process - as literally EVERY form of governance is capable of succumbing to - much more difficult and unlikely. BUT : One need only look to the developments in shifts of power dynamics that have occurred in America, for example, to see corruption creeping its way into the same position - even there, despite that seed of genius that set it in motion. And if it isn't checked soon, she'll be a footnote in history with all the rest and either not be, or end up being something far different than what was envisioned. Let's not be blinded by long-standing indoctrination as to the truth of the issue underlying this. It's the same, regardless of how privileged one has been or where one might stand.

[@RobertTempleton64]

@@user-gc1wj8tt2p Your reasoning is flawed. I make '$6/day' and need to spend '$5.50/day' to survive (rent, bills, food, fuel). COST OF LIVING. Prices in the US are not the same as elsewhere. Go try to survive in NYC or LA, even at $50K/yer. That is considered poverty wages for the COL (rents up to and surpassing $3000/mo). Basically, you were able to keep 1/3 of your income. I get to keep 1/12 of mine (at best). BS on you!

[@astroch]

“capitalism= freedom" can only be heard in US

[@jodu9965]

Not true

[@maxwellli7057]

@@jodu9965 Thats what everyone thought in China too. It worked pretty well, but one cannot just flee from the woes of capitalism and it has hit like a truck.

[@octograp9603]

@Jaskaran Singh the top countries in economic freedom are also considered some of the best countries to live in

[@octograp9603]

@Jaskaran Singh one of the best countries in the world (Switzerland) has a free market and no minimum wage

[@theodorewai2864]

Working pretty well in Scandavia, lots of business, no minimum wage, less regulation

[@msthalamus2172]

Hospital stays? You don't even have to get through the door before the debt starts piling up. Our son recently needed to be transported to the hospital (mental health problems). The ambulance ride alone was $1200.00! Twelve hundred f'ing bucks. Some perspective: this alone is 150% our entire family income when I was a kid in the 80s, for what amounts to a fancy Uber ride.

[@LiatKolink]

This is why at school I was taught about the differences between "libertad" and "libertinaje", and also Benito Juárez being a Mexican icon, we're also being reminded often that "liberty of one person ends when the liberty of others is being hampered.". US Americans seem to be propagandized to strive for ultimate freedom regardless of consequences.

[@Pheer777]

Hmm not sure I agree. The Idea of liberty doesn't mean you are allowed to encroach on the liberties of others.

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.” ― Noam Chomsky

[@emilsinclair4190]

And there I have to disagree. Why? Bc my country operates under a few unchangeable laws. Like that the dignity of a human can not be infringed. Everyone doing smt like this/supporting such an opinion is a criminal person. Freedome of expression is limited by the freedome of others to live in dignity.

[@deanliu7125]

@@johnpjones1775 woah woah woah that's Hella aggressive

[@lightningrOdZ16]

john p.jones woah, someone just watched the first season of game of thrones. I know it hurts buddy.

[@capnsteele3365]

@@emilsinclair4190 you have no honor and dignity

[@emilsinclair4190]

@@johnpjones1775 oh I would agree that this is a made up concept. But can ideas not be real? Btw the name of this country is germany. Rated very good in the freedome of media part. It is also a very democratic country. Why does germany has such clauses? Bc it is a defencable democracy. Imagine a society where every action is tolerated. This would also mean that people who act against this tolerance would be tolerated wouldn't it? This would mean that innocent people would suffer. So to defend this this system acts against people that's wants to oppress people. This laws were implemented as the last protection against oppressive gouverments. Even if nazis would take over the gov they could not legally repeat the genocide. This universal rights parts is not just a part of the german constitution. This is also the reason behind general human rights. So while I don't think that there is smt as dignity or a universal right I agree that some ideas need to be defended at every cost. If smb wants to kill people I arrest him. If smb wants to start a revolution to kill a minority I think this is clearly a crime.

[@Kevin-cm5kc]

In many ways capitalism is a lot like medieval feudalism. Eventually, a ruling class forms that might as well be the new aristocracy. They pass their massive wealth and political power on to their kids in little dynastys. They form oligarchies and leverage their power to gain control of the government. You, meanwhile, are part of the class of serfs that can't produce anything on your own because the aristocracy owns all the land and factors of production. You get the privilege of doing all the work and producing all the wealth but since the land you used and tools you used etc were all OWNED by Duke bumnose he gets all the profits and you get the minimum required to survive on. Just enough so you can live to enrich duke bumnose further and hopefully not revolt against him

[@pewpew9711]

And this is why unions exist

[@thefinalday5858]

I would like to say you're wrong But you're not

[@baselius662]

Yeah good comparison. Today we just live 4 times longer and the avrage person today are richer than the richest kings of the past.

[@saphlistser1265]

@@baselius662 What do you mean? Explain how this truly addresses the topic the OP presents? If you can, anyway. At present, it just looks like a distraction. What do you mean by "richer", exactly? What does that entail? 4 times longer than who? What's the significance? Do you even know, for certain? Can you provide any more depth than a straw man or red herring sort of example? @jim bob : Ironic, too, isn't it, should it come full circle in a place like America?

[@davidsimpson7373]

You haven’t a clue. Ever since man walked this earth there has always been the 1% elite if you will no matter the form of society or government. When Stalin was starving 6,000,000 Ukrainians thru his social policies do you think his dinner table was bare, or that he lived like the average peasant over which he ruled. When Mao was starving 10,000,000 of his own people do you think he went with out food or suffered along with the average the peasant? Give you head a shake. The wealth of the 1% rich is not a result of capitalism, it is a result of power and those who have the power vary depending on the form of society or government.

[@danfadil]

"If you've been watching my channel for a while, you'll know that I think socialism is the answer" Man, I hit that subscribe button so fast.

[@zenogstwitch8296]

I agree with him. Because counter comment is countries tried socialism and failed ignoring the fact USA exist cause of socialist party that wanted people to be free and equal.

[@Lucifer764p]

Ok, socialism liek Cuba, or what about Venezuela where millions of people move to Brazil where is a capitalist country.

[@zenogstwitch8296]

@@Lucifer764p Like Denmark, Norway and Sweden and isn't that fault of capitalist country. USA constantly pushing leaders they prefer. Sounds like they are made for sole purpose of scaring people of how bad socialism is.

[@Lucifer764p]

@@zenogstwitch8296 the countries that have achieved the greatest amount of economic success over the years and centuries have been those that have embraced capitalism the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia...

[@zenogstwitch8296]

@@Lucifer764p You mean all the countries on life support cause of crippling debt causing insane wealth disparancy. And its not economical success, but wealth success huge difference cause economic would involve every one, but when on average 90% of citizens are suffering poverty id say its complete economical failure.

[@krejados1]

Awesome video; should be must-watch viewing in every high school/university economics class - or just generally. A segment on how the US credit reporting system engenders financial slavery would be excellent, thanks.

[@devindoherty8728]

I had such a difficult life going from a Son of a CEO to CEO

[@badass6300]

Well depends on the company. In many companies, CEOs work just as hard or harder than the rest of the people and usually long hours. On the other hand, there are times where CEOs are useless and do next to nothing every day, but their companies get driven to the ground and robbed blind or if they are huge take a big downturn and then they get replaced by the board if it's a public company.

[@badass6300]

@Marin Zver Yup.

[@rawstar1102]

I've watched a number of these kinds of videos but yours is pretty clear cut, simple and makes more sense then most. No sidetracking. Well done

[@markbrownner6565]

the 9 streams of life: air / water / food / home / health / school / work / safety / security... this is the point of any system and policies of government & business should support them...

[@BaRroWsDuDe]

Thank you for making these kinds of videos. The system is crushing regular people and it's depressing to the point where you just feel like giving up on life. To use whatever little money you have to go buy heroin or meth because you have nothing good to look forward to. You are literally a slave. A wage slave, but there's essentially no meaningful difference. Anyways, thanks again. We need more people like you who are capable and willing to fight against the establishment.

[@ezewong290]

Imagine as a teacher walking into a classroom and being like "It's free, you guys can do whatever you want". The FIRST thing you would assume is that certain kids will bully others. It's inevitable, but it needs to be kept in check. Pure socialism on the other hand isn't good either, try running a class where nothing is rewarded. The answer is a mix in-between, just like any good system we need to avoid polarizing to a philosophy and just doing what works with maximum benefit to every party.

[@ezewong290]

@@BenjaminWalburn Never said it was bad, if anything America and future societies need more socialist practices. But a pure socialist society is idealistic and would not work in our current society.

[@ezewong290]

@@laMoria Agreed, I'm saying that the absence of property there would be no reward or incentive for many people to work or contribute to society. Some people would not. Again, if it's a PURE socialist society. I'm advocating for something in the middle

[@ezewong290]

@Celtic Revival / Adfywiad Celtaidd I have no idea why would you think that. Im advocating for a mix. a PURE socialist society would lack of incentives for many people. Most people don't want a PURE socialist state. They want to own land and property. Without the idea of property, many would leave the country. This exact phenomenon is why many rich Chinese leave to Canada and America. Because they can buy and own land. Maybe you and me are okay working for the benefit of society. But we aren't most people. A purely socialist society is ideal, but man people are motivated by the acquisition of property and it's the only empirical evidence of a productive economy. We have no evidence of a purely socialist state creating booming economies. Only mixed economies like I'm advocating.

[@jacksiegfried5830]

"Their alternative-there was an alternative, of course, since Milo detested coercion and was a vocal champion of choice-was to starve" -Joseph Heller, Catch-22

[@TuxedoMasc]

One of my greatest fears of becoming an adult is soo earth shatteringly close to me, I feel sick just thinking about it. I'm going to spend the rest of my life struggling to make ends meet, pawning of belongings used for hobbies I no longer have time for. Clocking in the precious hours of my life for a "starter job," at a company that would only send out a heartfelt Tweet if I dropped dead on the floor of one of there 12,738th store locations - and ONLY if a customer was there to record it and blast it on social media. I'll never be able to buy my kids birthday presents. Let alone, enough to buy them a school lunch. I won't have the money to pay for a vacation in a town just 2 hrs away from me. Or, even have the luxury of taking a vacation. I won't be able to ever buy a home. Every vehicle I will be able to buy will have at least 200,000 mileage on it. I'll have to work til I'm 80, or my knees give out. Or, I die. All while telling my kids and everyone around me that if they just want it, and work hard enough - they can be anything they want in this world. Just like my parents. Such horse crap. But it's all okay, cuz I live in the greatest country on earth. Right?

[@markuswendt8744]

dude, if you still live with your parents and have a computer, learn CAD or coding so you can search for a job without collage, cheap easy and effective!

[@marcbrun9117]

The wealthier you are the more free you are under capitalism

[@homelessgamerxx9982]

Man I've been homeless for 5 years , I've tried to get on my feet, it's impossible mainly cuz I don't know anyone

[@babycat5001]

Man i feel for you. Hopefully life gets better soon. All the luck

[@mcsquisherton]

@@antargaming1619 dude just because he's homeless doesn't mean he can't watch KZbin videos... WTH.

[@JastwatchingYT]

@@antargaming1619 I mean I don't think many people like to hire hobos just because of the stigma, and I don't mean that in a rude way that's literally most employers reason ex. "it would make the workplace less professional"

[@JastwatchingYT]

@@antargaming1619 isn't there like a truck driving school?

[@toadlamax2213]

I can understand that i hope you get get things working out for you soon. I don’t know any one either and it’s always been hard for me to get to know people. Much love and things will get better soon.

[@samsmith9370]

Btw in a lot of places it is illegal to live "off-the-grid." If you do wanna do that, check the laws because they will seize your shit if you dont use the power company.

[@katarina7520]

@@user-gc1wj8tt2p copy pasting the same bullshit everywhere doesn't make you any less wrong lmao. you clearly don't even understand what socialism is. what right do you think you have trying to engage in political discussions when you don't understand who your opponent is?

[@thicccorgi6187]

Corporations need us to be dependent on them! They dont want us growing our own food or producing our own energy!

[@RobertTempleton64]

@@user-gc1wj8tt2p As compared to a fascist dictatorship? The USA is just about to realize that fully (add in there Brazil, India, Belarus, and a few others).

[@saphlistser1265]

That's quite the Socialist maneuver, when you think about it : It FORCES you to "contribute", simply by existing within its boundaries. (See, you have Socialism after all ... ) Or (more likely) : Particularly if the grid is Private - it's a way to ensure maximal profits, whether the client wants to or not. It "distributes costs" to everyone, while "privatizing profits" for itself (is that closer to Communism?). A similar setup America loves is the hospital grift, which treats you on paper as if you were a customer, but doesn't present you with any menu of items for pricing or choice like the majority of legitimate businesses would (for the most part, and given the obvious circumstances in emergencies, understandable - but the point remains). But to your point : What if you lived in a mobile setup? Stay a moving target, as it were? That's basic modern military strategy, for crack units (or nearly the entire operational Marine Corps force of the U.S.). Hard to plan for a target that's always moving. What would they say? You can't park here, at best? Trying to sit in one spot that way is probably rough, as you say, in places planning to develop or trying to get their friends hooked up with cheap land to build on.

[@sethsballs8479]

This has to be the best lefty KZbin channel

[@nokturnalmortum4763]

Check out Hakim, he does great videos on socialism too

[@MyMbarr]

I am taking a Sociological Theory class this semester and I love this video.

[@Luis-vx1tx]

We need worker cooperatives to take up a larger percentage of the business model market. These need to be a part of the conversation.

[@babycat5001]

Well start one, you are free to do so.

[@emiliolocura2]

@@babycat5001 You dont live in the real world, do you?

[@babycat5001]

@@emiliolocura2 well yes, i say do things, start at an indiviual level. Changing politics is harder, and persoanlly i dont believe others should save me

[@popopop984]

Baby Cat Are you by any chance a rich person or someone who doesn’t have to worry about rent?

[@Robert-fc9xz]

@@popopop984 imagine being poor lolololololol

[@Flopsos]

I love living in the Netherlands, especially when I see the US

[@HenkGootjes66]

Amen

[@t-swag4978]

What is it like there? I would love to get out of this lame excuse of a country.

[@hellboy6507]

Don’t gloat

[@t-swag4978]

I’ve heard that people in Netherlands are very happy. There is probably less racism too. I am seriously considering moving out of here when I am able too. Unfortunately, not many people have the option to do that because they have been put in debt by American policies.

[@Underthepurple458]

@@antargaming1619 paying 60% tax is better than living with abysmal American pension and healthcare systems.

[@rizsarwar2713]

you've just explained my whole life

[@hildir6507]

I stumbled on this channel recently. I'm liking the content and the straightforward way that it's presented.

[@andren55]

Would highly recommend the book: Capitalism vs Freedom the toll road to serfdom. Expands on this video by a lot ! Great video mate!

[@babycat5001]

Unfortunatly the author of the video does not know what true capitalism means, yes under crony capitalism freedom is limited

[@andrewdalvet6871]

@@babycat5001 lmaoooo sure bud whatever you wanna think

[@babycat5001]

@@andrewdalvet6871 well if you have studied austrial economics or watched peter schiff ypu know what i am saying, you sound ignorant

[@chicliac]

​@@babycat5001 It would be to your great benefit to read up on the concept of freedom, what it might entail, and how it is denied. You can start with wikipedia even. With more knowledge comes greater understanding. I'm not saying you're stupid or anything, there's simply always more to be learned.

[@babycat5001]

@@chicliac well if you understood my comment, ypu would understand i do understand freedom. In classical capitalism both positve and negative freedom is at maximum

[@g2theartist]

Fun fact: socialism was made to be an extension of democracy

[@mikejohnson9606]

Socialism doesn't create products that you want. It gives you products that you are forced to use.

[@hellboy6507]

Mike Johnson I don’t understand what this means.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

Mike Johnson that’s authoritarian socialism not social democracy

[@Cibershadow2]

@@mikejohnson9606 Attempting to read the needs of the market and establish state-mandated factories to satisfy these needs does not work, you are correct. This, however, has nothing to do with state-funded access to healthcare and regulating the free-market by forcing a higher minimum wage, hardening environmental regulations and various forms of rent control. Authoritarian socialist states did wrong things a lot, yes. But they did not do everything wrong, and heeding one lesson from their playbook does not mean heeding them all. Look at Europe for effective uses of socialist practises ^ ^ Hope this helps clear up the whole "no it wasn't, that was X" that seems to be going around. Let me know what you think~!

[@Cibershadow2]

As an addendum, as an European I should also clarify that "Europe" as a single entity is misleading, it has vastly different socialist practises throughout its many states, but for an example of three different healthcare systems that work to varying degrees look at the UK (commonly called England), France and Germany ^ ^ Being Portuguese I'm quite happy with our healthcare system as well.

[@ccouch713]

It pisses me off when pro-capitalists went on an entire tirade that "we have to save the companies". No we don't, your entire philosophy is that the best company will survive, if the company doesn't have the money to survive why should we the tax-payers save you?

[@zombieminecraft4213]

To be fair giving big companies a lot of money and leaving small businesses none is stupid since those big companies could easily survive their losses.

[@connorkimball5431]

Everyone needs to see this video.

[@carnosinehobs7759]

Everyone in the US especially

[@kayakat1869]

Everyone in the world.

[@babycat5001]

No we need less socilism not more

[@kayakat1869]

@@babycat5001 well apparently we need more, because a well funded school would have taught you how to spell.

[@babycat5001]

@@kayakat1869 haha so funny. Well aparently you need a more capitalistic mindset otherwise you wouldnt nese these socialist videos.

[@KingpinCarlito]

As young American I don’t feel free in this country. How free are we when we are a slave to a job? When you have basically no sick days or vacation days? When you have at most 1 week out of 52 weeks for vacation. When you are forced to pick up a second job on top of that to survive or a side hustle because you’re not making enough money. People my age are so infatuated with hustle culture and working their ass off for what! Just to flash their rent money? As someone who doesn’t value money over everything, I feel like a slave to a pay check and there is no way around it. We are just here to fill an old millionaire/billionaires wallet.

[@charliecohen4068]

Here in Germany we saw something similar. The Berlin Government passed a rule that protected rentals from agencies and landlords who increased rents like crazy. However, the German government decided to challenge and revoke that law during a pandemic. Meanwhile due to the pandemic, lots of people lost their jobs and now saw their rents going much higher, and not happy, this was applied also retroactively, so landlords could claim ONE year of "due" rent. From one month to another not only your rent increased as much as near one full-time salary but you are also obliged to pay thousands of euros to someone who is already a multi-millionaire at least.... 👏👏👏 to capitalism

[@deep_cuts2019]

Dang that sucks

[@paulmakinson1965]

I keep on hearing Americans say "we are the best, the greatest, number one". Imagine having a colleague at work who is constantly bragging about how much better he is than everybody else, annoying isn't it? Then imagine that on top of that, he is not even interested in what you have to say or even who you are, irritating? Then you see his office, and it is a mess...

[@ENJOYWEEKENDS]

Sounds like his life is a mess

[@ztz818]

I can totally understand why people with capital favours capitalism, but for those without to think capitalism translates into freedom is a little dumb.

[@trollnerd]

My favorite kind of capitalist is the 18 year old who has not a dime to his name but is 100% sure that he is going to be a billionaire by 30, so he wants to make sure that society is set up to benefit his future rich self.

[@Pinkie007]

Trust me nobody in a socialist country who doesn’t have capital enjoys living in a socialist country either

[@trollnerd]

​@@toromontana8290 First of all its NOWHERE NEAR that much. Last year I made $320k and I paid about $60k in taxes. So first of all your numbers are way off. But either way taxes are a necessity. It is a reality that civilization requires money to keep operational. There are a lot of things are absolutely essential to a functioning society that are needed for public good. In addition, every dime that I've made is within the framework of society, so I owe something to keep it running. It's not all that different from how Amazon charges its merchants for all sales made on their platform. I benefitted from an existing society and economy which was here before I was born. It was built up on tax dollars, and now it's my turn to pay my fair share to maintain it for myself and future generations. As for "controlling your own wealth" trust me as a person making what I consider to be quite a good amount of money, there is PLENTY left over for me to decide what to do with.

[@toromontana8290]

@@trollnerd My numbers aren't off because those are the numbers that would be required for a welfare state. Many countries in the EU have that level of taxation. At 320k a year you can easily create a diversified portfolio of stocks in quality companies (or buy a low a cost ETF if stock picking isn't for you) and that should grow into a very nice retirement that should financially secure the entire family well beyond your time. You can also buy a bunch of properties in a good city (strong economy, low crime, family friendly, not run by Democrats) and rent them out. The idea that social security (run by the government - poorly - which you lose entirely if you die before you're 60) is preferable to stocks or real estate is laughable at the very least. Quality healthcare also relies on innovation, which is diminished if you allow the government to control it. A lot of the medicine "socialist" countries use were made in the US. Better to have a private system with charitable networks to help the poor. Maybe socialist activists would be better served by spending money on helping the poor rather than on propaganda.

[@trollnerd]

@@toromontana8290 Social security isn't for me. It's for people who never have more than $500 in their savings account throughout their entire working career. Anyway if you want to talk about health care, thats fine we can do that. So the health care industry is divided into 3 distinct industries: - Health care providers (doctors, hospitals, clinics, basically anyone who interacts directly with patients) - Health care manufacturers (pharma companies, equipment companies, and other medical products used by providers to deliver care) - Health care payers (private insurance companies and public programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP). When we talk about "single payer health care" the only industry that we are looking to convert to public ownership is the "Health care payers". When you think about it, this really makes sense. What good are insurance companies? They don't provide any medical innovation. They clearly don't drive down the cost of care. And they are also the weakest player in the game because they don't have enough leverage to step up to the plate with the pharma giants and the nationwide hospital groups, so we end up paying absurd prices. In addition, insurance companies have a lot of expenditures that a public payer wouldn't need to worry about, such as marketing, multi million dollar executive salaries, and of course, a stock price to keep up by turning higher and higher profits. All for what? None of this adds up to a better customer experience, lower prices, or even more choice (most people only have a choice between 1-3 mega-giant insurance carriers that all offer the same plans, or you get the "employer" plan in which case you literally have zero choices). So when you really think about it, the best thing to do is to socialize the **payment** of health care, and keep the delivery of health care and the creation of health care products in the private sector. This is what Medicare for All hopes to accomplish. This would drive down costs by eliminating the profit motive and the costs associated with it, as well as a much stronger bargaining position (an insurance company with 325,000,000 customers has a hell of a lot of leverage). I really don't think there's a good argument for keeping private insurance companies. In addition, Medicare for all does not prevent providers and manufacturers from offering their products for straight cash. All it says is that they must provide care for those with Medicare cards, but they could give priority to cash customers, and that would be 100% legal, so there's still a monetary incentive for doctors that want to be capitalistic, and a way for rich people to "skip the line". Germany has a single payer health care system in which everyone pays 7% of their annual income for health care. For me that would be about $22,000. I currently pay about $15,000-20,000 a year on health care depending on how much care my family needs. So it's barely a difference for me, even at $320,000 a year.

[@bananoverlord6962]

America in a nutshell: Pay 2 win

[@SufferDYT]

You think you should just get to win without paying?

[@bananoverlord6962]

@@SufferDYT HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[@SufferDYT]

@@bananoverlord6962 Do you think you should just be given everything you need to live by the government or do you think you should have to work or trade to earn money yourself?

[@bananoverlord6962]

@@SufferDYT I said pay 2 win because almost everything in America is literally that, "oh you're sick here's an 800$ fee for a check up. " There are literal workers who can barely feed themselves or afford health care, even your education is expensive as fuck.

[@SufferDYT]

@@bananoverlord6962 Our country leads the world in medical science, because there is a great financial incentive for it here. The problem is that for Americans usually don't directly pay for their care, but rather third parties, the government and insurance companies, who in large part decide what medical care actually occurs. So you don't just pay the hospital for whatever operations you need and they perform the operation. You have the operation, and then you get the bill, pay a portion of it, and your insurance handles the rest. The problem with healthcare in america is that it isn't nearly as free a market as nearly every other facet of our economy is, barring some big ones. The reason that everything can be produced so cheaply is that there are pressures by virtue of competition in the market to drive prices down. This isn't the case for healthcare. Nor is it the case for university, mind you. This is a very common conservative talking point, but if you look how the lasik eye surgery industry has driven the price of that operation to almost nothing, while getting better and safer for consumers, and then acknowledge how that sector of the healthcare industry differs in regulatory procedures from the rest of the healthcare industry, you will see how a free market can make better things more available to more people for less money. The problems with our economy are largely because of democrats trying to over-regulate markets.

[@Seamus3051]

We all have the freedom to starve, or to die of an illness, for which we can not afford to seek medical care.

[@richardbuckharris189]

We are not free, we are wage slaves

[@andreylebedenko1260]

One extra thought: when USSR was there, the capitalists of the world were scared by its example so much, that they went all the way to accept those elements of socialism just to ease the conflict between them and the labours. Now, since USSR is no more, there is no reason for them to do so anymore. Why would they? There is no escape from international capitalism. Unless the USA will be an example of such an escape. And if that will happen, it will be such an ironic smile of history. EDIT: P.s. perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I don't say people of the USA (or any other capitalists country) got their social benefits from USSR, no. They struggled and fought for them, and I respect their efforts on all fronts. However, the fact that there was a huge and obvious example of how much this kind of fight may be successful (in form of USSR), did affect the decisions of capitalists in this battle. So they were more inclined to accept some loss here and there, just to keep the general control and system intact.

[@cantutmez8854]

Exactly.Even the Scandinavian countries started to cut down their social programs since 1991

[@andreylebedenko1260]

@Matthew Pascoe and some he didn't even mention, like equal rights of people of all races. And BTW, 8 hours labour day federal [US] law is dated by 1937.

[@shadowlord2323]

They also got out of it by exporting work overseas away from everyday Americans to Communist Vietnam and China. All to escape paying those Americans decent wages and abiding their rights, they exploited people in far away lands while leaving Americans without decent employment. The only way for America to move forward is to cease bickering between left and right and unite on a single platform of the people. Neither god, ceaser, nor tribune can do this for them. The enemy is the unelected officials with all the wealth and power seized by their few hands over the entire nation. The people have a right to speech and a firearm as much as they've a right decent pay and work, they've a right to sleep with whom they want as they've a right to do what they want with their body. But in the end, the power of this nation, is to be controlled BY THE PEOPLE. Not a select few monopoly overlords. Our enemies are corporate America whom pulls the strings of the media and major parties, the parties are just proxies of this true threat to human freedom.

[@FrancisBehnen]

@@cantutmez8854 Seems that the Netherlands is slowly coming around. I disagree with Andrey that the USA can be the only example of an escape from capitalism. I think Europe will become the escape we need.

[@andreylebedenko1260]

@@FrancisBehnen Very well may be. France showed recently quite a few examples of coordinated protests.

[@epicsnail14]

You're never free as long as you are forced to work for a ruling class.

[@crackmaster3]

You're unenlightened and you have the wrong ideas if you think you are not free. Every human who is not held against their will somewhere, is free. You can do practically anything you want & set your mind to. If I wanted to be a druglord, I'd make myself into a druglord. If I wanted to rich, I'd simply make money. If I want to be a serial killer, I'd start dropping bodies. This is a concept not a-lot of people understand, especially not teenagers. It seems to be in the minds of teenagers that they aren't free, and that they're restricted to the things they have in their enviroment. Same goes for alot of adults who work 9-5 jobs, they feel dead. They feel restricted. The truth is, there is absolutely NOTHING restricting you. You have total freedom. It really doesn't matter if you're a woman living in Indonesia, you /still/ have total freedom. Maybe not by law, or by societal rules, but those don't really matter at all. You can do anything you set your mind to. Being poor, being depressed, having anxiety, being obese, being restricted are all mindsets. If you're interested in knowing how to get free, look up self-actualization. Start realizing that you are completely free, and that the only thing that is keeping you stuck is your own mind. // (copied from my other comment)

[@burningsnow9870]

@@crackmaster3 Kinda hard to use those rights when your kids are starving and sick. Or when others beat you to take what little you have. Freedom in this case isn't simply spiritual, but also physical. Take the story of the 3 men in the cave. They have been imprisoned there all their life and can only see the shadows of objects that pass a flame behind them. Try looking up the story to get a better picture, but anyway the point is that they view their imprisonment as freedom because they know nothing else

[@fernix918]

@@crackmaster3 you posted this torrent of pure shit once and really thought "yeah, I should spread this arround"???

[@burningsnow9870]

@BoomerLemon Both, socialism kinda seems like the only reasonable path compared to those two. Although a more socialist capitalist system would be more effective. The issue is that we live under Irresponsible Capitalism that doesn't have to answer to anyone

[@wallywallendo]

crackedup but what you CAN do is not what happens, yes could try but you will probably fail. It’s not your mind holding you back it’s the system

[@Briese69]

Who gives a thumbs down to such an outstanding video?

[@kellykerr5225]

It’s funny, with a little time on my hands, reading and doing a lot of thinking, I realized all of this myself. You’re literally saying what I was thinking. Probably because it’s logical.

[@alfred0621]

Well I mean it's quite obvious at this point. The idea isn't more popular cause most people can't handle the truth. The truth that they're born to be slaves, just as their children will be.

[@estherc.5559]

@@alfred0621That is one of a few reasons I decided to not have children.

[@kellykerr5225]

@@alfred0621 It’s true. They just don’t pay attention to what’s going on. People say they don’t like “politics”. They don’t realize right now, everything is political. People don’t stop and think. I kept hearing a racist comment about black on black crime in Chicago. So then my question is why and how did it become that way. So I researched it and found out the truth. Spoiler, it’s white men in city planning with terrible rules that was the root of the cause. I guess I just ask why and most people simply don’t really care. They are selfish.

[@kellykerr5225]

@@estherc.5559 That is so sad but I completely understand. I really want grandchildren someday so I keep fighting to make sure they have a good life and an actual planet to live on. Otherwise it’s going to be bad. I’ve had many dreams come true, usually minor things. In 2012 it was supposed to be then end of the world but I knew nothing would happen. But I had the worst nightmare that it did. It disturbed me all day but I blew it off as silly. Now I see it literally coming true. The world won’t end on one certain days, but it’s already on fire now. My nightmare was all fire. If my dreams can predict the future i just hope there is a way to stop it. But saving the planet isn’t something I can do all by myself like in some action movie. I wish there was.

[@jurgen4796]

ohh damn, just from the title alone i can tell this is going to be a fascinating video

[@SecondThought]

Hope you enjoy!

[@jurgen4796]

@@SecondThought i did! really interesting video for sure

[@erikrigt4294]

@@SecondThought amazing video as always

[@babycat5001]

@@SecondThought have you ever seen peter schiff or austrian econonics theory, would likw to know what you think of that.

[@Oruam1111]

@@babycat5001 Imagine shilling for an ideology that hasn't been supported by most economists since the 19th century. Austrian economics are too simple to accurately describe the world, but I suppose that's why it appeals to simple minds like you.

[@nothingiseverperfect]

this dude just be dropping fire for free

[@fenn_fren]

But he's paid from his Patreon.

[@Iproductions0]

@@fenn_fren don't donate if you don't want to

[@canaaniteblues371]

J LMAOOOO you’re legit spamming the same reply under comments regardless if it makes sense or not

[@donovanjacobs7985]

Every system is unable to produce absolute positive or negative freedom. The reality is the more you shoot for equal outcomes; the question is at what cost? It has been proven that the more you attempt to produce equal outcomes for a countries citizens the more freedom those citizens have to surrender.

[@Pheer777]

Yeah I feel like people don't consider that reality is not black and white and that it's complicated. The reality is that living in a free society does not automatically guarantee you a good life. You may have the freedom from tyranny and oppressive regimes, etc, but the reality is that human beings are born into poverty as our default state as a species. A system of free and consensual exchange will inevitably lead inequality, but the point is that the poor in American still live pretty good relatively speaking on a civilizational level, and living standards generally are improving as time goes on.

[@rdes225]

You’re describing taxation. Socialism doesn’t just give everyone equal amounts of money. When means of production are owned by workers, everyone gets the wealth they produce, as simple as that. Nobody cares about the outcomes in socialism as long as you’re getting your full value. You could be a co-op worker and 1 million because your business did very well.

[@pina6181]

You sighted Eugene V. Debs - Subscribed!.. Good video good work!