Unchecked capitalism is a lawless society doomed to self-destruction

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

I didn’t find this article to be very convincing. But setting all that aside, I’ve always found this to be a weird framing. My sense is that growth or is just the normal byproduct of people going about their business as usual.

https://twitter.com/TheStalwart/status/1739682081590968647?t=3QFB-RITSP0DTQDnnwJ9yw&s=19

That's because you're actually a smart person instead of a weird academic and so you understand that capitalism works because it reflects human nature as selected for through thousands of generations of evolution.

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1739684729782243633?t=l4J6o4VCYLkNF4R8xkWA4Q&s=19

If capitalism reflects human nature, why did Europe have to do imperialism to get Asian and African goods before ww1? Why couldn't they just trade?

https://twitter.com/ppmcderm/status/1739719077093114243?t=R19sKreTze4PbdOj9kL0iw&s=19

Hi Nate--long time, no talk.

Genuine question about your view here:

If capitalism simply reflects our biologically-determined nature as humans, why has it only existed for such a tiny sliver of human history?

https://twitter.com/BenBurgis/status/1739731909385851391?t=qEvP_-gltOSS_fhO3-9i-w&s=19

I think probably the most demonic idea (maybe an actual demon!) to ever inhabit earthly human minds is that "capitalism works because it reflects human nature." Our belief that human beings are just profit-maximizing vice machines is obviously a self-fulfilling prophecy.

https://twitter.com/ThouArtThat/status/1739828231283654912?t=YpM4RlOOrlg5mO6RfsR7uA&s=19

Capitalism has only been around for a tiny fraction of recorded history. So, by the same token, human nature is profoundly non-capitalist, as demonstrated by thousands of generations of evolution.

Unless, of course, one subscribes to the long-compromised “end of history” credo. P.S. I don't actually subscribe to any vision of immutable human nature. The last centuries alone have brought such fundamental changes to humanity and society (morality, class structure, relationship patterns, etc.) that I don't think we can claim to know what human nature is.

https://twitter.com/StaszekKrawczyk/status/1739737900785213560?t=-GVYyhBzwuQCfCqnQU_0pw&s=19

Really? Looking at pre-agricultural societies, it seems human nature has many and varied facets, with a strong tendency towards collective cooperation and sharing.  

Capitalism seems to atomise us into smaller and smaller units, isolate us into smaller and smaller households.

https://twitter.com/anotheranarch/status/1739778534330245258?t=8D_xcRTRjzXDKw825CuLFg&s=19

Persons at 100 B.C. : Slavery reflects human nature

Persons at 1000 A.D. : Feudalism reflects human nature

Persons at 2023 A.D. : Capitalism reflects human nature

Maybe that "human nature" doesn't exist

https://twitter.com/20century_los4/status/1739715436176920732?t=kLrteqjHmKXgHamlfqqclQ&s=19

Capitalism has been the exception rather than the norm. It took over two thousand years of very proactive effort to establish the Social institutions that made capitalism possible.

https://twitter.com/isthisit/status/1739720553605292371?t=oDDcsAHiJk15PPdJOHDP3g&s=19

Human nature is a result of material conditions, not the other way around. Our adaptability and ability to cooperate are major drivers of our success as a species.

https://twitter.com/alcibiades5410/status/1739735074667483355?t=q0k6FdxF7RrlCIeJ1iGWfQ&s=19

Some big assumptions here, Nate. Most of us are motivated by something other than personal profit. Family, duty, community, kindness, faith - none of these are at the heart of capitalism, but they are at the heart of our lives.

https://twitter.com/ScottyBonner/status/1739741748677476634?t=F31QXmiZEnZ25lJI2bzMoA&s=19

I’ve read enough history to know that human nature shouldn’t be used as a model for anything.

It’s why we require laws in our society; to control behavior driven by our baser nature.

A better metaphor for unchecked capitalism is a lawless society, doomed to self-destruction.

https://twitter.com/bluedotcountry/status/1739690049090842748?t=3bhOjGreKvTSTkcejdJCUg&s=19