@ Tinita

My husband and I have been talking a lot about capitalism and socialism lately. We've watched countless videos, read books about it, discussed the topic with friends and family. Even though we've been left-leaning all our lives due to social programming from our families, we've radically changed our views in the past couple of years and are now convinced that any form or socialism is bad for humanity.

Here's a colloquial summary of our thought process as explained to an acquaintance, who is still pro-socialism:

Let's look at the animal kingdom for some context

My initial thought regarding victim and perpetrator ... take, for example, lions and gazelles in Africa. At first glance, the lion seems to be the problem because it comes and kills the poor gazelles who just want peace. Now let's look at the other side:

• The lion was not asked, whether it wants to be born a lion
• The lion cannot help that it has to eat gazelles
• It's not funny to chase after its food and if you're too slow after the 3rd attempt you'll probably won't have any strength left and die

\ If you think about it a little more, you could argue that the gazelle is actually the perpetrator. She runs away and then the lion starves. Who is the victim and who is the perpetrator?

Now ... why did nature design the system this way? Why aren't all creatures nice to each other and the lion only eats what is absolutely necessary and the gazelle just lies down and waits to be eaten?\ You will now think that's nonsense and can't be like that, but it is. You surely know the fish that swim upstream in the river, get so extremely red and pale, become parents and then die so that the next generation has something to eat. There are dependencies in nature that are stronger than the life of an individual. But only rarely ... why?

If gazelles considered the lion's feelings and just laid down if he's having a bad day, the lion would get lazy, sick and weak. Unfortunately, that's the way it is. Nobody likes to run for their food. If nature had programmed it that way, the lion would eventually realize it and start running slower. Survival of the fittest is how evolution works and the weaker lions would perish. The gazelle running as fast as it can is good for the lion. Removing the slowest animals from the herd is beneficial for the gazelles. It's an extremely cruel system, but that's the way nature works and we are all a part of it.

Capitalism is this system applied to humans. Capitalism emerges voluntarily and spontaneously between free individuals and everyone benefits from it.\ If two people are stranded on an island and one starts farming the land for fruits and the other diverts the river for more water, they both benefit. Both are better off. Each pursues their own interests (like a lion and a gazelle), but both end up benefiting.\ You work on something useful and someone else rewards you for your work. That's it. There are no victims or perpetrators ... there are only actors. Everyone works for themselves and everyone is better off.

All the problems you mentioned (deteriorating environment, poverty, social injustice, ...) arise when the collective (the state or other authorities) come together and suppress this natural system; because of poor gazelles and wicked lions. In reality, no one cares about the poor gazelles because:

• They are not poor.
• They only care about maintaining their power.

Let's talk about Jeff Bezos' Amazon, which is often vilified

One hears constantly that Amazon workers are exploited (victims) and the poor shops everywhere have to close because Bezos destroyed all other stores. What you hear about the workers at Amazon is fake news. For example here is a "negative video" because Bezos makes so much money ... but check out what the guy says:\ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OvSkhpCsUmY\ The workers there are not victims. They come voluntarily. No one forces them to work at Amazon.

If you think about it some more: Why don't you work at Amazon?\ Very likely because you have other options. You don't necessarily have to stand behind the conveyor belt. Apparently some others do. You can't control that some people have little education, ability or motivation, so that they have to do this work. They would probably starve without Amazon. Amazon is simply utilizing these people who are just there and is making something productive out of it ... which is good for us all. Imagine the difference compared to charity: With Amazon the worker earns something and is useful for society. The unemployed does nothing and wastes society's energy. The difference is enormous.\ And to make that clear again ... the workers are not victims. Many don't want to do anything else. Many are too lazy and are wasting their hard earned money on cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. Still, there are people, who are actually sick and weak among us. This is sad and I'll say more about them later.

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GltlJO56S1g Do you see an evil person, there? I see a man who risked everything to build this empire and who made huge losses for years. Why? For the purpose of providing an outstanding customer service. To you. In my opinion, Jeff Bezos is a hero.

Now for other companies:\ Compare them to the "in the sun-basking gazelles" (shops) and the attacking lions (Bezos). Now imagine a committee comes in and says: "Stop, don't eat these gazelles". WTF?

• Bezos would be starving. It's a catastrophe ... Bezos needs to get rewarded and thankfully was rewarded.
• The shops would still be lazy.
• We would still be in the stone age and sit together in the dark and starve. The world would still be poor.

Now often the consumer behavior is criticized. Amazon is to blame for all the trash, because people send everything back and it ends up in the landfill. But who sends everything back? Amazon? Amazon provides the service, people send everything back. Why is Amazon to blame? From a consumer's perspective, Amazon is a tool ... like a screwdriver. It was designed by humans exactly the way they wanted it. Some use a screwdriver to murder someone. Is the screwdriver now the problem? Should we all just stop making it more difficult for disadvantaged people who can't or won't send it back? Aren't we all grown-ups?

Some more examples of high-achievers

Watch this video from Bryan Johnson at Blueprint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djiU_pFTEVE. Does this man look like a monster to you? He works around the clock to deliver me fresh and healthy food. He was already a millionaire to start with and could have done nothing but enjoy himself. Instead of partying, he enriches my life. I am grateful forever when Bryan becomes a billionaire!

Watch the videos from Ben "Ungeskriptet": https://www.youtube.com/@ben_ungeskriptet. He constantly invites successful people. No one of them needs to work anymore. Everyone would prefer to spend more time with their family but they are driven to make society better. They earn money by doing so... yes. Once you earn a few million dollars however, money is no longer important. Everyone of those successful people confirms this. They do the hard work because they are purpose driven and we should be grateful for them.

Elon Musk wants to inspire us humans to make a colony on Mars. That's his only goal. He could also just sit at home and do nothing. Instead he works on his dream and we all benefit from it. If you don't want to work for Elon Musk, then you are free to do something else. If you can't find anyone who hires you, then you are free to start your own business and out compete Elon. If we all didn't want him to make a colony on Mars, we shouldn't buy his products. Oops... the state buys the rockets. The state gives him money. Who is the problem?\ If you don't want Starlink, don't buy it. Then he built his rockets in vain. He earned his money before and if he chooses to spend it like this, that's his own choice. If he fails, he'll have to deal with the consequences. That being said...the only problem here is that the state subsidizes SpaceX rockets against the interest of the people.

Now to the two most important points that are not often mentioned:

• We want the same thing. I am for a social system. I like that everyone is doing well. I am for supporting the weak. If I could, for example, give away 10% of my possessions and help people, I would do so immediately. I support many people in my environment with a lot of money, time, and effort. The problem is not helping unproductive or disadvantaged people ... the problem is that you steal from successful people and distribute a small part of the loot to the unproductive, so that you get more votes (Socialism). If 50% of any given country came together and hired a company to support the poorest in their society that would be awesome. I'd be on board right away. But why do you have to force me? Why do you have to steal my money and contribute it to a system that doesn't deliver results? Why don't we use the market? If the company that supports the poor doesn't use the money correctly, you can change the "provider." Unfortunately, I can hardly change the state, and that's where the problem arises. The theft is the problem... not the social system. The state is, in fact, nothing more than a monopolistic company that cannot be disrupted by competition... this wouldn't exist in a free market, and it’s fatal.
• The problem with capitalism is that you don't recognize the benefit right away. If the productivity of the world increases by 5% per year, you unfortunately don’t benefit from it. Productivity increases through Amazon, Bryan Johnson, Elon, and 1000+ companies working around the clock. All research and technology also come from the market. It’s an investment for more profit later. But for what? Your life doesn't get better, does it? There’s the problem. Actually... if the monetary system were right... everything should become 5% cheaper per year. We should have deflation. If the world gets better, everything should get cheaper, and therefore, everyone should benefit. What does actually happen? The rich get richer. Why? Because the state prints money and steals from you... about 7% per year because the central bank wants 2% inflation. Just enough so that no one notices, and no one hangs them for it. The state steals all the benefits of capitalism and distributes them to itself. The rich are the ones who can defend themselves... thus, they get richer, along with all the bureaucrats who benefit as well. About 7% per year compared to you. But this is not because of the rich. It’s because of the state. In my opinion, this is the biggest problem, and Bitcoin is the solution. Bitcoin emerged from the market for the people. A solution from the free market against the oppression of the state. Very poetic, if you ask me. With Bitcoin, prices will fall forever... even if there is no more fiat money... because the supply is fixed, and if someone starts the next Amazon and the world becomes 0.1% more productive, everything will also become 0.1% cheaper.

Let's finish with some more eye-opening content suggestions:

This video opened my eyes. I've watched it again since... it's not that impressive... but somehow it worked for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6tDV3BhrcM

Watch this, regarding the environment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJdqJu-6ZPo

Milton Friedman is always enlightening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67tHtpac5ws

And here again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_mGlqyW_Zw\ The ending is crazy. Nobody wanted to hire black people, and no social program would have changed that ... because everyone was racist back then. Even the shop owners ... and yet, they hired black people, which gave them an income. Now you can call it exploitation, but it's about the result. There's nothing that would have worked better in that environment. It doesn't sound nice, but it works.

And that's exactly how, but in the opposite way, Communism, Marxism, and Socialism work. It sounds good, but it produces Hitler, Stalin, and Mao.