this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2026
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The problem with socialism (europe.pub)
submitted 2 weeks ago by hamid@crazypeople.online to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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[–] porous_grey_matter@lemmy.ml 71 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Funnily enough the problem with capitalism is actually that eventually you run out of other people's money.

Tap for spoiler

Capitalism inherently serves to concentrate wealth since the ones with the money make the rules. As wealth disparity increases and people get poorer they can't buy as much stuff and growth dries up. Then the only way for the rich to keep getting richer is to degrade labour conditions, but that's unpopular so you need to blame a scapegoat and enact a repressive regime to enforce it. That's quite a problem, and it's one which might feel familiar to the astute reader.

[–] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.ml 36 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Hey I recognize this happening.

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[–] Yliaster@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Then the only way for the rich to keep getting richer is to degrade labour conditions, but that's unpopular so you need to blame a scapegoat and enact a repressive regime to enforce it.

I didn't get this part. Please explain?

[–] porous_grey_matter@lemmy.ml 27 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

The money they collect is the money we pay them minus the money they pay us. If we can't pay them more the only way to get more is for them to pay us less. Gross simplification obviously. Then the typical strategy is to blame immigrants or Jews or whatever for the decrease in living standards, and crack down on anyone who tries to improve things.

Edit: this is sort of a meme-ified version of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall which is the real theory of how economic crises in capitalism come about and not really the same as what I'm describing here, but along some similar lines. It's worth reading about from actual scholars in detail if you're interested in that sort of thing.

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[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 55 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

For anyone interested, here' a short excerpt on this point from a socialism crash course:

Unlike workers, Capitalists make their living, not by clocking in and being paid a certain fixed wage per hour, but through absentee ownership. Their wealth is earned while sleeping, playing golf, or visiting the mailbox to collect pieces of this wage theft, often in the form of stock dividends. A worker's wealth is dependent on the number of hours they can work; a Capitalist's wealth is based on how much absentee property they can accumulate, and as such can multiply infinitely. Some Capitalists earn an average worker's yearly salary in a single night's sleep.

For example, a Copper mine owner neither physically mines the copper, and (living thousands of miles away) likely delegates day-to-day operations to a hired manager. Yet, because they have a piece of paper that says they own it, they get a large cut of everything that was mined: the ultimate free lunch.

A 1983 report by England national income and expenditures found that on average, 26 minutes of every hour worked (or 43% of labor value added) by English workers across a wide range of industries went to various exploiting or unproductive groups, with workers receiving only 57% of their pre-tax productive output as wages1. In other words, at least 40% of the work you do every day is stolen by Capitalists.

[–] super_user_do@feddit.it 34 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Giving away 40% of your salary to the state for healthcare and welfare -> Crazy crime incredible inhumane and brutal theft

Giving away 75% of your salary to private companies who do the same things but worse and that don't even ensure you full coverage -> Amazing business Enterprise of freedom choice of Democratic democracy 💀

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 12 points 2 weeks ago

"If you're unhappy, just work for a different company!!"

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[–] 18107@aussie.zone 29 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

"Ask people what they hate about socialism/communism and they'll describe capitalism."

[–] thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 2 weeks ago

The problem with capitalism is that eventually you run out of other people's money

see: Nvidia-Oracle-OpenAI bubble

[–] Ghostie@lemmy.zip 15 points 2 weeks ago

I also like the response “mfw I’m in a capitalist society and have to choose between shelter and food” when I hear that socialism joke.

[–] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks ago

The real problem with socialism is that it offends the CIA, and bad things happen to people who offend the CIA.

[–] Horse@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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[–] wpb@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Man I hate it when socialism capitalisms.

[–] Arcanepotato@crazypeople.online 9 points 2 weeks ago

itt people who don't know who Margret Thatcher was enough to have seen this misattributed/misquoted from her before.

[–] elbiter@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

What we don't seem to ever run out of is bullshit.

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