• prime_number_314159@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Every self professed attempt in history to enact socialism either has already been declared not good enough to count as socialism, or will be declared as such in the future, when it gets even worse.

    The labor theory of value is so poor as to be indefensible, and scarcity is a property of nature, rather than capitalism.

    • OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Every self professed attempt in history to enact socialism either has already been declared not good enough to count as socialism, or will be declared as such in the future, when it gets even worse.

      Declared by who? I would much rather be living in a tier 1 city in China right now personally. Or in Cuba if the US ever stopped strangling it.

      The labor theory of value is so poor as to be indefensible

      I agree, David Ricardo was incorrect, and Marx’s refutation in his theory of value explains the creation of value much better. (Imagine reading Marx and not Wikipedia on Marx)

      and scarcity is a property of nature, rather than capitalism

      Scarcity is a property of nature and artificial scarcity is a product of commodity fetishism (necessary for capitalism to function)

      • prime_number_314159@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Declared by who?

        Implicitly, by everyone that does not herald the successes of those self professed socialist economies. Explicitly, by too many individuals in too many circumstances to usefully list.

        I would much rather be living in a tier 1 city in China right now personally. Or in Cuba if the US ever stopped strangling it.

        I mean this sincerely; please move. If you are correct, you will benefit the world overall and yourself.

        I agree, David Ricardo was incorrect, and Marx’s refutation in his theory of value explains the creation of value much better. (Imagine reading Marx and not Wikipedia on Marx)

        I have only read “Das Kapital”, and only by translation. Marx directly asserts the equivalency between the value of a good, and the amount of labor-time that it takes to produce that good on average (accounting for the labor-time that it took to produce tools and raw materials necessary to that process). That is the labor theory of value in a nutshell.

        artificial scarcity is a product of commodity fetishism (necessary for capitalism to function)

        If you believe that the scarcity we face is largely artificial, then either move to a country further on its way to communism, or start a company that will pay workers a more equal share of the value they produce.

        • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          I have only read “Das Kapital”

          If you believe that the scarcity we face is largely artificial, then either move to a country further on its way to communism, or start a company that will pay workers a more equal share of the value they produce.

          What an excellent way to reveal you haven’t actually read Marx

        • OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          I mean this sincerely; please move. If you are correct, you will benefit the world overall and yourself.

          Do you know how much money it takes to move? Lol

          I have only read “Das Kapital”, and only by translation. Marx directly asserts the equivalency between the value of a good, and the amount of labor-time that it takes to produce that good on average (accounting for the labor-time that it took to produce tools and raw materials necessary to that process). That is the labor theory of value in a nutshell.

          Frankly, this is summary as reductive as Ricardo’s initial theory, and not what Marx wrote

          If you believe that the scarcity we face is largely artificial, then either move to a country further on its way to communism, or start a company that will pay workers a more equal share of the value they produce.

          Lol yeah gonna abolish the commodity form by starting a company. You didn’t read capital lol

    • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Every self professed attempt in history to enact socialism either has already been declared not good enough to count as socialism,

      Who is doing that?

      or will be declared as such in the future, when it gets even worse.

      What is getting worse, and why would it? Socialist States can and do improve over time, sometimes massively.

      The labor theory of value is so poor as to be indefensible

      Why?

      and scarcity is a property of nature, rather than capitalism.

      Who said it wasn’t?

      You’re figthing ghosts and strawmen that are not here.

      • prime_number_314159@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Who is doing that?

        I was replying in the context of the comment that you were replying to, which I believe to be referencing historical self-professed attempts at socialism, which have ended in various kinds of disasters.

        What is getting worse, and why would it?

        Governments that profess themselves to be socialist have a tendency to centralize almost total control over the laws, courts, and economy in the hands of a very few people. When this happens, it leads to human rights abuses, and other issues. Admittedly, some self-professed socialist countries are doing relatively well on this, but it’s by having strong constitutional guarantees of rights, a multi-party democratic political system, robust trade in goods, and limited state control over the means of production, and the economy at large.

        Why?

        This is where I think you’re not asking these questions in good faith. Consider a case where a brand new life saving invention is made. If this hypothetical invention took minimal time and resources to make, would it then be extremely low value? By contrast, imagine a new food is invented, which is bland, unappetizing, and even uncomfortable to eat. On top of that, it takes many years of diligent work, and comically large resources to produce. Is this food very valuable?

        To accept the labor theory of value, you must accept both absurdities (and throw out any ordinary connotation of the term “value”), or engage in special pleading to sabotage them.

        • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          I was replying in the context of the comment that you were replying to, which I believe to be referencing historical self-professed attempts at socialism, which have ended in various kinds of disasters.

          No one here is saying that all AES states aren’t actually Socialist, that’s something you added. What “various kinds of disasters” are you referring to?

          Governments that profess themselves to be socialist have a tendency to centralize almost total control over the laws, courts, and economy in the hands of a very few people. When this happens, it leads to human rights abuses, and other issues. Admittedly, some self-professed socialist countries are doing relatively well on this, but it’s by having strong constitutional guarantees of rights, a multi-party democratic political system, robust trade in goods, and limited state control over the means of production, and the economy at large.

          You’re a bit off there. Central Planning is a core aspect of Marxism, but compared to Capitalism the participation of the Workers is far higher and more democratic. Saying it “leads to human rights abuses and other issues” is just gesturing, you didn’t explain how, why, or what here, just a vibe. The state does not need to be limited in control, giving Capitalists control removes worker participation.

          This is where I think you’re not asking these questions in good faith. Consider a case where a brand new life saving invention is made. If this hypothetical invention took minimal time and resources to make, would it then be extremely low value? By contrast, imagine a new food is invented, which is bland, unappetizing, and even uncomfortable to eat. On top of that, it takes many years of diligent work, and comically large resources to produce. Is this food very valuable?

          This is a misunderstanding of what “Value” is for Marxists. Marxists specifically break down Value into Use-Value, ie how useful something is, Exchange-Value, ie its natural price, and more.

          The brand new life-saving medicine would be very useful, yes, but what price would it fetch, assuming no IP monopolies? The answer is extremely low, if it took minimal time and resources. This happens in the real world, vaccines are incredibly cheap once developed, it’s only in monopolistic markets like the US that this trends against the natural price.

          RnD would, of course, be factored into the end Value, as a form of Capital investment. Over time, the portion of RnD “embodied” into new commodities produced goes towards 0, ie if it costs 5000 dollars in RnD and 1 dollar for every vaccine produced, the first vaccine would cost 5001 dollars, but the second? 2500.50, and so on and so forth until it reaches 1 dollar.

          To accept the labor theory of value, you must accept both absurdities (and throw out any ordinary connotation of the term “value”), or engage in special pleading to sabotage them.

          No, you must understand the LTV.