Crassus levels of extreme wealth in the hands of a few is a symptom of the decline of a failing state, and invariably through history, such people are generally unable to let go of their wealth and power. They struggle even to treat their own workers and servants fairly.
In psychology, this is a known phenomenon.
Historically, an embarrassment of riches was sometimes literally embarrassing, and in many societies, such accumulation was frowned upon. Here in the US we lost that during the California gold rush, which redefined the American dream as striking it rich, and the railroad barons and industrial magnates became objects of admiration and aspiration.
We need to create a culture in which excess accumulation is regarded as an illness rather than the product of hard work.
We’re approaching that as we understand generally that _no one can earn a billion dollars, and that the biographies of billionaires in public life feature immorality, ruthlessness, anti-competitive business practices and still a fuckton of luck and opportunity, and intergenerational wealth to start them off. We’re even watching as many of them fail upwards through corruption and abuse of political power.
It is by no virtue that people get rich. In fact, quite the opposite.
I want to live in a society where there are two reasons to work and get ahead. You are very interested in the work and want to do it or you want more than just the basics. Absolutely everyone should have the basics. ie food, shelter, education, healthcare.
Society would be a million times better if everyone working was actually passionate about what they were doing.
I want nothing more than to run a dog rescue and rehabilitate and help them find their forever homes, its my dream but it doesn’t make any money.
yeah and even working jobs its not bad if people are good on the deal but you work with folks that don’t want to be there and they spend their time avoiding work and often times in order to do that they really spend their time sorta throwing monkey wrenches in stuff to slow it down. Its not even a corpo thing its just that they rather work at not doing the specific work and somehow feel its a better day. I am 100% sure if our society worked like I have above that we would get more done.
BS.
Why do you say that?
Shit, do you know how much human production per-capita has increased in the last 200 years alone?
Why is a good life for the 99% such a pipe dream to your eyes?
It can be done if the 1% would stop being greedy selfish assholes. So it won’t happen.
They will never stop. A better life has to be built by the working class in-spite of the rich, and that can and has been done, but it takes a lot of work from all of us pushing things forward with worker coops, joining militant unions, and building community in your local area.
Sadly, examples like Revolutionary Catalonia or the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada are typically put down by nationalist / corporate interests that feel threatened by the existence of a socialist public-serving government that appears to be working.
Heck, Wilson imposed sanctions on the Leninist USSR because it was a threat to the capitalism of the US and Europe. (Also, the US supported the Tsar and the White Army, who lost.) Containment and the Red Scare started way back then.
The purpose of giving Catalonia as an example is to show that an alternative to capitalism that doesn’t descend into authoritarianism is possible, as many are not aware that it even happened, and that Anarchist theory, when put into practice, really did work and wasn’t just hopeful pie in the sky ideas.
It shows that putting in the work to lay those foundations, even if it is a marathon spanning decades, is worth the effort.
Not with that attitude
