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Dad Talks. EP. 1 | Ethical Economics AKA Humanity vs. Capitalism
The Context - Discussion with friend over text
Friend : We still put money before people.
Me : But as humanity grows we’re more knowledgeable now, and we’ll catch people and hold them accountable for it.
Friend : Literally the opposite has happened.
Me : I refuse to give up on the good of humanity.
Friend : Oh, Humanity is good. Capitalism is evil.
The Discussion with Dad - Also over text, and prompted by me presenting the above discussion and my thoughts on it.
Me : Greed is evil, economy is a neutral entity that is wielded. It is one man’s greed that sours it.
Well this poses an interesting question.
Can a concept, which due to the nature of human history, is created by man be neutral? If it is created by humans, who are intrinsically biased and lean forwards either positive or negative questions, then can it truly be neutral?
Can I claim that something man made is neutral when I proclaim man is good but inherently fallible?
Dad : Sounds like you are doing fine. You pose the more interesting question. Capitalism, and even the idea of economics, are man-made creations. But not necessarily in the way a building or an invention is, or.a book or painting.
Economics comes from the idea that humans require, or desire, certain things to survive, and take action to acquire those things. As the types and numbers of things fluctuate, as well as how many humans and there are and how those things are produced, certain patterns of behavior emerge that seem to be driven by the numerous variable. Hence we study economics as a sort of science - it seems to operate under certain principles that can be deduced by observation and testing. It’s sort of like anthropology or sociology, we are trying to understand how humans have developed or how they will respond.
Me : So in considering it’s study being a science, can we presume we should be neutral in judging its patterns and more so directing moral judgements on those who use the properties of economics to act?
Dad : Capitalism is at, its heart, a theory of economics. One might even say it is the most basic and fundamental theory of how economics works. But it makes assumptions about how people respond to their economic stimuli and their motives. The primary assumption is that people will act to maximize their things. (Keep in mind that I am not an economist and that there is a great deal of literature on this topic - it has been studied a lot.)
There are other theories that predict that people and societies react differently. Capitalism tends to be more individualistic. Socialism and communism more focused on the wellness of the group.
Me : So does capitalism assume greed or does capitalism encourage greed?
Dad : I think you can approach any of those theories with a certain neutrality; the theories themselves are neither good nor evil. How people apply those theories can be approached from an ethical standpoint.
Me : Fair.
Dad : Does capitalism assume greed or encourage greed? Interesting question. Probably both, but even greed might not be the right word.
Then the question is what is the word that capitalism works off of.
Well, the question overall is interesting because in economics it is difficult to separate economic theory from an economic system. That is precisely because humans are involved. It is a bit like Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle or Schrodinger’s Cat - you can’t know the outcome or state of the system unless you act to measure it, but your act of measuring it determines the state of the system.
In economics, how one believes the system works depends partly on how one believes humans act or should act, and humans can work in different ways.
Me : Damn.
This leaves me and my friend very much at odds because I believe we think inherently differently on the way humans work. I think we both find humans to be naturally good, but I more easily overlook the times human do bad to embrace the times human do good while they are the reverse.
I will lean towards capitalism because I like the individualistic approach while still having great faith that more times than not humans will do good.
Dad : You will find there are several different version of capitalism as an economic and political ideology.
Me : But my friend leans towards socialism because they have seen too many times that humanity can be bad and the system abused, so an economic plan for the welfare of all appeals more to them because they believe the opportunity for bad is inherently tempting.
It worries me that I may only find capitalism appealing because I think I myself will work well in it, or perhaps that is my privilege that leads me to favor capitalism.
Dad : Humans are involved in all of these systems. There are no robots or divine forces that will be kind to everyone if only we let them.
Socialism relies on good governance to work. It can be as poorly applied as capitalism.
Me : True.
Dad : Capitalism often maximizes freedom of the individual, which allows individuals to flourish more than other systems, but also allows individuals fail more than other systems. It can also lead to unhealthy balances of power or wealth that can twist the system into actually being intrinsically unfair. This is likely because capitalism is a near perfect theory in an ‘unbounded’ system (resources and people and space are limitless), but when applied more practically to the bounded systems we actually live in it needs some regulation and constraint. (My own personal theory - might be complete B.S.)
Me : Don’t sell yourself too short, it’s the observation of peers that make a theory sound.
---
Quote of the Day : From the Classic Doctor Who Series, in the final episode of the Castrovalva.
The Master, to the people he has created - “You do not have the will to do it.”
The People he made, responds with - “You may have made us, Man of Evil, but we are free.”
*Proceeds to swing on a chandelier and break both the Masters machine and plan.*
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Food and more reading for thought : https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/economics/
Something I’m going to Call Dad-Talks
So I realize I have very interesting conversations with my dad. So I’m gonna talk about them. They’ll range from comedy to tragedy to philosophy, but the point is socratic discussions. I love Dialogues, so I’m gonna phrase the dad talks as them, and they’ll come out in episodes.
Red Son: *holding up some letters* Cousin what is this?
An Lian: *looks up from his camera and looks at the letters blankly before his eyes widen and he snatches them out of his cousin hand* Oh! these are letters- from um..my darling.
Red Son: *rolls his eyes* Oh so it's from that scientist spider.
An Lian: *narrows his eyes while putting the letters away* His name is Syntax, please do refrain from having that dislike towards him. I don't have any dislike towards your partner, even if she's a bit strange.
Red Son: *lightly scoffs* Arrow is not strange and do not tell me to refrain dear cousin, I still have this annoyance towards him and the rest of the spiders for their attack against my father and I!
An Lian:*faintly sighs before nodding* Fair enough. *he stretched before perking* I remember now, I have those photos that you requested of your partner.
Red Son: *raises a brow before remembering and lightly blushes* Ah- yes that
Felt like doing a random conversation between the elemental cousins
I hate that I get matches on online dating just to find the majority of the men that match with me don't have the same interests as me. Like what the fuck. It's boring to talk to a guy who has zero interest in your interest, but I be damn if I settle for a guy who is not in the same interest. Conversation is boring as hell. Wasting me time. I might as well be single until I die of old age.
How do I go by this? Does anyone have tips or suggestions?
Astro Convo 2
(Based on a real conversation)
Cancer: Yo what if we were living in a simulation? What if none of this was actually real? What if animals were supposed to be the ‘humans’ of the world but there was a glitch in the system and they were too lazy to fix it? What if the moon was a hologram? What if Donald Trump was trying to let Hillary win but then he realized he could be the most famous person so he betrayed her to become president in the end? What if everything like Wendy Williams fainting and Britney Spears going crazy was just a way from distracting us from real problems? What if-- Gemini: You need to stop watching Shane Dawson.
A conversation between two
ME: *is walking, head in the clouds*
Me: *stumbles and falls onto the floor*
Me: "Oh my- , I'm so sorry. Do you need help?"
Chair: ....
Me: "wait wha-. What did i just do?"
The reality and soul
As all you know i have a sad conversation about this "Coronavirus" thing.
Last time i have a worst fever that i lose my strength. But now i feel better that i followed my parents to do of there commands. The reality is everything but none of this wouldn't happen this today of these iredeemable our soul is needed to be protected and our planet needs to be healed like my closes friend died i miss her so much she's smart,confident,self-knowledge and very good kind girl i know she's in the better place and when i dreamed and i meet her there sleep that's a reality and souls
🖤 Infinite Conversations. 🖤
Chai had to be updated the way i panicked🥲 I thought i was gonna lose my conversations with my bots.
An average conversation with my friends......
Actually, I have some hc & wanted to talk about it, but have no one to listen, so I'll live it here xD Why else would I have "fandom blog"...
So. Yes. I think Tobirama hate and is afraid of Madara. But not only him. He hates and fears all of Uchiha kind. I was rewatching the 4th war arc and if you listen to Tobirama's monologue when he explains his thoughts on Uchiha's to Sasuke… Well, it's disturbing. It's sick. In front of orphan who lived through the massacre, Tobirama tells that all Uchiha's are "possessed by evil" and they also "possessed strength that surpassed that of the Senju". And he controlled and oppressed Uchiha's to make them useful to the village. Because he didn't like that Uchiha's family ties were placed above fellow villagers (whether he himself would prefer not Hashirama, but someone else - an open question). So, he literally said in front of a massacre survivor who's entire family and clan was killed for Hokage's demand that his family members were all "possessed by evil", insane, unstable and "welp, if they all died… it's their fault" (he heard, that they were killed, tho).
He didn't think of Uchiha's as of people. And he's not ashamed to claim that, even. He saw Uchiha's only as something useful. And if they are not so useful as Tobirama expects (at the same time, the standards of loyalty were lower for other villagers) then they deserve to die. He never ever regretted that he killed Izuna. And he never ever regretted that he forced the Uchiha clan to live in a ghetto on the outskirts of the prison and created prejudice against them. He wanted to have Uchiha's power at his side, but with ultimate devotion to the level when he expected that Uchiha's will sacrifice everything, everyone, even own child, even themselves to prove their loyalty. Even Hashirama seems to be shocked about his lil brother's behavior. He tries to hush Tobirama, but Tobirama simply don't think he did something wrong. He would, if that was someone else - another Senju, another shinobi, anyone else, but not Uchiha's. Uchiha's had to come to terms with prejudice, oppression, inequality, life on the reservation, mistrust and provocations. And if they're not - well, let's kill them. He had never even considered that simply giving the Uchiha's equality with the other villagers and stopping oppressing them would solve any conflicts. Because he didn't see them as people who deserved a normal life like everyone else.
So, yes. He hated Madara. He hated Izuna. He hated Uchiha's. And he fears them.
Do y’all think tobirama hated Madara because I most definitely do think he did? Part of me believes that he blamed kawaramas and itamas deaths on him simply because madara is an uchiha and an uchiha with power .
Im also 100% convinced that Tobirama was scared of madara and his power( and no one convict me differently)
Hey, so...
…”Will you tag (something that is not a common phobia or trauma trigger)?” is always an appropriate request. Even if you’re asking “will you tag for the letter ‘e’,” you’re not crossing boundaries unless the person you’ve asking has already said, clearly, that they will not tag for a thing.
However, “no,” is an equally appropriate reply. It’s nice to have reasons (no I will not tag frogs because I post too many frogs and I forget, meaning that the tag will not protect you; no, I will not tag Disney princesses because it says “Disney princesses” in my blog description and you knew this was a dead dove before you took a bite), but they are absolutely not required.
“Will you tag for birds of prey?” “No. Please unfollow me if you require that tag.” is a perfectly polite exchange.
*starlord hiding in a box trying to scare mantis*
Mantis: "Quill, why are you in there?"
Starlord, coming out of the box: Aww did you know?!
Mantis: I can feel your laughter radiating out of the box, plus I saw your hair peaking out.