• 0 Posts
  • 10 Comments
Joined 4 months ago
cake
Cake day: October 26th, 2024

help-circle
  • Please don’t downvote this guy for raising a sincere (and imo interesting) question.

    To help you answer your question: If one perceives other human beings as their equal, as individuals with inherent worth and dignity, how can one possibly justify depriving said individuals of basic necessities such as food or shelter if they refuse to be exploited for their labour (1)? How does one justify the inherently authoritarian nature of almost all workplace hierarchies which people are forced to accept by denying them the things they need to live in an economy that could meet everyone’s needs (2). How does one justify the brutal exploitation of people in the global south (slave labour, child labour, working people to the point of permanent sickness and an early death) and the pollution and destruction of the environment we, our children and all the other lifeforms on planet earth have to live in?

    You’ll have to answer those questions for yourself, I’m sadly no mind reader for the capitalist class. I personally believe it is a mix of willful ignorance (see effective altruism/billionaire philantropy, internalizing their own propaganda), contempt for those perceived as lesser (e.g. prosperity gospel) and greed. This would need further inquiry though on my part if you want a more in depth answer. Whether the self-image of those who are perpetuating the violence matters in your assesment is a question of your ethical framework. Does it really matter whether they hate the working class? Would it make the violence and suffering perpetuated by that system worse if they did? Those are interesting philosophical questions.

    On the materialistic side Capitalism as a system sure treats the working class like a resource rather than humans though, that much is clear. Needless to say I believe we should create a socio-economic order that is more conducive to the flourishing of all life on earth, humans included.

    Extra points: (1) You should have the freedom to refuse a shit job without fear of becoming homeless, dying of disease or starving. If the economy is organized in such a way, that you have no access to a dignified job AND you become homeless if you refuse a shit job, the external factors are quite literally forcing you into an abusive work-relationship. This is unjust.

    (2) Doesn’t mean I want everyone to slack off on the couch. People should still be productive of course (for the good of their community/family etc., not for the sake of corporate profits), but the incentive to work should not be “go work or die on the streets”.


  • The wording includes an important caveat:

    (4) Gegen jeden, der es unternimmt, diese Ordnung zu beseitigen, haben alle Deutschen das Recht zum Widerstand, wenn andere Abhilfe nicht möglich ist.

    This roughly translates to

    Every German has the right to resist those who seek to abolish this [free and democratic] order if no other means are sufficient.

    The conservative politicians/judges have watered it down to the point where you can only violently resist them once democracy has already failed.