Marxism Is Stupid

[The Comrade]

Capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit.[1] Other elements central to capitalism include Competitive markets, wage labor and capital accumulation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism

i'm really not going to get in an argument with you about how capitalism doesn't exist.

[Sandman]

[The Comrade]

speaks to the fact that i live in a capitalist system? yes, yes it does speak to that.

[Hyperion]

Marxism is not a perfect theory - no theory is - but in Das Kapital value is assigned subjectivity based on usefulness and trade-value in the market. It's a myth promoted by ideological opponents of Marx that he thought labor translated into an objective value. Granted a lot of what Marx wrote in his later years was convoluted, but it's clear he's referring to labor as being the first determining factor to to price equilibrium, not exclusively. I don't have my old copy of Das Kapital laying around (but ironically some of Hayek's works are on my adjacent bookshelf), but I believe he even qualifies his position by saying that individual preferences alter the value for consumption.

If the labor required to acquire diamonds tomorrow suddenly decreased (such as finding a huge reserve, or being able to grow them from simple carbon), the value would significantly change. It might have taken you ten years to find that one diamond, but now that they're a dime a dozen, no one cares. That is the point Marx is promoting: a vision of value being ascribed mostly by labor and social interactions.

[PoS]

[Hyperion]

North Korea has survived as a military dictatorship for 60+ years. Ergo, it is superior.

I thought the linear "march forward" was something only progressives believe.

[Revenant]

[The Dharma Bum]

That's what I'm saying. They are paid far in excess of any possible value they might possibly bring to the table. It's an unjustifiable privilege, based on rank.

[Revenant]

[Sandman]