Forum Post: The community vs. market economy

Now i understand, that the ideological concept of capitalism is based on a certain view of human nature, like we were in general egoistic and greedy and the only way to countermeasure and neutralize the negativity of human badassness was to collide in the market game.

But we all know this is just an illusion and the absolutization of a stubborn mind frame. We wouldn't even know what egoism and greed meant, if we wouldn't understand it in the light coming from our true nature.

A society should be based, and work toward, what is our true potential and not something, that they make us believe, that we are not.

Yes, the human being is a "self". It is a consciousness of its own. But it is not isolated, nor does it wish to be. Its self-esteem very much depends on an intact social environment (aswell as the natural one) and the feedback it receives from it. It needs to grow inside a loving community, like with the seed, that requires fertile soil.

I wish to point out the vital connection between self and community, b/c market ideology makes it look rather "selfish". But imo there is no conflict of interest in doing the best for yourself and doing the best for the community. Instead we will flourish in vast ways if we see the harmonic connection.

Now what they also say is, that capitalism is inevitable to provide diverse and quality goods/services. I rather experience the opposite. I see alot of redundance in products, overpricing and overproduction coming from the power hunger of different firm empires fighting against each other. And then you got the marketing with its cheap charms and emotional tricks. This giant illusive ad-industry that nobody needs. Customers have to pay for this overhead. And i don't even touch the aspects of exploitation of human labor and nature.

What's that good for? Can't we image to come up with decent products from a community effort, that suits our needs that we can reproduce, without this constant hassle? Has capitalism really been the motor of modern technology? Take the internet. It wouldn't work without a global standard protocol. If capitalism had its way, we would be split up between various "intranets" that each belong to some company, or our roads wouldn't be public but in the hands of private owners.

But then they say, that money and power is the motivation for the individual to even become productive, otherwise we'd all become lazy and just rely on others. And that's another illusion imo, b/c we have the urge to become productive within ourselves. We don't need someone to wave with the cash, like for some kind of circus animal.

Work, as i see it, is a way to grow and improve ourselves together with others, that dignifies us and earns us respect. Again, we require a community to make ourselves useful, that values our efforts and helps us shape our personality.

If we come to the conclusion that the strife for personal property and power is vain and tears us apart, if we shared everything, our working environment and conditions would change dramatically. I think people would love to contribute, they would enjoy to do something that benefits the community, because all the silly stuff that circles around worshipping the Mammon would no longer bother us. We could concentrate on the things we really love to do, where our real talents lie. And I have no doubt, that this would work out and everyone would perform to his/her potential.