The Neoliberal Economics of Animal Crossing

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons has well and truly captured the zeitgeist. In a world of lockdown, quarantine and shelter-in-place, Tom Nook, Isabelle, Timmy and Tommy, the Able Sisters and whatever neighbours you've managed to attract to your island have, if you're anything like me, provided an important escape.
In this Animal Crossing video essay, I (Tom Nicholas) dig into the economics of Animal Crossing. In particular, I look at Turnips and the Stork Market and how these reflect real-world trends towards financialisation and neoliberalism in economics (if you want to read more about this then Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialisation (Grace Blakeley) is well worth a read).
Of course, a lot has been said and written about the politics of Animal Crossing (which might be somewhat surprising given that it is a game nominally meant for children...). While I've seen a lot of "Tom Nook is good" and "Tom Nook is bad" videos dissecting the predatory lending practices of Nook Inc, however, I've not seen much about the Stork Market and Turnips which, to my mind, are one of the most interesting aspects to the game.
So, if you're a fan of Animal Crossing, hopefully you'll come away from this video essay with some knowledge of political economy, financialisation and neoliberalism. And, if you're a politics and economics buff, maybe you'll come away wanting to play Animal Crossing. Or maybe it'll fall weirdly between the gaps, haha!
Stock footage provided by Videvo, downloaded from www.videvo.net
If you've enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as video essays and more then do consider subscribing.
Thanks for watching!
Twitter: / tom_nicholas
Instagram: / tomnicholaswtf
Website: www.tomnicholas.com
#AnimalCrossing #acnh #NintendoSwitch

[@nokutenda4081]

Stay Tuned for next week's episode *The Sociological Religious Philosophy of Doom Eternal*

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, other suggestions for ridiculous video essay titles are gratefully received (the only thing that's stopping me from making this one is that I haven't played Doom Eternal...).

[@HxH2011DRA]

Want

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I feel like I've played maybe Doom 3 on PC years and years ago. But I don't think I got very far in it. I'd have been quite young and I don't think I could find the door to the next bit of the level and this was pre-internet so I kinda just had to give up...

[@VibeBlind]

@@Tom_Nicholas You should actually do it tho... Games that you "shouldn't think too hard about" typically have a lot of thrown together symbology to invoke the level of absurdity that makes them entertaining (e.g. scifi military guy killing demons on Mars/Hell)

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@VibeBlind Also, the makers of games that don't have an obvious message are just as smart and politically aware as anyone else and just as apt to consider such things in their game design even when they don't have to. They can sometimes do it will less scrutiny as well.

[@byrongsmith]

"Socialism for the rich" (often accompanied by the contrasting "free enterprise for the poor") wasn't a phrase coined by a Guardian journalist in 2008. It was likely first popularised by Michael Harrington in his 1962 book, "The Other America", and then reached greater prominence when civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr and Andrew Young frequently used it in their speeches in the late 1960s. Gore Vidal also frequently deployed the phrase in his 1980s critiques of Reaganomics.

[@michaelwu7678]

Tom Nicholas Tom Nichola Tom Nichol Tom Nicho Tom Nich Tom Nic Tom Ni Tom N Tom No Tom Noo Tom Nook ... Hmm

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Oh no, I've been found out...

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

Tom Nicholas Tom Nochilas Tom Noch Tom Nooch Tom Nook

[@erisesoteric7571]

Tom Nicholas Om Nicholas M Nicholas Nicholas Nichol As Nikol Bolas

[@tasse0599]

@@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei Dein Name, alla! xD Hast Du Dir den selbst ausgedacht?

[@kharitroutman534]

I came here to say the same lolol

[@katherinemorelle7115]

“So why do we keep bailing these companies out?” “The world’s best fragrances are produced by Botanica” As always, your ad placement is exceptional!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, welcome to 2020 where everything is an advert.

[@jessicawright6093]

"So why do we keep bailing these companies out?" "I don't know 🎶🎵" - Tiktok

[@kamenridergnostikos4084]

"Gripping stuff, I know." Look when I was a kid I wouldn't have guessed that economics would be THE MOST INTERESTING SUBJECT IN THE GODDAMN WORLD either, but it turned out to be the root cause of literally every problem in my entire existence, so that's how things turned out I guess. I didn't want economics to be interesting but here we are. LEGITIMATELY gripping stuff. Subbed.

[@Ghi102]

Could be interesting if saving the corporations from failing would involve the government buying shares in the corporation instead of just giving them the money.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

There’s precedent for this. In 2008, the UK government “bailed out” the some of the banks by essentially buying shares in them. Unfortunately they a) sold then again, rather than keeping them and continuing to benefit from dividends and b) I’m pretty sure they sold them at a loss rather than waiting till they were worth more again.

[@Moses_VII]

@@Tom_Nicholas Why did they do this? Impatient? Dumb? Only pretending to buy shares, but actually trying to hide that they are doing a traditional bailout? If the last one, why?

[@collinbeal]

Interesting in a horrific post-capitalist sense, where wealthy individuals not only enjoy tax loopholes and government handouts and cushy political positions, but also unwilling taxpayer investment in their companies without actually having any tangible investment in those companies. "Taxation Without Representation" 2: Corporate Boogaloo

[@biscuit715]

​@@Moses_VIIideological dogma. We've had successions of neoliberal vampires for decades who don't care about data or analysing cost/reward, they just try and be as economically liberal as possible because of course that must always be good, because they think it is always good.

[@tonyclosse2283]

Immediately after Tom said "so why do we keep bailing these companies out?" and advertisement video for some travel agency came up that said "You do it every year" and jesus mary and joseph that timing could not have been funnier

[@terpsidance.]

Tom Nook is still better than any landlord or business owner because he will never kick you out for not paying your debts.

[@aturchomicz821]

Meanwhile in "The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing" he was just middle management maaan😭😭

[@Bigglesworthicus]

ahah he finally reveals the comrade credentials we always knew he had

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, I don't think I've exactly been quiet about my political views in the past...

[@jfduug4994]

I just found this channel and I can’t tell if he’s a SocDem or further left but nice either way

[@LeftistJesus]

@@jfduug4994 keep watching. It gets pretty overt.

[@SimGunther]

@@jfduug4994 Short answer: further left than you think...

[@jonaswomack4493]

socdem flag

[@entropic-decay]

I primarily just go and find the golden dig spot each morning, put the minimum amount of bells in to get the maximum from the resulting money tree, and profit off each tree days later. While it's a bit slow, it's consistent and relatively stress-free.

[@RamTalks]

This is an excellent review! Always digging up gold out of everywhere. If I wanted to explain basic economics and politics from scratch, I would undoubtedly start by “Spirited Away”.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, appreciate you saying so! I only watched Spirited Away very recently but want to go back and watch it again at some point. It's not the kind of thing I usually go in for but I really enjoyed it.

[@hinteregions]

Back to imaginary feudal times?! Hehe.

[@jackvac1918]

The economy and the entire social framework around it is a mess even in the so-called good times. Btw the phrase "socialism for the rich" goes back further. Martin Luther King Jr. was using it in the 60's.

[@Irulesmost]

Just a nitpick, since I didn't see anyone mention it "Socialism for the rich, and capitalism for the poor" is from at least as early as MLK Jr.'s speech "The Three Evils of Society." (Very much worth a watch or a read-through) I'm not sure if its use predates this, but given Dr. King's notability as a speaker, it easily could have been a reference, and it's not quite accurate to say the phrase was coined post-2008.

[@WickedNPC]

I prefer to pretend there is no such thing as a stalkmarket on my island. Econimization is not a welcome part of my escapist fantasy.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, not gonna lie, for all my criticisms, I’m deep into the Stork market (although not its real-life equivalent as far as I know).

[@ncrtrooper1782]

"I don't think people will do that in real life." This didn't age well. Welcome to 2021, year of the wallstreet bull 😎🤙

[@cupofgreentea]

I was never overly interested in economics in my entire life. You changed that. Totally gonna binge watch all your videos now!!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks for watching! If you'd like to support me to make more videos like this, I'd be very grateful if you'd check out my Patreon at patreon.com/tomnicholas

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I'll also be going live over on my "Tom Nicholas Live" channel tomorrow so, if you'd like to join in and ask questions about this or any of my other videos, it'd be great to see you there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGOweYutnr6BnLc

[@OjoRojo40]

2 things: 1- The quote at 15:30 is nothing but a rephrasing of Michael Harrington's "Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor". So Roubini didn't coin anything and almost certainly neither Harrington. 2- Your point at 14:30 is the traditional Neo-liberal mantra of "Big corporations are the ones generating jobs". "Job CREATORS" you know, as gods. There are no companies without workers and that's something we can clearly see during the COVID crisis. A consumer is more of a job creator than a capitalist, people create prosperity, not companies. Companies have 0 interest in hiring people (create jobs), why would you hire more people if you can maximize profits with less workers? That's why automation (technology) is such an eternal paradox of the Capitalist system. The question in the end is about value, and how nowadays it's totally dissociated from labor. Thanks for your videos!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I tried searching through for the original usage of this (it definitely felt like something that was an old adage rather than having been "created" in any real sense. Thanks for pointing me towards Harrington though; I'll have to check his work out!

[@ninatran5225]

Great video! You always seem as if you're having a blast in the pop culture based videos

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! Yeah, as much as I get a sense of fulfilment out of completing an episode of What the Theory and knowing that it's there to help whoever might need that topic made accessible in the future, it's always a bit more fun making these as it's a bit more freeform and there's not the same need to cram in certain things!

[@qwerasdliop2810]

I really didn't feel like watching this video because I like your content to be serious but only after clicking did I realise just how amazing this video actually is.... you are so underrated it hurts me😭

[@HxH2011DRA]

Can we make this style permanent?

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Do you think it works? I played with a bunch of stuff for this video! Anything in particular that you liked?

[@HxH2011DRA]

@@Tom_Nicholas I like the like the little flashcards with the bell sounds for the sources!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, noted! Will try and make that a feature in the future!

[@HxH2011DRA]

@@Tom_Nicholas Thanks (~ * 0 *)~

[@jcrass2361]

Exceptional as always. Keep it up!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really appreciate you saying so!

[@georgetoner78]

Lots of food for thought master Nicholas, keep up the good work

[@Hugo-qq5hg]

This channel is an absolute gem

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks for saying so Ben, I try my best!

[@bernardheathaway9146]

Very good job in framing a subject, in such an interesting way. Like always, of course! Thank you!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really glad you thought so!

[@Djrhplus]

Great video, insightful analysis. Thanks!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

[@Ismail-jj2rg]

Like the new background Tom, great video as well, keep up the good work!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks, really glad you liked the background. I wasn’t too sure about it whilst I was filming but really like how it’s turned out!

[@Fungyroo]

The next-level quality of this video is sending me! Great work!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, I tried out a bunch of news things in this one! Anything in particular you think works well and that I should keep doing?

[@ellusiv5121]

This is just an Economics lesson disguised as Animal Crossing content. I appreciate the attempt to teach uninterested masses.

[@charamusicfan]

Love the extra humor in the video! And great content as always. I really learned some new things with this one. Although generally leftist in my opinions, the intricacies of economy and finance are not my strong point.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, always a bit suspect about putting too many jokes in just in case they don't land. People seem to have liked it though which is nice! And, yeah, I think engaging with economics on the left isn't quite as popular as it perhaps could be!

[@adrianloma]

great video tom. thanks!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, glad you thought so!

[@matthewparker9276]

It's always interesting to see the hidden political assumptions underneath the design of games that involve an economic system.

[@pierrecolin6376]

“It’s always interesting to overread conspiracy theories underneath game design decisions that really were just about increasing game length in the laziest ways imaginable.” FTFY

[@aturchomicz821]

@@pierrecolin6376 k

[@InkSans_FandomSoda]

Me fishing and running around completing tasks to make money instead of wasting my time on turnips: Y’all were relying on WHAT for bells!?

[@rosemarymcbride3419]

Bang on about the financialization aspect of the game, although sometimes I wonder if Nookism isn’t possibly distinct from neoliberal capitalism in that Nook Inc. doesn’t fuck with usury

[@ericqiangliu5839]

Watching it before I go to bed. Comment real quick and I need come back to a full comment someday. 1. love the new light/background setting. Cool shirt with a T-rex? 2. used to refuse any infos about shareholders, landlordism or financial xxx, this video makes me want to do some reading & research 3. Question 1: Do you think people in the UK will save money and put it in the bank after crona, or they will spend more to stimulate the economy (with encouragement from government)? 2. Who is in the way of "socialising the profit" besides the shareholders? Thank you so much for this new video. Stay safe, stay healthy.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I hope the video itself didn't send you to sleep! Yeah, I'm really pleased with how the new set-up turned out. I wasn't sure whether it was gonna be a bit boring looking but I really like it. I do think it's worth staying aware of how capitalism changes and has changed, else there's the tendency to be trying to apply frameworks best-suited for previous periods in history. While Capital remains a great insight into the fundamentals, for instance, it is evident that capitalism has changed substantially since the time in which Marx was writing. With regard to whether people will spend more, I don't know. I can certainly imagine an initial rebound as people are allowed out and about, but whether that continues kinda depends on whether or not we fall into a deep recession or not. Who's in the way? Well, shareholders, most establishment politicians, a good portion of the voting population (at least with regard to how they actually vote, a lot of nationalisation policies individually (especially with regard to utilities and infrastructure) are well-supported), the media... Other than that, it's easy! You stay safe too!

[@Gormathius]

Whimsical, cuddly Animal Crossing is just about the last place I'd expect to find any hint of neoliberalism.

[@sarah-wc1dl]

love this ! very refreshing

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks Sarah!

[@Lidslidslidssss]

thanks for being actual good bread tube

[@HazyJ28]

Great video

[@TheDancingHyena]

All of that's already been said? Damn there must be a lot of interesting conversations surrounding this game that I've missed

[@coltonlapp4193]

Have you read or heard of Mariana mazzucatos latest book, the theory of everything? A little bit econ heavy but touches intelligently on a lot of the themes in this video. Great work as always!

[@charleyedwards2121]

this is 100% right dude! corporations should be public institutions and subject to public opinion i think subsidizing rentals and public cafeterias (like in malls or fast food places) would do the rest.. this is all we need to fix the whole planet

[@nonsinesole]

I haven’t even watched this video yet that I already live for this content

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, hope you enjoy it when you do get round to it!

[@nonsinesole]

Tom Nicholas ‘tis very good, will watch again and again, much to assimiliate, bon travail!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! Hope it doesn't become to repetitive, haha!

[@Dsonsee]

Pretty nice vid, loved the plug of Animal Crossing, which I never played

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks! It’s good fun and definitely a nice bit of escapism at the moment!

[@GodsGreatest]

This channel is underrated

[@qwerasdliop2810]

EXCELLENT

[@alexanderwinterspear3650]

I feel like none of this should be surprising, because economics are just videogames anyways.

[@aturchomicz821]

lol

[@meike728]

Kinda wish I had had this on hand last night when I was debating with a fuckboy about the """virtues""" [read: the exploitative nature] of capitalism on a dating app Love the humour in this one, great job as always

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Haha, as someone who has never used a dating app, this is not the kind of conversations I imagined took place on them. I wish you better luck in the future!

[@fonsineknshr]

Lol that K.K. Comrade took me by surprise

[@BodhiFitness]

I cheesed the stalk market with discord and made millions. Now I don’t even want to play ACNH anymore because it got boring. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@bunchberry_]

Reminds me of the book _Finance Capital_ by Rudolf Hilferding. Has some similar points but also interestingly enough is not so pessimistic, arguing that financialization offers a potentially better future if there is public control placed over finance. No country really has ever tried this though, the closet being China which operates CITIC Group which is one of the largest investment firms in the world that is fully an SOE and it uses its investments to both stimulate certain sectors its wants to develop like some of its big A.I. investments recently but also amasses tens of billions in _net_ revenue which then go into social services and infrastructure programs. But CITIC Group is still not really the kind of centralization of finance Hilferding was talking about, even in China most finance is still private. But it does show even on that scale that public control of finance can immediately offer huge benefits.

[@jmurray1110]

I’m about a year into my animal crossing island and honestly I’ve touched the turnips like 3 times total First off it’s only available on Sunday morning a time I am never playing at and secondly when I did try it I got fuck all returns and was already a millionaire from basic tasks (one inventory -tools of fish and bugs a day)

[@underdoug]

Bail-outs should really be buy-outs. If the public is going to inject cash into a corporation then it should own part of that corporation in the same way as when a capitalist does it.

[@rogofos]

5:47 actually I think its an attempt at preventing debt interests from being too much to handle for companies or to avoid "Minsky moment" (basically moment when this debt overheat happens for too many companies at once, leading to a chain reaction, leading to a recession) fiscal measures* would be much more effective at the goal you just proclaimed *government doing stuff 😎

[@rogofos]

I'm only first year economics student and this is slightly ahead of what I should know by know this is basic post-Keynesianism if I remember

[@gozzilla78]

I see kids playing the Japanese version where you have TANUKI and I’m quite amused to see it was rendered in English into TOM NOOK!!! 🤓

[@nieteline]

Again, amazing video!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thanks!

[@nokutenda4081]

I'm really liking the video so far. Do you think you could do a sort of game analysis on Nier Automata. It's one of the best games I've ever played and it has a lot of very interesting existentialist themes that will literally get you questioning everything. I know Wisecrack and some other KZbinrs already covered the game so you could research it through them

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I've never played it. Is it quite an old game now? This gen? Dunno why I never played it, I suppose I tend to play a few games and get really into them rather than playing EVERYTHING. I kinda want to make something about the brutality of Cuphead at some point but I think I might've missed the moment with that one by quite some time!

[@HxH2011DRA]

@@Tom_Nicholas you'd love nier

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Might give it a shot once I've finished writing my PhD and have a bit more time. I've never played bioshock either which I feel like I'd probably find something interesting in. ALTHOUGH, The Last of Us 2 comes out soon and I'm planning on locking myself in a room for that one so...

[@elenahulme7367]

Agreed. You'd love it!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Well then...

[@Dsonsee]

It looks like the Al Gore Rhythm doesn't approve of this video

[@Tom_Nicholas]

It is slightly ambivalent about it at best. Certainly not the worst any of my videos have done but I wouldn’t have exactly have been sad if it had done better!

[@andyf4292]

every time the government bails a company out, it should take shares to that value

[@lucia_kidtech]

to quote the stuependium "they say of the fable that business man croon, that dog may it dog but he pays the raccoon"

6:50 you just showed us a real politic party logo: the « parti socialiste » in France !

[@malinakoschier3874]

Why can't everything in economics be explained with examples like this one? I hated macro & microeconomics at uni, but this was really interesting!

[@LautaroArgentino]

15:30 This reminds me of something that happened in Argentina during our last dictatorship, which was part of the Plan Condor. Basically the military junta statized *private debt*.

[@roisin9401]

I NEVA FUCKED WITH THE TURNIPS

[@edbop]

A couple of things that you can't really be expected to know unless you've studied banking in an academic setting. Firstly, central banks don't 'set' the interest rate; they are the broker for government debt. Secondly, low interest rates in recent years are the result of the introduction of ICAAP or capital adequacy requirements for banks following the '08 crash - basically this has resulted in bank's demand for government debt always outstripping demand and hence a low interest rate.

[@erisesoteric7571]

I'm longing for "How Sid Meyer's Civilization reinforces colonial narratives and Eurocentrism", please Tom.

[@naomistarlight6178]

I loved the games CIV 2 and 3 as a kid and would play them for hours, but now I do get that. Not just the colonial narrative of history they reinforce, but the games also glorify aggressive conquest. If you don't conquer your neighbors first, they'll conquer you. They act like culture, religion, etc. are important but the way to beat the game is to ignore that stuff and focus on making military advances. Living in peace with another Civ side by side is rarely an option. This doesn't map onto the real world, where many countries actually are happy to retain their current borders without expansionism, and only want peace and stability.

[@jonathanbowers8964]

@@naomistarlight6178 it's why I play on lower difficulties for CIV 6 so I can focus on tourism and peaceful development

[@martianpudding9522]

I have played new horizons pretty much daily since it came out and ever since I paid of my final home loan my income and spending have been pretty stable. At some point in the summer I saved up around 9 million in my nook bank account and I still have like 7 and a half million left without ever purposefully trying to make more money. I still sell things but mostly just to get rid of stuff. I haven't bothered with turnips at any rate. I also buy everything I like in every store every day. If I did run out I would probably get some turnips and use one of those turnip tracker websites.

[@mic_at_nite]

good ole treadmill of production due to financialization

[@artemkanarchist]

Great video! ❤️🖤 I would also mention David Graeber’s “Bullshit Jobs” and David Harvey’s “Rebel Cities” because these books grasp the process of financialisation of capital really well

[@heidimelcarek3677]

I wonder if you're gonna touch on how the most expensive part of R&D is done by universities usually. N how that's also a socialized cost. Even if many are for-profit, it's not that they're reinvesting in that either. The directors are lining their own pockets. Edit: Oh, n also the DOD (in the US, department of defense in case I'm being chauvinist). Same issue.

[@Dorian_sapiens]

Hell, yes, we should nationalize any business that's dependent on public funds due to its inability to stay afloat in the private economy. Discussions of "socialism for the rich", where profits are privatized and losses are socialized, always reminds me of where I first learned about this phenomenon: the Propagandhi song "...And We Thought That Nation-States Were A Bad Idea", which begins: _“Publicly subsidized! Privately profitable!” / The anthem of the upper-tier puppeteer untouchables. / Focus a moment, nod in approval, / Then bury our head in the bar-codes of these neo-colonials._ (Another memorable line from the same song: _Try again, but now we're confused. / What is “class-war”? Is this class war? / Yes, this is class war.)_

[@Tom_Nicholas]

I've never listened to any Propagandhi. Perhaps I should?

[@Dorian_sapiens]

@@Tom_Nicholas It's good punk rock.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Hmmm, will check them out!

[@seavpal]

A company's stock price should theoretically not be proportional to its profit or dividend, but rather to the value of its market share.

[@firstlast-cs6eg]

I struggled to understand some of this. I wish you'd explain how this turnip mechanism works for those of us who haven't played AC

[@lucia_kidtech]

ok so you buy turnips at about 90 bells per turnip but you buy them ten at a time so that is about 900 bells, then everyday before noon and after noon, you go to the in-game shop and ask about the turnip price, which fluctuates between as far as I know about 80 - 250 bells and then you try to buy it at a profit but if you keep your turnips longer than a week they go off and become completely worthless.

[@firstlast-cs6eg]

@@lucia_kidtech So people can sell to this NPC at buying prices? Most unusual for a game. And then the NPC changes the price according to how many they have in stock?

[@lucia_kidtech]

@@firstlast-cs6eg not exactly I haven't used the system in the last two updates there can be around a 10 bell change in original buying price and there are a set patterns that the game chooses from at random which dictates the fluctuation of the market.

[@patrick247two]

Value is like currency and ownership. Imaginary.

[@AdolfStalin]

isn't there one character who is an Egoist who keeps stealing from the shopkeep?

[@TheKingReto]

Great video! I have no clue about AC (shocker, i know) but i really like the kinda new style!

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you! Really glad you liked it!

[@tkdyo]

Thanks for that financialization perspective. It is interesting that this even seems to work on the personal level. Right now, I have some capital that I could use to either start a business and contribute to the real economy or I could gamble it in the market. It is not enough capital that winning in the market would be a huge life changing event unless I got lucky and invested it all in a company that goes up like 10x in short order, so my instinct is to first start a business to make more money, then at a certain point when it has grown enough to make a good profit I can then gamble in the stock market for much more gains than if I were to try and expand the business further.

[@condellmaurice8597]

I thought when demand is low prices should go down. They must be doing really well opening a business sin this time and incurring a profit over operating costs.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Depends what the product is, I suppose? What company are you referring to?

[@grumblyarcher]

This video hits real different after GameStock

[@LittleHerdaz]

I'm having a sudden realisation about my workplace 😅

[@HS-bh9dz]

Deleuze and Guattari when?

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Still likely to be a while. It’s not particularly high up my priority list I’m afraid!

[@SUNSHINE-t-m]

my only dissapointment was seeing the hand n rose instead of the hammer n sickle XD

[@firemonic]

sir tom can i translate your video?

[@Tom_Nicholas]

You're more than welcome to add subtitles in a different language. In fact, I'd appreciate it very much! If you follow this link, you should be able to find the video and all will be relatively self-explanatory: kzbin.info_cs_panel?c=UCxt2r57cLastdmrReiQJkEg&tab=2 Thanks!

[@nope2603]

Watching this after GME, AMC, Daddy Elon, and cryoto blowing up the way they all have is magical.

[@alexandranash3947]

Holy Barnacles, I just had such an A-HA moment when you talked about socialism for the rich. I feel angrier than I ever thought possible...

[@KBdotHAQ]

This video made me think of how governments also bail out zombie banks...

[@saltoftheegg]

simmerly

[@samuelrosander1048]

More games teaching neoliberal values/practices are coming out as more games promoting solo survival and dog-eat-dog apocalypse scenarios come out and become popular. Coincidence? I think not.

[@anchoDePulso]

Great video. I don't know if Capitslism will colapse and when. But is urgent to think what will come next.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Thank you, really glad you liked it! Well, you know what they say, never let a crisis go to waste...

[@anchoDePulso]

@@Tom_Nicholas off toppic. I don't know if you are planning an episode of what the theory about sociological theory to understand this crisis. If you accept a sugestion I'm thinking of the Society of Risk of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens. And the idea of Shock Doctrine, the idea of Naomi Klein that some politicians can use this crisis as an oportunity to make unpopular extreme neoliberal policies.

[@Tom_Nicholas]

Might make a video on The Shock Doctrine at some point. I kinda feel like it's already been covered elsewhere (The Shock Doctrine often seems to be one of the maybe three books that actually gets discussed on this platform, albeit not always in the most meaningful way) but would be good to chat about crises and how they're used politically.

[@freesoftwareextremist8119]

If Schumpeter was right, you won't like it.

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

I hated the May Day. It was like "Oh, today we are proud of all the hard work we're doing" and my reaction was "What? No. That's neoliberal bullshit. This day is the International Worker's Day and it refers to the Haymarket Massacre. The whole point of the Haymarket protests and the idea of this day was to fight for the eight-hour work day. So technically it's a day to demand LESS work and to fight harsh working conditions. That's kinda the opposite of that 'hard work is good'-day." And as German it's like double problematic. Our "Tag der Arbeit" (Day of Labour) was etablished by the nazis as "Tag der nationalen Arbeit" (Day of national Labour) to turn a day where workers traditionally fought for better conditions into a "be proud of your work and don't complain, because that's not heroic and exploitation is just part of your noble sacrifice for your nation"-day. After the nazis were defeated they just removed the "national". So they basically kept nazi propaganda because the whole "it's noble to sacrifice yourself for your nation"-thing is also useful for the capitalist agenda and instead of real strikes you just have some family-friendly holiday processions organized by domesticated trade unions. I think it would be better to remove that day as a public holiday. Instead the Victory in Europe Day (or "Tag der Befreiung" - Day of Liberation) should be a public holiday. It's exacly one week later, to it shouldn't be a problem. And the May Day could be reclaimed as a day for wildcat strikes.

[@SirNotAppearing]

Hello from 2022 :)

[@joanneward6746]

so should we all become self employed (as far as possible, ya know, self employed ER doctor, not so easy) and buy from other small local businesses?

[@muha0644]

I know this might be a weird question, but are you a ML by any chance?

[@Kaspar502]

Animal Crossing predicted GME

[@pragueuprising560]

Didn’t see Gamestop coming then...

[@rafaelmichael2366]

There are cases in which a company's shares' price is very high but the company itself is not profitable at all... These people abandoned the real economy ages ago.

[@staberas]

9:07 sounds like you fallen for the sunk cost fallacy

[@jeffersonclippership2588]

The stork market

[@lazergurka-smerlin6561]

number go UP

[@DE23]

This feels like it was sped up.

[@cakeisyummy5755]

Turnips in ACNH are like Bitcoin.