yeah his civil war from 1911 to 49 was interesting, poor chinese suffering 3 wars at once at some points in time then

a lot of my coworkers are very reactionary against words like communism and socialism

@Brickiest Brick Capitalism is not some kind of anthropomorphic entity that is responsible for computers and other technologies. These things were created by laborers, many of whom were and are exploited and subjected to the most degrading of working conditions thanks to the profit motive.

I work with a lot of people from SE Asia, lots of cambodians one of them survived pol pot

I think it is hard to know what products would be made with or without capitalism?

but lemon, if it were not for the greed and motivation to make those ideas, they would not have happened. do you believe, under a communist system instead of a capitalist one, we would have all this technology around us today?

Pol Pot was not a Marxist. He was a psychopathic, dictatorial murderer though with possible connections to Western intelligence.

i know you have an issue with the morals of capitalism, but you can't deny it works

do you think there might be room for markets for certain luxury items in an ideal society?

@Brickiest Brick I know we would, in fact, I believe we would be better off. Innovation is not something unique to capitalism, on the contrary, the historical record provides evidence for the fact that innovation is stifled more often than not because of an aversion to risk, which may or may not turn a profit.

The USSR was highly advanced technologically.

like I can't see what a command economy would be like beyond what has happened in history but shouldn't there be an outlet for entertainment, intoxicants, etc that should be handled by the markets?

can you cite some evidence to back up that claim? not saying i don't believe it, just wondering if there are any actual examples

https://www.socialistalternative.org/2014/11/08/capitalism-stifles-science/

https://www.marxist.com/capitalism-versus-science.htm

@quiscalus It doesn't sound like Marxism is for you. You should look into guys like Proudhon, Carson and Left-Rothbardians. The Alliance for the Libertarian Left might be a good place to find what you're looking for in terms of theory and activism.

im gonna have to ask you a question here

regarding the second paragraph

"All throughout the world people needing medical attention for diseases, curable or otherwise, are often neglected on the basis that it is unprofitable to treat them."

I am not sure if a command economy is the best system but how would I know beyond historical examples?

i haven't really heard of any instances at least in recent history of this actually occurring

if you have markets but still have the workers own the means of production could you have a mixed economy that gave people their basic needs but allowed for competition between worker owned businesses making different products like movies, music, booze, tobacco, etc?

I still have a lot more to read before I develop any real concrete beliefs on what I think is best for society, I am still a babbie leftist despite being 30

Patients in the US are being cut off by insurance companies and denied treatment beyond the scope of emergency situations. And even in emergency situations, they accrue debt. In places like the UK, the NHS has been rationing treatment and cutting back on treatment options in an attempt to save money.

Third-world capitalist countries are even worse.

that is terrible I had to cut my working hours because I couldn't afford private insurance and had to drop my monthly income to get medicaid instead, I think health insurance is terrible because it focuses on profit before providing the best service

@quiscalus You can still have a democratically-run market economy like what was seen in Yugoslavia, for example.

yeah I was interested in Tito but I don't know the best way to learn about him I tend to watch documentaries and listen to podcasts and audiobooks for my info

Market Socialism is definitely a thing, and you should definitely look into the guys I mentioned.

I am of course a Stalinist and am completely averse to subjecting people to the tyranny of the market. Lol

if you could give me a single piece of leftist media that is easy to digest what would it be, I feel a lot of stuff I get told to read is long, dense, and time consuming I work a lot and have lots of things to take care of in life so I tend to not go after things that are harder to get done

I watched a recent BBC doc about the revolution in 1917 it was pretty interesting, exploring the people behind it. I had no idea Lenin's struggle to make it back in time for that pivotal moment in history of the role of the provisional governent

I hear you, I'm in my early 20s and am currently working two jobs on top of schooling so it can be rough. For Marxist theory thats easy to digest I recommend "State and Revolution," "Value, Price and Profit," "Principles of Communism," and "The Origin of Private Property, the Family and the State"

well i think healthcare providers are under too much government regulation to be able to charge lower prices

as well as the high burden on the taxpayer

the government squeezes these providers dry

I hear people talk about state and revolution a lot, do you think it is the best of Lenin's work?

and it hurts the consumer

why do you think there is such a focus on single payer over nationalized healthcare in the US?

State and Revolution is brilliant, and certainly one of his best works. I highly recommend it.