How to End Capitalism for Good
It is as simple as starting to do something right now to make changes
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I spend a lot of time writing about the evils of toxic capitalism. If you asked me how to get rid of it, I may have said anything from “eating the rich” and breaking up the monopolies to redistributing wealth throughout the world.
Somewhere in there is always a need for revolution, where the government is overthrown and a new system is put into place.
But when you are talking about changes as big as that, you have to understand just who is in charge and who has the resources to ensure that they get to keep hoarding their wealth until everyone else has nothing.
The rich.
The rich control everything: government, politics, corporations, resources, weapons of war, public opinion through the media, and our means to provide for our families.
A lot of us are starting to see just what a terrible position we live in.
Some, operate in ignorance and listen to everything the rich feed them. They make excuses for their predatory behavior, writing listicles about how much better they are than us because they have morning routines and write about how if we adopt their ways, we too can be among the elite.
Many of us will do anything to get out of poverty, even if that means becoming a lapdog for the wealthy.
Do you think Jeff Bezos cares if you retire early with a million dollars in the bank? Then why are you modeling your life after the fake routines you think he practiced to get where he is? He didn’t become disgustingly wealthy because he got up a 5 am every morning, he got there because he has no scruples or morals, and will do anything, even stepping on the backs of the downtrodden, to get to a higher level in society.
Why do you think Elon pushes crypto so much? Because he and his cronies are set up to make a lot of money if you sink your life savings into some fake “coin.” He doesn’t care if you get ahead — he prefers you didn’t so you stay indebted to him and keep building the parts for his EVs and rockets for poverty wages.
Capitalism is toxic, but it’s not so much a system as it is a pattern. The system that inspires and drives capitalism is explicit trade. Explicit trade is our most common form of trading and is defined as a “like-for-like value exchange in an exclusive one-to-one arrangement.”
You want a computer, you trade money (which we have given value) for a new laptop. But where do you get money? You trade your time and energy in the form of work in exchange for wages.
The reason we trade is that we want to exchange goods and services, and we want the other parties to reciprocate in kind. We do not trust them to reciprocate willingly so we have trade agreements.
Most of the time we trust our families, so we don’t request exchange or payment for the goods and services we provide them like we do others we don’t know well.
The problem with exchange and trade is that, if you look at the models, one group always comes out on top owning the most wealth. It’s a mathematical fact.
Those with more skills make more wealth. But what privileges or head start did they have in the beginning? Did they come from a rich family, or was their education paid for? What is the color of their skin? Are they a man or otherwise?
And once the wealthier people get to the top, they can dictate value. They can decide what they think they are owed in exchange for goods and services, and that is what keeps the 90% from rising to the top.
But, most of you know the score. I shouldn’t have to tell you that capitalism is unfair and toxic.
What Do You Replace it With?
I am fond of writing about killing capitalism, but I rarely write about the systems we need to put into place to replace it.
If we keep basing everything on a free trade system, the pattern will always return to capitalism. If we focus on explicit trade, one small group will always hoard the wealth.
So what we need to focus on is implicit trade or a moneyless system. Implicit trade is defined as “a debt implied through an act of generosity of no agreed value or terms.” For example, you get sick and can’t pick your potatoes, but a group of farmers come in the middle of the night and do it. You feel grateful, but there is no value of indebtedness attached to the act.
It’s as simple as saying “I owe you one!”
But, Jason, look at what happened to other moneyless societies. Where are they now?
I’ll answer with a quote from the Open Access Economy Wiki:
“It’s important to note that, although almost every occurrence of moneyless societies later ceded to monetised economies, it demonstrates that, without predatory interference and scarcity, humans tend to organise themselves in this way. Presumably, within a prevailing culture of sharing, and without the rigours of accounting, it’s the easiest way of organising.”
There were successful societies that were moneyless long before capitalism, but a more powerful society comes in and changes it, usually with force as in the case of the Native Americans.
So, to rid ourselves of capitalism, we change over to an implicit trading or moneyless system that is based on trust and reciprocation.
But, Jason, do you think everyone will agree? Some people like unbridled capitalism!
Sure, the rich will not want to change the status quo and will fight with all their immense resources so they can continue to sit on their hoard of wealth, but we only have to change the behavior of large numbers of average citizens. We don’t need to worry about the rich and it’s not the massive task it appears to be.
All it usually takes is a small minority (up to 10%), who need to be persuaded to influence the whole society. This is due to our “innately social cohesive nature.”
We need to change over to an open access economy where, when it comes to basic living necessities like food, water, housing, healthcare, and clothing, no one should be denied access due to inability to pay.
If this sounds interesting to you, all you need to do is start thinking differently. There are already communities where like-minded people are gathering and signing charters and making change happen.
I found one such community at the Free World Charter and they already have almost 60K people who want to change.
I won’t jam it down your throat, Do your research. We all know that capitalism is evil, and it will only go away if we force it, so it’s time we started taking action toward that goal.
Want to end capitalism? Start now!
