RE: Beyond the Capitalism/Socialism Dichotomy
The problem here is you are blaming the wrong entity.
Lets say that there was no factory. Then no one works at the factory and no products are made.
Is this better or worse than a factory with employees?
Creating a factory is intensely difficult, time and money consuming and fraught with peril. If a person, or group of people do not receive great benefits from this undertaking, than a factory doesn't get built.
In socialist and communist countries, no new factories are built, and the old ones slowly rot.
So, do you still place the blame at the feet of the factory owners?
Actually you need to place the blame at the feet of govern-cement (taxes) and the fractional reserve banks.
If you had no taxes, you could stay on your farm and continue growing food and not care if there are factories or not. But, taxes slowly take away your property, and cause you to have to get money.
The FED makes everything more costly over time. Inflation exists because of them. So, you not only have to make money to pay those taxes, you have to make more and more money to just stand still economically.
I'm not sure what you're referencing in my post. My point was that the relationship between the owners of the means of production (today corporate billionaires via plutocracy) have broken The Golden Rule as I understand it and the relationship between these owners and the workers is not voluntary and is embedded within coercion and exploitation.
I agree with you, though, that one of the many possible solutions is a return to intelligent and educated homesteading, but this in itself wouldn't solve the issue of scale.
The issue primarily, is what I call The Age of Usury...I address this in my latest post.
You won't, however, get much agreement from me if you choose to assess our current dilemmas from one side of the political polemic.
I am an abolitionist. And that is the side i will stay on.
And you said,
So, i replied that it is not the factory owners fault, it is other forces that require one to work to make a living.
That may be but the relationship is still one of coercion and exploitation.
In a Godless Darwinian universe, that condition is somewhat understandable, but it's untenable from any truly honest spiritual understanding.
It be true that there are religions that could justify this conflict and condition but I reject most of them via the faculties of reason and logic and have distilled religion to one spiritual principle which wouldn't concede this abusive relationship.
We also live in an idiosyncratic age so I'd be interested in what exactly you mean by being an abolitionist.
Interesting.
To me everything voluntary is ethical and goes well with the spiritual path.
Coercion on the other hand is evil.
The most violent entity in sight is the state apparatus. It's the very structure of oppression -and yes,
it is used against the people by powerful groups.
The government wants us to look the other way, though, and blame capitalism instead of the state.
'The rich' are not your enemy, that's just Marxist divide and rule...
Those are your enemy who initiate violence against you, your property, body or free will.
Don't like big banks/business?
Don't use their debt money and don't buy their products and services.
But more importantly:
Stop giving more power to their most powerful weapon, the state!
Socialism = Radical Statism
Radical Statism = totalitarianism
I concede that there is a spiritual quality about being 15 years old reading Rand and if you were to frame your post within materialism and atheism I wouldn't be replying, but I can't abide the spiritual component of your post for two reasons: the capitalism you think exists doesn't and never has--the El-ites instituted capitalism and today it spans the world via corporate control of the state; also, the type of spirituality you are espousing is a type of every man for himself ethic and is equivalent to esoteric fascism.
And I'm done talking to all the fake profiles on this site so don't bother replying.
Get the facts here: https://steemit.com/conspiracy/@andrewmarkmusic/the-worldwide-religion-of-money
It is rather disappointing to see that instead of having a discussion about how on Earth coercion in any of it's variations is compatible with spirituality or ethics, you chose to go straight ad hominem.
Condescending, calling this a fake profile etc.
I dare you to tell me how you think the coercion and initiation of violence done by the state with a quarter BILLION victims in the last century is just fine with your 'spiritual path'.
I didn't look at your link because of your behavior and tone, but talking about the financial system is a great start.
The fractural reserve system is meant to keep people under control, who doubts that?
But maybe instead of hoping that somehow more state is a solution, more theft, more coercion, more violence, we could start using financial systems that serve us better, how about that?
The alternative to private property is the state apparatus controlling everything. Therefore private property is the best way around.
I do acknowledge, however, that unused land must be open to someone using it.
I don't expect an answer, much less an excuse, but if you do choose to actually argue your point, please wait until you have overcome that anger you seem to be struggling with.
I took the time to view your profile. There is no introduction post and no pic of you with a date stamp and I can't see any videos of you talking via the screen; perhaps they are there somewhere but I can't find them. Until I do find evidence that you're a real person I've no interest in talking with you. If people want to have anonymous (or fake profiles ) here it doesn't concern me one bit other than to put parameters on who I engage with here...
:) Easy comrade, don't put me on the list, I shall soon return with valid credentials in order to charm you into arguing your position.
If I get around to it...
Meanwhile let's remember that true freedom starts with the work inside. I think we can agree on this.
One step on the spiritual path demands three steps on the ethical path... That's the way I see it.
Peace