RE: What Is Financial Value?
Which country did you live in, if you don't mind me asking? Often the meme that gets spread around is people building rafts out of trash to try and escape socialist countries (and the dictator regimes that are usually created by them). Your points are accurate about the dangers of nationalism and the concerns over the spread of fascism. Anarchy means "without rulers" and real anarcho-capitalists I interact with want nothing to do with nationalism or anything that would create a ruler. Fascism, from my understanding, requires the use of force provided by the government monopoly on force. Modern anarcho capitalists respect the NAP (non-aggression principle) and reject all actions which would violate it. A simple 8 minute video explains why property is valid and an extension of owning myself in the past.
I really appreciate how you are open to opposing ideas. I think that is a beautiful thing. I've spent many, many hours in the ancom vs. ancap Facebook debate group to form my current views, but I too am open to adjusting them or being flat out wrong.
I come from the former GDR. The GDR, however, was one of the flagships of the eastern bloc and was more wealthy than its "brotherstates". Therefore, perhaps, the GDR can be seen not as the rule but more as an exception. And it is true, that the GDR was not as wealthy as its western neighbor (which was also a flagship, however, for capitalism). Nonetheless, this is not globally true, as there were no unemployed in the GDR -- therefore, when you aggregate the wealth compared with heavily unequal societies all taken together more people were satisfied. Nobody has had these existential fears that are nowadays omnipresent. The often cited Stasi was no issue at all that has played any role in the normal life, compared to what the NSA and CIA did the Stasi was a joke. People also talked about what they did not wanted in the leadership, there was no constant censorship like it is displayed in fictional novels like 1984. However, there also was not free speech -- which I think was the biggest problem -- however, look at germany nowadays there also is no free speech. People even get fired when they attend the wrong demonstration or write the wrong thing in "social" media. The censorship in the GDR was the same as nowadays -- it was self censorship. However, the biggest difference between the society we live in and the socialist society that died was the different reason for censorship. Yes, censorship is bad, but it makes a difference if the whole community tries to build something, that could ake the world a better place or you got censored if you criticise the powerfull selfish billionaires of a cleptocracy that has no other goal than to extract every bit of energy out of you. In the GDR there were no rich people, that use you for their gain, it was a society that has had a common goal with largely equal people. Another common misunderstanding is what has happend with the fall of the berlin wall -- the people who have gone to the streets never wanted capitalism, we wanted a socialist society in which something changes (to many old people have had power) and with less censorship. But gobarchev has sold us like everyone, the movement was captured by western intelligence and the GDR was annexed by western germany. The western intelligence agencies have build networks of fascists -- as the have always done -- to suppress every disconsent with the strong harm they have put on us and our economy. Western firms bought whole industrial parks for 1 Mark and destroyed them, to destroy competition. The GDR was 10th strongest industrial nation and the debt was not even comparable to that of western countries. With heavily manipulating the oil price by Ronald Reagan, with the Plunge Protection Team, and building the american credit potemkin economy the west has triumphed about the east. And TINA emerged -- not taking the absolute different starting points (the soviet union that hardly had any industry before Stalin and the GDR that was completely destroyed by world war II and everything that worked was dismantled by the soviet union followed by a massive brain drain). Than when the east bloc collapsed western capitalism was free to show its true face and must not wear the mask anymore to act as it will help even ordinary people. So eastern germans arrived in a society that has no solidarity, high unemployement and no goal for mankind that it is worth fighting for and everything they have learned in their politcal economy courses in university turned out as true -- albeit everyone believed before this was all government propaganda and capitalism is not as bad as propagated.
I think it is essential to have a discussion as civilized creatures that do not fight each other about different interpretations and differences in knowledge. I think this is the great think about this community, that everybody seems to be open. I more like someone who has a different opinion and is open to other peoples opinions than somebody who shares my opinion but is highly intolerant.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. I do find it fascinating and truly valuable. I do agree with you that free speech is critically important because without it, you can effective defend any other right. We may have a different perspective on the value of equality because an equal society, to me, isn't necessarily a happier or more prosperous society, but I do agree many crony capitalist economic systems don't economize anything in terms of well-being and resource allocation. I also think the version of capitalism you describe is what I think of ("an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state") but more so a weapon used by western governments. That's what I was talking about early in terms of separating out government from a word that specifically is supposed to exclude government.
I could say more, but I'll leave it with just a thank you again for sharing your valuable perspective. :)