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I think it’s productive because it serves to stabilize the society by giving it an ideological underpinning.

Roughly: there’s no better alternative to capitalism and we have capitalism therefore we have reached optimal society.

I think you're doing the thing I'm literally railing against; I believe the tendency to turn a relatively simple concept like "we should have a society that has peace and also favorable trades" into IDEOLOGY is precisely how we end up with overreach.

Ideology isn't something you can avoid. It's always present in a society to support the power structures. Conflating "just having markets" with the current form of capitalism in western countries is exactly the kind of work needed to uphold the "obvious truths" that keep things going.

Doubt it. Explain China?

China has its own ideology which upholds the power structures over there. It's very different from its western counterpart.

Part of it is that yes there may not be freedom of expression, but thanks to the Party's competent guidance the great Chinese nation is restoring its rightful place as a world leader.

just in case anyone else misunderstood this comment on their first reading, kubb is not praising capitalism here

Eh, he's either praising or being condescending, seems like?

Read the second half sarcastically. It makes more sense that way.

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