• queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      Central planners in the Soviet Union didn’t even have computers and they lacked the level of scientific understanding we have today of the environment, of our resources, and of the limits to growth. We’ve all heard about Mao killing the sparrows in China.

      This isn’t a reason to never try central planning again.

        • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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          2 months ago

          They had computers towards the end, of course, but they were extremely primitive. The kinds of disaster predictions you can do on a machine built to run Tetris are nothing compared to what can be done with today’s technology.

          Also, it’s not like markets can actually deal with disasters. Without at least some central planning disaster response and relief is impossible.

            • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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              2 months ago

              We largely have stuck with market based economies because they currently are much more responsive to changes.

              No, we still have market based economies because they make a few people very very rich.

              We needed markets before computers and instant mass communication. Things are different now

              While computers have gotten more powerful there is zero evidence to support that we have gotten to the point where they could run a planned economy in any fashion.

              What about the fact that market-based responses to COVID were universally worse than centrally planned responses?

        • Muyal_Hix@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Non market economies are never going to work, because you’ll be essentially creating one giant monopoly and leaving people without the possibility of doing things differently

          What happens when you don’t like the product the state offers?

          What if you discover a way of doing things more efficiently?

          What about independent artists and creators?

          And that’s not getting into how unpredictable people are, products that have been predicted to fail end up becoming very successful, and the opposite also happens

        • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          How old are you? Did you go through COVID? Capitalism doesn’t do disasters well at all. Every cost is minimized. So emergency supplies go unmaintained. If it doesn’t help the stock price annually it doesn’t get done.

            • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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              2 months ago

              American healthcare is capitalist. It’s insurance companies and for profit hospitals. That’s why it’s bad. Healthcare is an inelastic demand.

              China isn’t a Democratic State. I’m not arguing that just having one guy handling all the economic planning is a good idea.

                • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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                  2 months ago

                  I don’t disagree with that. Why leave that to the market which doesn’t optimize for anything other than more money and whos actions are opaque? Happy, healthy, and productive societies cost money, money that can be spent elsewhere. Slavery is efficient and profitable.

                  If some organization is going to have the power to make or break me, I want them to be transparent and democratic. Not a rich person who has never worked in their life trying to make more money using whatever means they can get away with.

    • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Industrialization to make money is encouraged by capitalism. Why do you think big oil was lying about global warming? It’s not a few bad apples it is a systemic drive to make more money even if it hurts people or the planet.

        • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          There’s a difference between industrialization for people and trade versus industrialization for money and power. One helps everyone, The other only helps capitalists.

          I wouldn’t necessarily look at China and USSR and say they are a good alternative. I prefer a more democratic socialism. My problem with capitalism is specifically the lack of choice of the people. We spend 8 out of 12 hours on average working for a company that we don’t get a vote in.

            • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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              2 months ago

              What? Yes, the environment can tell because there would be less pollution. The motivations are different. Do you think worker controlled industries would use the same tactics to over produce and polute the areas the workers live in? No one would benefit from that.

              I’m not saying we would reach zero pollution but there would be a lot less pollution.

              I have no problem with running water and electricity, most reasonable socialist would agree.