Lately since covid has begun, there has been a high job insecurity in multiple fields , while the logical thing to do would have been improving job security laws, at least our govt( the name does not matter really) has brought laws , that gives power to the capitalists to abuse labour laws , or to fire employees more easily! I dont understand how does it even help the state or people , except the capitalists ?

  • frankPodmore@slrpnk.net
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    1 year ago

    There are a couple of different ways of looking at this but I think either way the answer is yes.

    Firstly, capitalism as an economic system requires a government of some sort to maintain it. If we accept this (and outside of a small minority of extreme right wing libertarians and anarchocapitalists, most of us do), then there’s a fairly simple answer to your question: without a supportive government, there is no capitalism and therefore no capitalist interest. So, yes.

    But I think the question you’re asking is perhaps more like, ‘Does the government make a deliberate effort to keep capitalists, i.e., shareholders, in control of the economy, as opposed to some other group?’

    I think the answer to this rephrased question is slightly more complex, although it does also boil down to ‘Yes’. Businesses are required by law to prioritise shareholder returns. Insofar as the government could change the law, but doesn’t, the answer to your question again must be ‘Yes’.

    But, while that law does exist, it’s not the only law. All governments do, in practice, constrain what businesses can and can’t do, and therefore do effectively restrict the theoretical profits a shareholder can make. Many governments also protect the existence and activities of groups like trade unions, which are often seen as running counter to the interests of shareholders. In this case, while I still think that basically the answer to your question is ‘Yes’, we can safely add a ‘but’, as in, ‘… but that’s not ALL that governments do’.

    There’s another angle here, which is that many or even most people in the developed world are at least partially or indirectly shareholders and, therefore, capitalists. If you have a savings account or a pension, you own shares through your bank/pension provider. So, some might argue that keeping capitalists/shareholders ‘on top’ actually benefits nearly everyone. I don’t quite buy this, but it’s worth considering.

    I think I could probably add further points and caveats here (e.g., tax policy might benefit ‘the rich’ who tend largely to also be ‘the capitalists/shareholders’) but I think I’ve said as much as I can without repeating myself.