RE: The paradox of being “anti-capitalist” in a capitalist society
Truthfully, I think I probably fit closer to your philosophy than the libertarian/anarcho-capitalist views that run thick on Steemit. Whereas I honor and respect these philosophies, I see them more as ideologies than functionally implementable approaches to life... for ONE because they require a high level of self-responsibility and accountability to work... at a level 90% of the population neither has nor cares about.
One of the things that appealed to me about Steemit was that it ultimately came across as a "gift economy." The idea of paying it forward seemed heavy in the air here. If I like what you say or show me, I can throw something in your "tip jar" without any sort of attachment or expectation to an outcome for me.
One of the reasons I have never been really "good at life" is that I self-identify as mostly non-competitive. I tend to be a cooperator rather than a competitor, which doesn't seem to work so well, at least not in most western societies.
Resteeming this for additional visibility.
I was hoping you read this one as I sense we have similar politics, I remember you saying something about your aversion to competition and I relate relate there. I actually didn’t respect libertarian views (after playing around with them a bit in university) until I came here and realized how decent many of the people with such views are. I’m hoping that people like us can gain some more respect in this community and hopefully acmutual respect can lead to a healthier debate than what you have in the mainstream. It would be very beautiful to see cooperation beteeen ancaps and anticaps and I don’t think it’d be very difficult at this platform.
Thanks for the resteem! When I check in with you later, I hope your realize it’s not out of a desire to pay you back but because I find it easy to relate to you :-D
The nice thing about Steemit is that there seems to be a lot of very high-functioning individuals of many persuasions here.
The "self-interest" issue is often a sticking point for me due to the tight definitions many place on it. It is ALSO in my self-interest to be in support of UBI and making sure everyone in my neighborhood is clothed and fed... because (self-interest angle) if they ARE, they are less likely to break into my house and steal my stuff. The conventional Libertarian/Austrian philosophy doesn't recognize that as "self serving," but I disagree. A peaceful society serves me better.
Politically, I suppose that puts me in a slightly odd place: I am all in favor of community social empowerment but less in favor of community social handouts.
I tend to think that the more we internalize our interconnectiveness, the more selflish interests become a moot point, not even worth mentioning. I’m actually ok with handouts but only when the community can afford them.
I’m actually ok with handouts when the community or individual can afford them, but It’s certainly more meaningful to teach someone to fish than giving them a few fish. This is why I’m very hesitant to give my money to charities unless they are small scale and I know exactly what they aren’t doing.
Me too @denmarkguy