The problems with alienation applied before I'm sure when people had to do agriculture for a living. It's a fact of nature that people need to work hard to get by. Division of labor cuts down how much work needs to be done if we want to achieve something and gives us totally new possibilities; we could travel 100 miles but it'd be hard without a car, we couldn't fly without a plane, washing machines, etc. We haven't adapted our labor structure (work hours etc) to a more automated world though
I'm sure as we keep automating, the capitalist class will expand. Hell I think it could be a lot bigger than it currently is without damaging our productivity.
@Packerd01 your just another stupid capitalist not realizing that the soviet union was not a communist union and was a good place to live.... plz shut the fuck up if you dont know where you talking about!! die on the streets as a poor guy in capitalism!!
@Packerd01 hahah capitalism (america alone) killed 1.8billion!!!! you have no idea where you talking about!! learn before you teach and start talking bullshit! i bet you dont even know the true meaning of communism!! you just a dumb as capitalist child...
Beautifully done. The only thing I'd change is exposition of the fourth kind of alienation. Yes, capitalism commodifies our relationships with others, making even affection into a question of position or gain, but that's not how I understand "alienation from others". I see this alienation from others being the masking of real social relations by the market - i.e. some dude in China made your shirt - that's intimate, that's concrete, but the relationship is hidden behind Old Navy and the dollar.
Great video and I'm still not done! I have to say though that while 'doing what you want to do' and 'living for the day' sounds all well and good, I think we are so disconnected from our goods that we forget that it does in fact take hard work to produce them, so it seems only logical that one would also have to work and possibly do something they'd rather not in order to enjoy these goods.
ehhh not quite. It's more like half of the adult working population and just about any retiree who is not on a fixed income from the State, at least in the United States, more or less depending on which industrialized country (in Chile it's considerably more). Anyone who has put money into a 401(k) or Roth IRA is a capitalist.
@migkillertwo Can that 50% stop working and live entirely off their capital, while still making income? Do they control the means of production? If not then they are working class. Have some stocks or a 401k does not make you a member of the capitalist class.
The term you want at 4:40 is lumpenproletariat: includes students, bohemians, independent artisans, and the poorer peasants, as well as anyone else who holds little-to-no real economic power or influence.
Wonderful video none the less; a nice easy slide into the theorectical basics. As to your question about land, I hold a strong occupancy-and-use belief ala Proudhon (although I've long abandoned most of the rest of mutualist political economy).
Another question. Wouldn't buying stocks in the company (and thereby owning parts of it) refute the idea that you can't ever acquire any of the property at hand? Sure it's not physical property, but it is a stock in the company.
@CosmicThinking Yeah this is a good example. Ideally you could still have a competitive market society were workers owned companies in a method of this sort. It would be kind of like capitalism with out capitalists. This sort of setup is unfortunately quite rare, and I am aware of few companies that give all employees shares, and even fewer that give them enough shares to have a controlling interest in the company. But it's a good point.
@Brezable 'Stealing' implies that the money belonged in a meaningful sense to someone. If you live in most countries, you don't own the money you have. It's a state-sanctioned and owned means of bartering without having to trade goods-for-goods. Just because you HAVE money doesn't mean you OWN money, and therefore, the money can't be stolen. Even in a capitalist society. The Marxist objections to your comment are stronger yet, as it happens.
@Brezable I think you are really missing the point in the first place. The capitalist class doesn't build wealth with their labor, they build wealth by profiting off the labor of others. That was pretty clear, I think, in my definitions. Marxism is questioning why that's even possible, and making arguments that such accumulations of wealth are only done through exploitation and the initiation of force (to borrow anarchist terminology). You are expressing very basic hegemonic ideals here.
@CosmicThinking Actually in a sense they are. No ones forcing anyone to do anything specific, but because of the nature of capitalism, where capitalists control all the resources and means of production, the capitalist class does force the working class to sell their labor to them by threat of eviction and starvation. It's not like I could become a farmer and live on my own labor in this economy, at least that is very unlikely, so instead I am forced economically to sell my labor.
No. More a normalizing of the situation. It is logical for that country to be one of the, if not the most powerfull nation in the world. Population is huge, with low wages make it a great place for industries to establish themselves. Beyond that the level of schooling is making huge leaps in China.
Also. Note that China is not a true communist nation anymore. They proclaim themselves to be so, but it just ain't.
And last but not least. Marxism is not the same as communism.
@BespokeGroupUK No. China does not represent Marxist theory at all, if that was your question. Chinese working class do not control the means of production and they still do alienated labor, so it would be a failure in Marx's eyes. They also have terrible human rights. The USSR would also fail to resemble a Marxist state by virtually any measure.
@WayOfTheBastard Is there any country that ever successfully represented Marxist theory? Communist apologists would argue no because "all attempts were corrupted". Anyone who insists on not moving the goalposts (honesty ftw) would agree and conclude that it is because Marxists are living in a pipe dream.
@CosmicThinking Certainly communism as laid out by Marx is idealistic, and I am not sure I would be in favor of it. However I do find Marx's critique of capitalism to be very useful and insightful when considering todays world. I think land/resource ownership are two issues that we accept way to quickly and I think that a considerable debate should be conducted specifically regarding these issues. At this point in history I would be more in favor a mixed economy that is resembles Europe.
Listening to this, and evaluating my immediate analysis, I realize just how thoroughly I've bought into the capitalist koolaid. Fascinating, and I'm looking forward to the next video.
This video is why YouTube exists- for smaller channels to step in and give an explanation for something that you may have wondered about before, but would never have really learned about otherwise.
It seems that every animal works to survive. Seems like a strange title "alienation of species". For a pack of wolves, it is all about working or fighting to survive. Works for me, as we too are animals. As far as working identity, sure. Call me the IT guy, but you can also know me by my other characteristics. As a member of the working class, I have no issue with this system.
Marxism is a idiot ideology, especially for us who have lived it.
VyckRo 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
@VyckRo Please forgive my idiocracy. I hear that's a quite Christian thing to do.
WayOfTheBastard 3 weeks ago
@WayOfTheBastard
There is nothing Christian in to gosateizm, ooouu! you forgot to say about the deep Anti-theist side of Marxism!
VyckRo 3 weeks ago
The problems with alienation applied before I'm sure when people had to do agriculture for a living. It's a fact of nature that people need to work hard to get by. Division of labor cuts down how much work needs to be done if we want to achieve something and gives us totally new possibilities; we could travel 100 miles but it'd be hard without a car, we couldn't fly without a plane, washing machines, etc. We haven't adapted our labor structure (work hours etc) to a more automated world though
unassumption 1 month ago in playlist More videos from WayOfTheBastard
ARISTOCRACY owned LAND which is CAPITAL and could make enough off it to live.
unassumption 1 month ago in playlist More videos from WayOfTheBastard
I'm sure as we keep automating, the capitalist class will expand. Hell I think it could be a lot bigger than it currently is without damaging our productivity.
unassumption 1 month ago in playlist More videos from WayOfTheBastard
@Packerd01 your just another stupid capitalist not realizing that the soviet union was not a communist union and was a good place to live.... plz shut the fuck up if you dont know where you talking about!! die on the streets as a poor guy in capitalism!!
soverato3 2 months ago
@Packerd01 hahah capitalism (america alone) killed 1.8billion!!!! you have no idea where you talking about!! learn before you teach and start talking bullshit! i bet you dont even know the true meaning of communism!! you just a dumb as capitalist child...
you fucking suck!!!
soverato3 2 months ago
how am i supposed to beleive you? your ginger?
GhanaianAids 3 months ago
Beautifully done. The only thing I'd change is exposition of the fourth kind of alienation. Yes, capitalism commodifies our relationships with others, making even affection into a question of position or gain, but that's not how I understand "alienation from others". I see this alienation from others being the masking of real social relations by the market - i.e. some dude in China made your shirt - that's intimate, that's concrete, but the relationship is hidden behind Old Navy and the dollar.
MatthewTeeters 3 months ago
@Packerd01 Instead of producing a bunch of tag lines, why don't you address the content of my video and give me a critique of what I am saying?
WayOfTheBastard 3 months ago 5
@Packerd01 Come on seriously? More nuanced discussions are helpful.
WayOfTheBastard 3 months ago
"I shop, therefore I am"
tfelbo 3 months ago
Dear Mr. Wayofthebastard,
Thoroughly enjoyed your talk sir! I have two questions...
1) Do you have a brother?
2) If so, was he ever a member of Alice in Chains?
Just curious, and thanks again for your wise words.
winstonsmith1888 3 months ago
@winstonsmith1888 lol
WayOfTheBastard 3 months ago
There were landowners during feudalism...
ambermurrey 4 months ago
@ambermurrey Elaborate...
WayOfTheBastard 4 months ago
insightful. thanks for the upload
PairDgreat 4 months ago
How does alienation relate to society? I'm learning about this in High School. A little bit confused.
hgcai3456 4 months ago in playlist Interesting views
How does alienation relate to society?
hgcai3456 4 months ago in playlist Interesting views
We're doing this in High School.
hgcai3456 4 months ago in playlist Interesting views
You taught me more in 15 minutes than my teacher did in a term ... Thanks you did that very well :)
Morgyptian 4 months ago
OMG i saw a RAT thats creepy hahahah
LBCToken 4 months ago
Great video and I'm still not done! I have to say though that while 'doing what you want to do' and 'living for the day' sounds all well and good, I think we are so disconnected from our goods that we forget that it does in fact take hard work to produce them, so it seems only logical that one would also have to work and possibly do something they'd rather not in order to enjoy these goods.
TheMathLife 7 months ago
Very interesting, i await the other videos.
Yawb120 7 months ago
Excellent
m000nd 7 months ago
"2% of the population"
ehhh not quite. It's more like half of the adult working population and just about any retiree who is not on a fixed income from the State, at least in the United States, more or less depending on which industrialized country (in Chile it's considerably more). Anyone who has put money into a 401(k) or Roth IRA is a capitalist.
migkillertwo 7 months ago
@migkillertwo Can that 50% stop working and live entirely off their capital, while still making income? Do they control the means of production? If not then they are working class. Have some stocks or a 401k does not make you a member of the capitalist class.
WayOfTheBastard 7 months ago 4
The term you want at 4:40 is lumpenproletariat: includes students, bohemians, independent artisans, and the poorer peasants, as well as anyone else who holds little-to-no real economic power or influence.
Wonderful video none the less; a nice easy slide into the theorectical basics. As to your question about land, I hold a strong occupancy-and-use belief ala Proudhon (although I've long abandoned most of the rest of mutualist political economy).
niriop 7 months ago
Another question. Wouldn't buying stocks in the company (and thereby owning parts of it) refute the idea that you can't ever acquire any of the property at hand? Sure it's not physical property, but it is a stock in the company.
CosmicThinking 7 months ago
@CosmicThinking Yeah this is a good example. Ideally you could still have a competitive market society were workers owned companies in a method of this sort. It would be kind of like capitalism with out capitalists. This sort of setup is unfortunately quite rare, and I am aware of few companies that give all employees shares, and even fewer that give them enough shares to have a controlling interest in the company. But it's a good point.
WayOfTheBastard 7 months ago
u look sexy with facial hair ;-) love your vids by the way
BoricuaChiTown 7 months ago
marxism = stealing money from others.
Brezable 7 months ago
@Brezable
Yes, and socialism is just a form of rascism, as seen in the nazi-party!
(Please, note the obvious sarcasm)
thedutchman01 7 months ago
@Brezable so?
stellar876 7 months ago
@Brezable 'Stealing' implies that the money belonged in a meaningful sense to someone. If you live in most countries, you don't own the money you have. It's a state-sanctioned and owned means of bartering without having to trade goods-for-goods. Just because you HAVE money doesn't mean you OWN money, and therefore, the money can't be stolen. Even in a capitalist society. The Marxist objections to your comment are stronger yet, as it happens.
Ibuiltatower 7 months ago
@Ibuiltatower
Your labor = money.
If i work for someone who owns a factory, that person pays me with his wealth.
His wealth is partially or fully generated by his factory.
His factory sells products which people buy with their wealth.
Money is the representation of wealth.
Wealth is created by labor, production, demand, etc..
So yes, marxism is theft.
Theft of my time, my effort, my production of wealth that i have gathered.
Brezable 7 months ago
@Brezable I think you are really missing the point in the first place. The capitalist class doesn't build wealth with their labor, they build wealth by profiting off the labor of others. That was pretty clear, I think, in my definitions. Marxism is questioning why that's even possible, and making arguments that such accumulations of wealth are only done through exploitation and the initiation of force (to borrow anarchist terminology). You are expressing very basic hegemonic ideals here.
WayOfTheBastard 7 months ago
@WayOfTheBastard Be honest with yourself. It's voluntary exploitation. No one is forcing anyone to work for Bill Gate's software development team.
CosmicThinking 7 months ago
@CosmicThinking Actually in a sense they are. No ones forcing anyone to do anything specific, but because of the nature of capitalism, where capitalists control all the resources and means of production, the capitalist class does force the working class to sell their labor to them by threat of eviction and starvation. It's not like I could become a farmer and live on my own labor in this economy, at least that is very unlikely, so instead I am forced economically to sell my labor.
WayOfTheBastard 7 months ago
@WayOfTheBastard I'll continue with this via PM.
CosmicThinking 7 months ago
as a question rather then an answer, would you say that the rise of China is a form of communist revolution?
BespokeGroupUK 7 months ago
@BespokeGroupUK
No. More a normalizing of the situation. It is logical for that country to be one of the, if not the most powerfull nation in the world. Population is huge, with low wages make it a great place for industries to establish themselves. Beyond that the level of schooling is making huge leaps in China.
Also. Note that China is not a true communist nation anymore. They proclaim themselves to be so, but it just ain't.
And last but not least. Marxism is not the same as communism.
thedutchman01 7 months ago
@thedutchman01 Thank you for your feedback :)
BespokeGroupUK 7 months ago
@BespokeGroupUK No. China does not represent Marxist theory at all, if that was your question. Chinese working class do not control the means of production and they still do alienated labor, so it would be a failure in Marx's eyes. They also have terrible human rights. The USSR would also fail to resemble a Marxist state by virtually any measure.
WayOfTheBastard 7 months ago
@WayOfTheBastard Is there any country that ever successfully represented Marxist theory? Communist apologists would argue no because "all attempts were corrupted". Anyone who insists on not moving the goalposts (honesty ftw) would agree and conclude that it is because Marxists are living in a pipe dream.
CosmicThinking 7 months ago
@CosmicThinking Certainly communism as laid out by Marx is idealistic, and I am not sure I would be in favor of it. However I do find Marx's critique of capitalism to be very useful and insightful when considering todays world. I think land/resource ownership are two issues that we accept way to quickly and I think that a considerable debate should be conducted specifically regarding these issues. At this point in history I would be more in favor a mixed economy that is resembles Europe.
WayOfTheBastard 7 months ago
hegemomy... hegenomy... hegemony! ;-D Good video, looking forward to the next one!
brianestoll 7 months ago
Squirrel!!!!
oh....
Rat!!!!
Thayer79 7 months ago
Listening to this, and evaluating my immediate analysis, I realize just how thoroughly I've bought into the capitalist koolaid. Fascinating, and I'm looking forward to the next video.
jagmarz 7 months ago 12
This has been flagged as spam show
Just like asking '' Why do some very wealthy people become politicians'',, Cause it makes sense'' to own a majority of favors.
Public service is cover for career politicians to pay back favors with favors .,With public tax dollars.
axisapex 7 months ago
Comment removed
axisapex 7 months ago
I'm a socialist, not even joking.
madjimms 7 months ago 9
This video is why YouTube exists- for smaller channels to step in and give an explanation for something that you may have wondered about before, but would never have really learned about otherwise.
Good jaab
funincluded 7 months ago
It seems that every animal works to survive. Seems like a strange title "alienation of species". For a pack of wolves, it is all about working or fighting to survive. Works for me, as we too are animals. As far as working identity, sure. Call me the IT guy, but you can also know me by my other characteristics. As a member of the working class, I have no issue with this system.
CosmicThinking 7 months ago
@CosmicThinking Good for you, but this video isn't about the system that works well for you that you have no issue with.
kevinscales 7 months ago
@kevinscales I see you didn't read the entirety of my comment. Try that.
CosmicThinking 7 months ago