What's In a Name?

[squarepusher]

YouTube - What's In a Name? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbaD8ereX1A&feature=sub)


edit: youtube live embedding disabled?

[RedStripe]

I generally agree with a lot of what the guy in the video is saying, but I think he is using "civilization" where he should be using "capitalism" or "state-capitalism."

Our economic system is deeply distorted by state intervention. I like how he begins by explaining how "civilization" (aka, modern capitalism), first came about under conditions produced by invasion and conquest by the state. By the time the industrial revolution came about, people were herded into the factories primarily because they had already been deprived of their land and all other means of providing for themselves by the operation of state laws. This was great news for the factory owners, who then didn't have to pay the workers shit. The history of state intervention against the poor is truly one of the saddest things I've ever read.

Governments have, throughout history, made it more difficult for the poor to own their own land or run their own businesses in order to force them into selling their labor to the privileged, wealthy class at discount rates. This is because the state serves the interest of the economically powerful class, and reinforces their artificial control of a disproportionate and stolen portion of wealth.

State violence is the foundation of modern capitalism. That's why there is so much discontent, as expressed in the video. A truly free market would be marked by a much more decentralized system of production, shorter work periods, more free time, more self-employment, more worker-owned firms, less specialization of labor, higher wages, a greater diversity of lifestyles, and the inability of idle individuals to make livings from profits and rents.

[constituent]

Ignoring the vid. and focusing entirely on the question "what's in a name," it's probably a good time to mention that folks might find The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy entertaining.


if you're into philosophy, literature, and what not.

[constituent]

less specialization of labor

I disagree w/ this, but all-in-all a good post.

[RedStripe]

I disagree w/ this, but all-in-all a good post.

Thanks.

I've read arguments that suggest that the specialization of labor has been effectively subsidized by the state to a significant extent. If that's the case, it seems as though a free market economy would have less specialization than we currently have, but it's still just speculation.