There are plenty of valid criticisms of capitalism. Especially the current state of capitalism in the west. It doesn't mean I want to go full communist, far from it. But I'm a mixed economy man. I think certain things should be highly regulated or even owned by the government (and, by extension, the people).

Healthcare is one good example to me. I think private is fine to an extent, but I would never want a fully private system. I think the model in Canada is a good place to start, where public is the go-to option, but private exists if you want to skip the queue and can afford it. The dynamic between insurance and private healthcare in the states makes for a toxic experience for patients, and that serves as one of the primary reasons why I would never want to go fully private. Doctors shouldn't have to fight tooth and nail to get your medication or diagnostic procedure approved when it's medically necessary, assuming the system can reasonably absorb the cost.

Mixed economies are the way.

[–] Oldbean@lemmy.fmhy.ml 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Socialism, Communism, none of these should be bad words that cannot be discussed. In the US these words have become boogeymen. I don’t think we should adopt failed policies from fails governments, but we should be studying what did work and open to some changes. This is how countries progress, and not stagnate.

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

Capitalism is just hoping to get to the point where laborers no longer even have their labor to sell, and then they can just write off the workers and worker solidarity because they will no longer have leverage in a capitalist economy.

Which is honestly why we need newer ideas, which conveniently don't have the same bullshit baggage, because they're new ideas.

Sticking to ideas that were developed over 200 years ago is bad whether it is capitalism or communism and as situations change, so should the tactics of the organized laborers.

[–] coolin 1 points 1 year ago

Tbh I think we could also go for a socialist market economy instead of a mixed market one. It preserves the good aspects of not having everything being under government control and having businesses (cooperatives) that tailor to every single niche, and also mixes in worker ownership of the means of production and more so aligns individual businesses with the values of the people instead of solely chasing profit.