The perils of interpersonal capitalism vs global capitalism

[DaRick]

My brother and I had an argument. He basically made out that I was useless because according to him I was "doing nothing" (not true, actually - I had been doing odd jobs for Mum, Dad and him) and that he was trying to make me "useful" by being "productive". I then accused him of thinking like a soulless turbo-capitalist. He then responded that he gave orders and people followed them, feelings be damned. He seems to think of people as being on the same level as automations, good for only what amount of work they could do for him in a certain period of time, overall character and interests be damned. It's all about the bottom line for him.

On a national or global scale, capitalism has its problems, but it is worth advocating only because it does not lead to famine and death the way that modern socialist policies have (i.e - in Ethiopia), amongst other things (and does not appear to foster quite the same level of corruption). Greed is also, in fact, good to some extent (no doubt that innovators like Gates, Jobs and Alexander Graham Bell invented and improved our lives partially because they wanted to make a living for themselves). On a personal level though, I think that the capitalist way of thinking is quite destructive. Why? Because you end up seeing people as my brother appears to. Thus, 'interpersonal capitalism' would probably lead to greater sociopathy, due to an inability to really relate to people on an intimate level. I think that this fosters the same isolationist mentality that is currently leading to an explosion of mental illness rates within the Anglosphere. What do you think?

BTW, he recently went to America and seemed to quite like the place (even though he generally dislikes travelling). No surprises there.

[Winston]

Which part of America did he go to? It's easy to like America at first. It is clean, polite and there are lots of consumer choices and services.

But once you get to know the people, way of life, the segregation, lack of connection and female attitude, etc. you realize the dysfunction of it all. That takes a while though. But it also depends on the person, how authentic they are, who they meet, etc. An authentic person will see this much more quickly. It also depends on location too.

For example, you'll get a much better impression of Americans if you go to Salt Lake City than if you go to LA.

[DaRick]

Which part of America did he go to? It's easy to like America at first. It is clean, polite and there are lots of consumer choices and services.

But once you get to know the people, way of life, the segregation, lack of connection and female attitude, etc. you realize the dysfunction of it all. That takes a while though. But it also depends on the person, how authentic they are, who they meet, etc. An authentic person will see this much more quickly. It also depends on location too.

For example, you'll get a much better impression of Americans if you go to Salt Lake City than if you go to LA.

He went to LA first - although he avoided the 'skid row' areas. He then went to AZ, then to Las Vegas (where he went gambling and shopping for the rest of us).

[Mr S]

Which part of America did he go to? It's easy to like America at first. It is clean, polite and there are lots of consumer choices and services.

But once you get to know the people, way of life, the segregation, lack of connection and female attitude, etc. you realize the dysfunction of it all. That takes a while though. But it also depends on the person, how authentic they are, who they meet, etc. An authentic person will see this much more quickly. It also depends on location too.

For example, you'll get a much better impression of Americans if you go to Salt Lake City than if you go to LA.

He went to LA first - although he avoided the 'skid row' areas. He then went to AZ, then to Las Vegas (where he went gambling and shopping for the rest of us).

Well there you go, the easiest places to like in America if you've never been here before. They have large multicultural populations and so the people in the cities are easier to meet and talk to.

[Mr S]

My brother and I had an argument. He basically made out that I was useless because according to him I was "doing nothing" (not true, actually - I had been doing odd jobs for Mum, Dad and him) and that he was trying to make me "useful" by being "productive". I then accused him of thinking like a soulless turbo-capitalist. He then responded that he gave orders and people followed them, feelings be damned. He seems to think of people as being on the same level as automations, good for only what amount of work they could do for him in a certain period of time, overall character and interests be damned. It's all about the bottom line for him.

On a national or global scale, capitalism has its problems, but it is worth advocating only because it does not lead to famine and death the way that modern socialist policies have (i.e - in Ethiopia), amongst other things (and does not appear to foster quite the same level of corruption). Greed is also, in fact, good to some extent (no doubt that innovators like Gates, Jobs and Alexander Graham Bell invented and improved our lives partially because they wanted to make a living for themselves). On a personal level though, I think that the capitalist way of thinking is quite destructive. Why? Because you end up seeing people as my brother appears to. Thus, 'interpersonal capitalism' would probably lead to greater sociopathy, due to an inability to really relate to people on an intimate level. I think that this fosters the same isolationist mentality that is currently leading to an explosion of mental illness rates within the Anglosphere. What do you think?

BTW, he recently went to America and seemed to quite like the place (even though he generally dislikes travelling). No surprises there.

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