What Toilet Kombucha Can Teach You about Capitalism

On this episode of Common Sense Soapbox, Ron goes to prison and finds it not so easy to shame his fellow inmates. To make up for this lack, Ron invents an economic system of voluntary exchange. As our suspiciously-voiced narrator explains, that’s called capitalism.
______________________________
CREDITS:
Written by Sean W. Malone, Seamus Coughlin, and Lou Perez
Animated by Seamus Coughlin
Produced & Edited by Sean W. Malone
______________________________
LINKS:
fee.org/articl...
reason.com/201...
triblive.com/o...
www.econlib.or...
study.com/acad...
mises.org/wire...
www.investoped...

[@anthonyminimum]

If that rock hammer fell on a sickle, it would’ve been more hilarious because Ron would look at it and say “oh look, I invented a new symbol for prisoners of the world!”

[@anthonyminimum]

I’ve never seen the Shawshank Redemption movie so I don’t get the reference itself

[@James_Bee]

Andy Dufrane uses a rock hammer to tunnel through his prison cell wall. It took him several years (I do not recall how many, it was a lot) to tunnel through it. He eventually gets into the sewer system and escapes. He was falsely accused of murdering his wife and sent to prison for life. It's one of the greatest movies of all time. My personal favorite movie.

[@TheCharleseye]

​@@James_Bee And you just ruined it for him by outlining the whole thing, rather than telling him it's a really good movie and he should watch it.

[@Kio_Kurashi]

@@TheCharleseye Honestly, if they kept reading after the first sentence and didn't recognize that the whole thing was being spoiled then that's on them.

[@MelancollieCandybutt]

​@@TheCharleseye the movie is stupid old. People have made reference to it for over a decade. If they haven't watched it, they probably won't. No love lost

[@gutsmasterson2488]

This animation feels incomplete when Ron doesn’t get visited by the government on the taxes he owes for starting a business.

[@MyShiroyuki]

What are they going to do? Throw him in prison? Haha

[@tuseroni6085]

@@MyShiroyuki just take all the money he makes.

[@daerdevvyl4314]

His ass belongs to the warden.

[@James_Bee]

He was paid in cash and simply doesn't have to report it. Prisoners aren't gonna snitch cause they want that kambucha. Of course, being in prison, I'm sure someone will teach him about money laundering.

[@moldyshishkabob]

@@MyShiroyuki Yeah, and all he'll have to do is identify as female and get sent to Washington.

[@ProfDragonite]

Cognitive dissonance so strong, you become the very thing you hate and despise.

[@Snake1366]

Ronnie was so close to just being normal.

[@mustang607]

Many people seem to get that thought that if they had the power to rule the world everything would be wonderful under their latest idealism.

[@watchdealer11]

Common Sense Soapboax is the best film in the MCU

[@tedharris7105]

I have to agree, 11/10 would definitely see again

[@Sarfnic]

indeed

[@Smooshmouf]

I love it when Ron took the infinity gauntlet and gave Ariel human legs so she could fight Darth Vader.

[@watchdealer11]

@@Smooshmouf And then Seamus threw the ring into the Death Star and lost his connection to the past Avatars

[@daerdevvyl4314]

The Milton Friedman Cinematic Universe.

[@zeogold]

If brain power was dynamite, Ron wouldn't have enough to blow his nose.

[@HenshinFanatic]

Or enough to blow smoke.

[@WickedFireBird69]

Once upon a time, something like this would have been played in a grade school class...now it's aimed at full grown adults. *deep sigh*

[@GF-qb3uo]

Yep. You would have watched it while eating a big bowl of cereal on Saturday morning between "I'm Only a Bill" and "Conjunction Junction."

[@revermen3580]

They'd have played it straight.

[@bigredwolf6]

Still better educational content than what most schools dish out

[@HwoarangtheBoomerang]

It's a longer story than you think. You could say it's more.... college humor in a way.

[@932ForeverLove]

What you don’t learn as a kid you eventually learn as an adult

[@kingrobotnik6950]

I kinda low-key wanted to see Morgan kick the crap outta Ron when he said no lol

[@ashleypenn7845]

My neighbor has chickens. Eggs are expensive. I make jams and jellies. My neighbor is not good at making jams and jellies. I trade her jams and jellies for eggs. Both of us are happy. Yay, free market!

[@Undomaranel]

Shhh! If Uncle Sam finds out he'll want a slice of each!

[@proehm]

Now you've put it out there for governmental tax agencies.

[@Saint_Wolf_]

Barter, the freest of free markets.

[@gutsmasterson2488]

Someone do the Schoolhouse Rock Barter song!

[@RicardoLuna]

Socialism: My neighbor has chickens. I shoot the b**tard that dares to have something I don't. He dies, and now I don't have eggs.

[@angryfoxzd5233]

People have been using capitalism for 1000s of years all the way back to earliest forms of civilization. You work you make money and use money to buy things.

[@FilosSofo]

Capitalism is not just free markets (which really did not exist either). It's free markets with property rights.

[@colonelcorn9500]

furry detected opinion rejected

[@angryfoxzd5233]

@colonelcorn9500 not an option an obvious fact. Also furrys control the art industry.

[@GoldenRedder]

FilosSofo You have to own something In order to trade it. You don't see people trading air.

[@TrazynPrime]

@@colonelcorn9500wether he be a furry or no he is factually correct capitalism is prevalent everywhere

[@TheInlander420]

Can we get a loop of Ron trying to shame inmates into wearing Coof Clothes, then getting beat up? It's oddly therapeutic

[@alphaghoul]

Coof clothes?

[@TheInlander420]

The plural of "cloth" is what I meant

[@alphaghoul]

@@TheInlander420 Um, their already wearing clothes?

[@TheInlander420]

Is buddy drunk?

[@alphaghoul]

@@TheInlander420 I give up.

[@glens2019]

Reminds me of how AfterPrisonShow got through his time in the slammer relatively without trouble. He was a tattoo artist and there weren't any in his cell block.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

he did invent regulation free capitalism. next episode have the health inspector and FDA fine him and give him more prison time.

[@AdamKlownzinger]

Here’s rhe thing: no he didn’t invent a new system, but by modern standards he essentially re-introduced it, considering we don’t even have a legitimately capitalist system right now with our levels of taxation on literally everything, government intrusion in some sectors, monopolies in others, etc

[@James_Bee]

Taxing the wealthy more than the poor, just because they have more... Yet, simultaneously giving wealthy tax breaks, government loans, bail outs, etc. Combined with money buying legislation via lobbyists that defeat the small upstarts from ever getting big. Few exceptions find their way in the cracks of that. Government overreach. You know, our founding fathers gave us a way to fight that....

[@watchdealer11]

Shawshank Soapboax 😂

[@Xanthro2]

"Its never been tried before!!!!" Classic line that some how never seems to connect with any of them.

[@clearviewmoai]

Dad used to tell me "everyone's a socialist until they start making money."

[@nicholasstancel]

"Don' ya get it, Red?!?! ... I'm innocent!" "Everyone's innocent in Shawshank, EXCEPT Ronnie!"

[@nathanwilliams8458]

I'm just impressed that Seamus got Morgan Freeman to narrate one of his videos.

[@proehm]

So... They wouldn't recognize it if they were hit over the head with it.

[@MrX3rt]

Amazing episode. I just recently watched every episode I had not seen and they were soooo good! I especially liked bob to the future. I was also wondering, what ever happened to the jokes about bob’s butt implants? Anyways, thanks for making such great and educational videos. I’ve learned a lot.🙂

[@mattvermillion6062]

"Some men you just can't reach."

[@arnoldtettero8470]

nice work on the video , and it took me until the hammer to figure out you had parodied one of my favorite drama movies.

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

One minor inaccuracy: The currency of a US prison isn't the US dollar. It's cigarettes.

[@StaryExtra]

And just like that, Ron became a CORPORATIST!

[@Snakedude4life]

When you ask the anti-capitalist how come they don’t just move to a non-capitalist country: 😡 🎩 🐍 no step on Snek! 🇺🇸🇭🇰

[@Saint_Wolf_]

Their answer is because they non-capitalist country are also not socialist either, for socialism has never been tried.

[@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz]

Commie: down with capitalism. Us: why not try North Korea or China? Commie: 😡

[@platty9237]

@@Saint_Wolf_ exactly. They haven’t done it my way, which is the one way (and only way) that system will work! 😂

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

More than likely, so called "anti-capitalists" aren't really like that, but they prefer a social welfare state mixed with capitalism, or mixed economy.

[@daerdevvyl4314]

Wolf The Iron Lord They imagine that if they were in charge, their genius would make socialism work. But that's exactly what every socialist thought.

[@TheParadiseParadox]

I always remember the scene, I think it's from David Copperfield. David goes to see a relative in prison and finds him working away at his desk. If people could still do that, it would probably change society a lot. They say the greatest form of charity is to help a man become self-sufficient. Modern prison systems are the opposite, robbing people of the chance to be self-sufficient.

[@zaknelthepony7124]

And if Ron makes enough value, sonce their currency printing/creation is fairly limited, it will actually cause deflation.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

now he has to give the warden 50% for taxes

[@maybeimrambling9401]

i will fix and reupload it tommorow thanks for telling me

[@maybeimrambling9401]

i will fix and reupload tommorow thanks for telling me

[@iandrake4683]

The biggest problem with capitalism is government. That's really my only gripe.

[@dankdaze42069]

You can think the left for being so corrupt they pay people to get into the right It sounds dumb but yeah when you have so much money you could practically buy the US 5 times over It's kind of impossible for people to resist either they they even kill people you know that right 😐

[@Maniac3020]

You know, all economic systems have government. It's got nothing to do with capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system. Democracy and Dictatorships are government systems. Capitalism can exist under both.

[@iandrake4683]

@@Maniac3020 I don't disagree with your sentiment, but governments tend to corrupt capitalism by creating regulatory capture, stifling competition, and picking winners.

[@garycarpenter2932]

@@Maniac3020 ah, but governments were allowed to tap into capitalism via gov. unions. the two don't mix. private capitalist businesses decide to go union? make a better product? and stay in competition? fine. gov. unions? can't stay in business? raise taxes. something to ponder.

[@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz]

So you don't have a problem with capitalism.

[@samuelzuleger5134]

Well, depending on the prison, they do have "free" (*cough* government funded) housing, food, and health care, so its no wonder he's so excited.

[@mustang607]

Whereas Capitalism is essentially a voluntary system that encourages competition, individual ownership and responsibility, which brings up overall prosperity, but has inequality; Socialism is essentially an involuntary system, which discourages competition, individual ownership and responsibility, and also has inequality.

[@alecciarosewater7438]

Am I expected to compete over food and housing as well?

[@xenmorempire]

You know your right infact im not gonna even take part in it or work in it *starves to death*

[@maxinsight]

Very good Seamus.

[@captainsinclair7954]

Who else is surprised Ron got put behind bars?

[@fearthehoneybadger]

You mean that making is more sustainable than taking?

[@SweatyFatGuy]

Its more work to make than take, so the 'less than industrious' prefer the taking over making. Thats why the inept go into pol.

[@georgejones5019]

Perfectly timed after The Anarchist Cafe just announced their closing at the end of May.

[@jordancampbell8597]

Great video! Reminds me of the Dinesh Redemption...

[@jonsku6662]

"But what if instead of capitalism, we *[insert description of capitalism]* ?"

[@bustacap3791]

best green mile parody I have seen yet!

[@platty9237]

Uhhhhhh.. do you mean Shawshank, or am I missing something here?

[@James_Bee]

Or, ya know, Shawshank Redemption...

[@bustacap3791]

@@platty9237 just farming interaction from people who have to be right 🤪

[@ToastCre4tive]

Always love the outro Seamus!

[@reubenoakley5887]

I'm honestly glad Ron didn't get a Bob-style redemption arc. He hasn't EARNED it yet!

[@TheHogfatherInvades]

kevita pineapple peach kombucha is the best thing ever ngl

[@AJKPenguin]

Thank you Red for the economic session.

[@aetius9]

Love the rock hammer reference! hahaha

[@chainsawsubtlety9828]

The cartoon prison needs more representation. Only one prisoner was a 'person of color'.

[@igiby1017]

Could you do a video on the gold standard, and its values and drawbacks?

[@pattonramming1988]

Remember when common sense wasn't considered a superpower Yeah me neither

[@psunitro1]

Content keeps getting better....too bad you have so much material to choose from.

[@TheDavidjoek]

lol rock hammer. great callout

[@bluespidergaming7719]

ronny was all for a free market until another inmate started making a competing Kombucha stand at a lower price ronny felt betrayed and heart broken that he was no longer the only Kombucha seller and instead of competing price wise for that Kombucha or improving his own product he went to the warden and payed him to make a rule that ronnys stand was the only stand allowed to stand destroying his competition

[@brandenwilson4378]

Good Shawshank reference.

[@magicalminty6203]

Ah the Shawshank Redistribution. Great movie.

[@GarackTheMad]

That's certainly a title.

[@williamturner6192]

Thank you so much

[@BoomGiggity]

Almost sounds like a certain coffee shop in Toronto...

[@alexanderwhite298]

Yep that's capitalism makes everything a prison.

[@smileemailee]

No poster of Rita Hayworth?

[@xenmorempire]

You forgot to put in violence and murder such like how that one guy who made a car run on water got poisoned

[@Joshua-ew6ks]

So is this before Ron goes to the Future. Or was that in another timeline?

[@anamosamapper7521]

Since there is no mention of the private ownership of the means of production, this is really only markets and not explicitly 'Capitalism', although I get that on a level it is a nitpick

[@ktshipman21]

Oh, Ronnnie. Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’.

[@djmars1983]

I was waiting for this

[@markgel9510]

Remember every or most story still needs a villain

[@ktownjunkie]

just like his prison capitalism, it exists outside of prison in the grey- and blackmarkets, too

[@slimeinabox]

What was the rock hammer for though?

[@WTFFN]

You okay bro, you sounded a little down in the outro, the freedom toon family loves you bro, we be watching Tim argue with simps just to see you every couple days.

[@WTFFN]

If you're feeling down try eating a female pencil 😂😂😂

[@Zerecese]

The only "TWO MORE WEEKS" you can trust!

[@jeremycarnes1656]

The latest commie comeback to this is "trade isn't capitalism!" Every time, I feel like my brain is leaking...

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

Technically, that's true. Its only barter. Once a common currency is used, then it's capitalism 😅

[@jeremycarnes1656]

@@FaceD0wnDagon no. Bartering involves capital.

[@imperialbricks1977]

Dear Lord that title.

[@eloimireault8401]

if Ron wants to promote private enterprises that offer good and services freely YET put walls around them to only allow certain kind of exchanges to be maid... would that be Economic Fascism ? where the government exercises strong control and regulation over the economy and individual freedom, often in collaboration with large corporations and business interests

[@jimwall2291]

What's the hammer about? Is that a reference to something in prison?

[@carlthelongshoreman1979]

It’s a tool

[@shadowsa2b]

Ron is a sick, sick man!

[@Zetact_]

Hipsters trying to pronounce "konbucha" will repeatedly be painful.

[@haydenrobbie7368]

hmm... i couldn't see the like button... it still worked... think my conection is just bad...

[@Herowebcomics]

Wow! Even when he's drinking out of the toilet he still hasin't learned!😂

[@kingdomofgenevamapping]

i watch common sense soapbox for the plot

[@HannoversSoap]

Good that there is Redemption for Ron coming. After Bob already had his Redemption Ark I could not see how the characters would keep running if Ron became pro-capitalist too.

[@AlbanAwan]

They could always run up against outsiders and they can have differing points of view that run up against each other in episodes where both sides have a point

[@HannoversSoap]

@@AlbanAwan Do you know what is the difference between a modern leftism and a spear?

[@masonpyle5929]

Bob becomes a capitalist by going to the future. Ron becomes a capitalist by going to jail.

[@LimitBreakZero]

Remember, some economic systems are better than others, but all methods of being a jerk are equally invalid

[@janker1676]

Good thing he is in prison so he can't imprison us lol

[@jaywerner8415]

So his takeaway from this experience is Slave/Prison labor?

[@alphaghoul]

Hm, this seemed too short and yet it’s atleast two minutes long.

[@Tim7even9ine]

Who is the narrator?

[@titansmashproductions5001]

You see thats normal Capitalism. Good Capitalism. Now a days though most of the little guys are being so squeezed out by big corporations that we are starting to resemble an oligarchy. Don't even get me started on the taxes and inflated market that makes actually turning a profit without becoming a stock market manipulator/just ruining other peoples lives next to impossible.

[@ronniehopper2726]

I swear to God I've never been to prison

[@kerwinbrown4180]

It is called corporatism when socialism is combined with capitalism. Don't you enjoy living in it?

[@carlthelongshoreman1979]

No it isn’t

[@kerwinbrown4180]

@@carlthelongshoreman1979 The literally claim that they are a mixed economy. Are you going to debate with the experts? Free market economies do not have a command economy or a banking system.

[@arspsychologia4401]

It certainly works on a small scale. Purely free association doesn't exactly work on a national scale since you're not associating with everyone, you need something to bind those people together if they are going to defend their collective interests.

[@thanatosdriver1938]

I don't think you can do this in prison

[@battery_boy]

And this is how you make a disingenuous argument

[@lieutenantdan1413]

Free markets =/= capitalism. Capitalism is based upon capital. In our modern economy that means debt through public trading and loans with compounding interest. Free market: Susie has a lemonade stand and sells yummy lemonade on a hot day, making enough to buy lemons and sugar for tomorrow as well as make more than her allowance. Capitalism: Susie has to up lemonade sales by 15% today so she can pay her shareholders and service the debt she owes to dr. Shekelberg for borrowing to afford the fentynol she has been spiking her lemonade with for the last month to hook people and gain repeat customers.

[@CommonSenseSoapbox]

Not to get into a purely semantic debate, but the literal textbook definition of capitalism is: ": an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market." Free markets are intrinsic to capitalism as a concept. To the extent that free markets are rejected, it's more accurate to say that those are aspects of the system which are not "capitalism". And in fact, there are several other terms for state-controlled or manipulated systems, such as Mercantilism (which is what Adam Smith was primarily critiquing in The Wealth of Nations), Socialism (which long pre-dates capitalism), etc. The situation you describe, hyperbole aside, is more a function of having publicly traded companies than anything. At least the part about having shareholders. The other part is simply you describing someone committing a crime. In any case, only 1% of US companies are publicly traded and thus have "shareholders". The vast majority are single proprietor and small to medium-sized private businesses.

[@lieutenantdan1413]

@CommonSenseSoapbox I didn't expect to get a response. So, thanks for that. In your very cordial reply, it appears you missed the "compounding interest" portion of my hyperbolic scenario. I bring this up because that is my main argument as to why capitalism in the modern world is flawed. Being able to charge interest, let alone compounding interest on money is a poisoned pill for a nation's economy at every level from pay day advance loans to buying government bonds. In the case of government bonds: when a john buys a long term government bond, hypothetically he pays the government 1000 and expects a 10% return in 25 years, collecting 1100 dollars when he retires. As we both know, the government does not add value to the economy, so all money they have is either printed and loaned from the fed at interest or taxed from citizens. So where does the 100 dollars John collects come from? His kids. Since taxes invariably increase in order to service government debt (like bonds), John, in essence, is stealing from his children via the IRS. But what he gains is practically nothing due to the increased money printing required to keep other money loaning systems afloat. So, who ended up winning in this scenario? The international banking system/Federal Reserve since they collect interest on every dollar printed, causing an inescapable debt cycle due to there never being enough money extant to pay off the debt incurred to create that money. This process is accelerated by and produces inflation, leaching actual value from the economy and individuals I use this example since government interactions are less complicated and varied than personal and coorperate interactions. I acknowledge that this example is an oversimplification and not directly related to economic systems. But it applies to the way in which capital is created (via loans). Since all extant capitalist systems use this monetary scheme, it is reasonable to say that capitalism ultimately only benefits "Mr. Shekelberg" from my previous post's example. Debt and debt cycles are inherent in capitalism, but not necessarily in free/semi free markets. The reason no modern free market is anything besides capitalist is due to international finance using its influence over capitalist nations (and by extendion their armies) to not allow any other nation to deprive them of their profits. Winston Churchill has a quote about Germany that solidifies this proposition. TLDR: In practice, capitalism is a specific flavor of free market that is focused on acquiring capital by any means legal. Since capital only comes into existence in the modern world via bank loans, it is fair to say that capitalism is a soft slavery of entire nations due to interest and inflation working in combination.

[@tedharris7105]

Ron... no 😂

[@nkosig4995]

Man i feel like he would just be enslaved and forced to make kambucha or be molested in prison

[@euthanasiothehospiceclown6480]

All Kombucha is toilet Kombucha, worst drink ever...not even a 2

[@djinsanity3575]

Ron...you need help...or less brain washing

[@Cracklin]

Supply and Demand, something something racism

[@garrickmalott2775]

I tried kombucha once,pretty sure it's all made in a toilet.

[@MrNickPresley]

It’s definitely reminiscent of carbonated pee, yeah- or at least, it’s how I imagine pee to taste carbonated.

[@1manwalkingfreakshow]

@@MrNickPresley are you sure that’s not Bud Light or Miller Lite you’re talking about?

[@MrNickPresley]

@@1manwalkingfreakshow Honestly? No. They all taste about the same level of “Based on how awful this is, I can tell that you really hate yourself,” so it’s very hard to tell the difference.

[@1manwalkingfreakshow]

@@MrNickPresley Good point.

[@alecciarosewater7438]

Someone explain to me how capitalism is supposed to help me raise a child Does capital have its limits? There are a lot of demagogues that dont think so

[@danielcuthbert961]

Selling things people want is every economic system from primitive communism, to slave economy, to feudalism, to capitalism, to future communism. Capitalism is an investor owned economy in which workers own nothing

[@shadowofhawk55]

Wrong. I’m not an investor, I own my car my computer my life (selling that in the next few months though) and so do many other people. Under communism you don’t own shit. You’re doled out your cut by what the government thinks you deserve with no choice.

[@zeogold]

You're as stupid as Ron.

[@solacehealer7589]

Turned into Ben Shapiro at the end.

[@funkla65]

If you're teachable, that is.