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Comment by Fricken | Hacker News Reader

For most of human history nobody made money doing anything. Capitalism is an an abberation in history, not "the way it should be".

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I guess it depends on your definition of capitalism but many would argue that it only requires private property and voluntary exchange, both of which probably stretch back into prehistory.

Nonsense. Capitalism is when people make money for doing nothing. People have been paid for work they produce for all of time. The innovation of capitalism is that you can be paid for the work other people produce.

In fact, I would say there is no "the way it should be". Capitalism seems to have a net positive effect on the majority of the planet. Let's stick with it.

Capitalism is destroying the planet. That's hardly a net positive. In fact it's the worst thing possible. There is nothing humans are even theoretically capable of that is worse.

What is the suggested alternative to a market economy? Command economies aren't what I would consider better for the globe. Energy intensity per unit of labor is almost universally lower in market economies than it is in command economies.

A market economy would be fine if it's impact on the ecology was priced in.

There is no alternative unless we magically have free energy. The only way out of this is to colonize the solar system, galaxy. At that point the Earth's status as a habitable planet will hardly matter.

Worst thing possible? Really? That's a simpleton's view about existence. Countless planets die every day. I only care about the next 20 years I'm going to be alive for. I don't care about the planet or the survival of your children. Don't force responsibility on me.

So capitalism it is for me.

This is the capitalism mindset and this comment is proof that its the worst thing there is.

> There is nothing humans are even theoretically capable of that is worse [than capitalism].

A bartender once made me an Old Fashioned without muddling the sugar. Are you certain that’s not worse?

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