Is Capitalism Really Human Nature? 

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I studied cultural anthropology in university. We often talked about "human nature" in class. Early humans would care for one another, for the sick and dying, for the children. Because humans are gregarious animals, we are meant to form communities and that's how we survive. That's one of the reasons why we're living a major mental health crisis all over the world, because capitalism tears us apart instead of bringing us together. We're lonely because community is no longer encouraged as it once was. Human nature is togetherness and dependability, not gouging each other's eyes out for some gold coins we can hoarde.

"Greed and selfishness is a part of human nature" "So let's create a society that solely promotes these qualities."

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin

The funny thing is that I grew INTO Socialism in My late 30s. Once you've experienced enough of the bad you start to realize that there's just a better way to do most things. People doing bad things is more often a consequence of their conditions caused by capitalism, so getting rid of the need to be greedy, lie, or cheat to survive brings out the best in people. Think about the times when you wanted to help someone but couldn't because you didn't have time due to needing to go to work or how you couldn't donate because you barely make rent. All "survival instincts" only caused by capitalism, not nature.

I've never been fond of people arguing that humans are "evil" by nature in _any_ context, but especially so in cases where such is being used to shut down systemic change from occurring.

I grew up in a religious community that also believed that humans were naturally evil and selfish. Since leaving, I've learned that people are mostly kind. Whatever selfishness they do exhibit is usually because they're in a desperate situation and have needs that are going unfulfilled, not because they are trying to gain advantage over someone else for no good reason.

I'm in the process of starting a co-op with a collective of others in my field. I was discussing this with a friend who fashions themselves as a "libertarian". He asked who we got to run the company and I explained that we're holding an election for our executive and management posts from within our current pool of members and that it comes with an annual review and option to hold another election (there is also a removal clause). He got all weird and said, "yeah, but what if the guy turns out to be a dictator that ruins the operation?" He said it like a "gotcha" moment, like a "checkmate socialist!" He unironically, seriously didn't comprehend that in a capitalist model you literally NEVER vote for your bosses or execs. Your boss is already a literal dictator that you have to obey under threat of unemployment and therefore starvation / homelessness. I'm really starting to think that capitalists are just beyond dense. Hopelessly stupid and irreparably oblivious.

If individuals are selfish and greedy by nature, it becomes even more important to have social systems that counter this destructive behavior.

A yes, the species that developed complex language and emotional recognition patterns to enable superior cooperation is the one that needs competitive systems against its own species.

I am a 43 year old army veteran. And if growing old is proof that you realize how the world works... well they are right. I am fed up with the way the nation "works". Change is needed. Enormous change. But so many people are dependent on this system, I am not sure it could change.

I always say that human nature is like water. It assumes the shape of the container you put it into. In this case, the container is the economic system in which humans have to survive. I’m capitalism, humans have to be greedy and selfish because that’s the container they’re adapting to.

"Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization" Peter Kropotkin

I like the way you compare the privilege of the capitalist class to "the divine right of kings". It goes to show, as is printed on the Despair Inc poster, that "Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid."

From a worker's point of view, it's always been difficult to understand why companies neglect to cross-train. I believed it was because of cost, but more and more, it's because keeping the knowledge of how a system works as obscure as possible gives corporate leverage.

“Grow out of it?” Actually, I grew into it from 30 onwards. I was becoming Socialist, when I didn’t even understand what it really was, even by name. It’s true. I knew capitalism sucked, and the corporate structure, and my life was being affected by it. I knew I was strongly against it; but no one reached out with the concept of Socialism. Finally, I realised some socialist history and started reading! And I found others too who we’re reaching out. Now, I’m 60. Still learning, and hope for that day when this country will snap to its rightful Socialist pedestal.

I think the best part of about this channel is how there’s a consistent theme that a democratic economy is a better structure to run society. What we have now is controlled and dominated by so few people-it’s no wonder things are getting worse. Thanks for making your videos JT!

"John Burroughs has stated that experimental study of animals in captivity is absolutely useless. Their character, their habits, their appetites undergo a complete transformation when torn from their soil in field and forest. With human nature caged in a narrow space, whipped daily into submission, how can we speak of its potentialities?" ~ Emma Goldman

I often get caught up explaining to people that historically humans are not selfish. We wouldn't have survived as a species otherwise. But pointing out to people that even if someone is greedy and selfish they're gonna have a tough time convincing others to do what they want under socialism is a lovely argument I had never considered. Thanks for your videos JT and providing us with more tools for the struggle.

I thought humankind succeeded as a species because of our ability to cooperate with other, not because we were in competition.

"You'll grow out of it" I was told at 14 years old when trying to duscuss socialism with my parents. Now, at 58 I am referred to as "the ultra left". Actually as a label I prefer Anarchist/Syndicalist. But I hate labels as they are used to distract and divide us.

The other thing I keep thinking about regarding greed and false equivalency, is the equation of our greed to their greed. They are not the same, even if you want to call our desperation greed. It's true both the rich and the poor are desperate for wealth and resources, but the scale and character are entirely different. Poor people are greedy for spare time, comfort, and peace of mind while the rich are not content with owning most of the wealth of the earth.

the problem about humanity is not that we are evil or selfish, but very easily manipulated. no matter if child or adult, too many of us are too vulnerable this way and don't learn to think for ourselves properly. I myself am also guilty of this and I work on it every single day.

Another issue with Smith's assumptions is that there are indications that the creation of currency was tied to war, not economic trade. The theory is that by paying soldiers with currency that could only be redeemed in the country, they wouldn't overthrow the government when you armed them with all of the territories weapons and sent them to war because overthrowing the government would make the currency worthless.

When people claim that humans are greedy by nature, I always reply with the same answer: If water was free, would you have all your taps permanently open? Would you collect water infinitely? What about furniture, would you keep 200 chairs and tables at home if they were free? Then how about a home, would you keep moving between 20 homes, maintaining and cleaning them, just to keep ownership? I've yet to find a person who answers "yes" to any of these questions. Greed is only desirable so long as it feels worthy of our time and effort. Make it so that it's no longer useful to be greedy and suddenly 90% of all greed disappears.

It's crazy to think people think corporate overlords and immense wealth inequality, as well as rampant poverty are all human nature.

Arguing that greed is human nature and using said argument to justify a system that heavily rewards being greedy, uses the same logic that children should be let loose in candy stores because it's their nature to eat candy

I mean theoretically if you justified greed as part of human nature, you could also justify murder as part of human nature. And even under a capitalist society we take measures to avoid that outcome, so why would we not do the same thing for greed or any other sin? Even if you understand human nature as this vial ugly thing and all humans are bad, there's no reason why we shouldn't do things to prevent those qualities from becoming the cornerstone of a society

Humans most significant trait is collaboration. Every good dam social creature, apes, horses, dolphins, elephants, wolf packs contain an interplay between competition and cooperation, cheating and altruism. It’s why it’s complicated. Reductions to too competitive is like saying mankind exists by trying to kill each other every second. Or ignores reciprocity as the most fundamental human interaction.

It's human nature for those who are the greediest

It’s funny how they make the human nature argument then at the same time cape for billionaires by pointing out that they are generous for donating to charity.

Damn, this is one of the best explanations of socialism I've ever heard. Way to put it in perspective, JT. The fact that socialism is just about what strategies are rewarded and which aren't really resonated with me.

Wow!!!! I just made a TikTok summarizing Debt the first 5000 years and it blew up! So happy Graeber, and this crucial history, are getting due recognition. Excellent work as always JT!

I often think that the “people are selfish and greedy” argument is sincerely made by the few people who really are selfish and greedy. Such people seem to honestly believe that altruism and compassion are weaknesses. Further, they want to live in a world that rewards their skills at ruthless violence or manipulation. So they spend a lot of effort convincing other people that there’s nothing to be done about it.

Your video made me made me realize why it so happened that the world arrived to a system in which the greedy and the selfish have the most power and wealth. The reason why the world arrived to be this way is because only the most selfish cared enough to make the world system work in a way that benefits their type, the type of selfish and greedy people. Fundamentally, the most selfish, from their selfish drives wanted to determine how the world economy will function more than any other type of humans, so they made that system for themselves, a system that rewards mostly them.

The Olds: When you grow up, you'll be more conservative Millenials: Hold my beer. *Swings far to the left with age*

My argument against "Selfish Human Nature" is a documentary l saw more than 10 years ago that involved kids too young to talk but old enough to understand simple instructions. In this study they showed kids hand puppet shows where one puppet was being hurtful or selfish to another then introduced another puppet that showed kindness or generosity, the puppets were removed for a few minutes then put on the table & the kids were allowed to pick one, NEARLY ALL PICKED the kind/generous ones. Swapping which puppet was which didn't matter so it was not appearance that influenced their decision, it was their actions so the kids were drawn to "Good Behaviour". So we are born caring but live in a world that shows greedy behaviour is reward everywhere therefore they learn to become greedy. Parents learnt this from their parents with statements like "You can get/need to get a better job than that when you grow up" so in turn teach that to their kids. So called primitive societies shared resources (which is why the greedy European cultures called them primitive) knew for the tribe to survive everyone had to have the same access to everything or those that got less would be too weak to fight against a hostile tribe wanting to take away their resources. Yes we will fight another tribe to live but sharing in the tribe makes the whole tribe strong while limiting access makes it weaker & breeds discontent. This inter tribal fighting is explained by capitalists as the "Greed of Human Nature" but it is really the most basic of impulses in the reptilian part of our brain, the hindbrain, "The Will to Survive" that causes them wars, not the desire to get rich. The next, higher segment of our brain, the mammalian area, the Midbrain, is where caring & sharing is found as communal animals learnt they have a better chance to live & reproduce as the group which can fight back where an individual can't. But now we have the even higher brain area, the Forebrain, where logic is centered so we should be able to act above our basic desires and work towards a system that does hurt anyone but instead works towards helping everyone because just like a small tribe if we don't come together we will tears ourselves apart.

Smith did what so many intellectuals do, identifying the specific culture of his historical era with some invented universal form of human nature. In reality human nature, like culture, is conditioned by the mode of production at the base of society, which is eternally in a state of change & development. And thus, human nature is in a constant state of change as well. -Eddie

"Capitalism is natural" Feudalism: hey back off buddy, I was here first

Quality work as always. To those who say "it's just human nature" & think that's it, we should give Hitchen's Razor: Assertions made without evidence can simply be dismissed without evidence Collaboration is a force multiplier, competition's benefits are much more limited.

I watched a program where a few normal people were dropped on an deserted island to try and survive for a few weeks. It always ended up with communism. Everyone shared tools, and all food gathered was shared at the end of the day. People would help others build shelter if they understood how to better. And by the end of the show, that society had develop beyond what it was on day one. Of course that's different from living a whole real life, but it shows it can work to some extent, and it's what people naturally fell into when left to make their own little society. Cooperation and sharing. No one trying to create money or gain more resources for themselves.

Majority of Americans aren't even Anti Socialism. I will often describe Free Market Socialism to them and they will agree with it. And then I'll take it a step further and say eventually we can make it where there is no profit incentive. (This is when their brain starts ticking) and they say, yeah that'd be nice but it'll never happen. My American brothers and sisters are Pro Free Enterprise, but they aren't Capitalist when you break it down to the principles and ignore the bold text words like Capitalism and Socialism.

The main argument that i use when they said that people doesn't do nothing without a greedy return... Is "why don't you charge your 5 year son for the food that he eat? Why you give food and shelter to a dog that can't repaid you in an economic matter?"

I feel like education is so important right now, and I think we could all - myself included - use more of it

As far as I'm concerned, the Chinese philosopher Mengzi (Mencius) made the most concise and sufficient argument for innate goodness and that has never been meaningfully expanded on or eclipsed since. He says, “Why do I say that all people possess within them a moral sense that cannot bear the suffering of others? Well, imagine now a person who, all of a sudden, sees a small child on the verge of falling down into a well. Any such person would experience a sudden sense of fright and dismay. This feeling would not be something he summoned up in order to establish good relations with the child’s parents. He would not purposefully feel this way in order to win the praise of their friends and neighbors. Nor would he feel this way because the screams of the child would be unpleasant." He goes on to describe how bafflingly unthinkable such an exception to this rule would be that such a person couldn't even be described as "person" (ren) at all. The words he used are Chinese, and thus have nuance not easily translatable to English, but the concepts are roughly identical. We are social animals that, from our earliest conception, are dependent on each other. Anyone who seems to violate the principles of interdependence or denies their concern for others is shutting down a core motivating force that underlies the whole of our cognitive endowment as living organisms. You have to make a *choice* for this to happen, it doesn't occur as a result of "growing up" or "learning how the world works". The greatest flaw in our society that can possibly exist is one which undermines the fundamental reality of human consciousness. Mencius' philosophy was primarily based on arguments which took the fundamental likes and dislikes of the king he was speaking to and extended the roots of those proclivities to the common people, who he asserted were of identical nature. To the Confucians, all members of society were part of one chain of being that, if exhibiting filial piety to those above and below them, would naturally result in harmony and goodness. Mencius' philosophy was philosophy only in the sense that it directed the attention of others to their own basic needs and desires and extended their implications towards all others in the Confucian chain of being. It's true that he never conceived of a world without a king or without a vast portion of the population in positions of forced labor, but as later philosophers such as Hume, Locke, and Kant would expand the perfidy of systems of belief and governance in denying this fundamental reality, none have more accurately identified that flaw's root. There were other schools of philosophy during Mencius' time as a roaming counselor to kings, such as the Mohist, Daoist, and Legalist schools; Mencius represented what he believed was authentic Confucianism, and marketed himself as such to kings by relying heavily on mythical tales of China's ancient past and the likely fictional Sage Kings who ruled them. Even if Mencius were to realize that evidence to support the existence of a primordial era of sagely rule is virtually nonexistent, it wouldn't have mattered to him at all, nor should it matter to us. Historical precedence and observable behavior play a role in specific legislation or practical policy, specifically in regards to making convincing and thorough arguments- they do not have any effect on the process of self-awareness that each human being goes through in awakening to their core nature as social organisms designed implicitly for service to others. Mohism advocated for militant discipline, Daoism for non-action, Legalism for draconian laws of extreme punishment; Mencius simply wanted to convince people to stop murdering each other. His belief system and school of "philosophy" were pretty much whatever they needed to be to get people to stop murdering each other, leading to his later criticism by those who rightfully observed his hypocritic tendencies towards self-justification regardless of circumstance. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I encourage you to read about Mencius and his career as a traveling court counselor. Take care, friend.

We can choose and create our socioeconomic organisation methods deliberately and collectively. That's a huge evolutionary advantage, regardless of the successes and failures in our history. There are many among us who want us to think we have no choice. Great vid,btw

We are not selfish and greedy. We are forced to be so. Upon realising the truth, I felt so sad for being so. I don't know how many times i scolded my best friends and my relatives.

I initially became a socialist because I realized that in any capitalist system, regulation eventually becomes impossible. Once capitalists have enough money to bribe government officials to do whatever they like, all attempts to regulate businesses are stymied. Which is what we have right now. Socialists are needed to regulate capitalism, if it's to work at all,. But capitalists regard ANYTHING that gets in the way of making more money as just another thing to be destroyed or subverted, and that includes socialists and socialism. It's just the way the capitalist machine works, and it's why it always turns into a monster that devours itself and the society that hosts it. Hence, socialism.

I think they are good examples. My go to response is to point out how selfless people are during a catastrophe. We have hurricanes down here, everyone ends up checking on each other, people that don't know each other will share food, etc. If you're having a rough time in general, I know several Karens that will feed and clothe you. There ARE tons of ways humans care for each other all the time, whether they know each other or not. People are shit in a crowd, but that's a psychological effect.

I have ADHD put I make sure to play the whole video just to promote it on the algorithm, workers unite 🙏

Everyone watching this has probably heard this Classic "Young people want everything handed to them" despite the fact Old Generations (Mainly Boomers) had things like Free College and more opportunities handed to them.

Ubuntu: I am because we are. “An anthropologist studying the habits and customs of an African tribe found himself surrounded by children most days. So he decided to play a little game with them. He managed to get candy from the nearest town and put it all in a decorated basket at the foot of a tree. Then he called the children and suggested they play the game. When the anthropologist said “now”, the children had to run to the tree and the first one to get there could have all the candy to him/herself. So the children all lined up waiting for the signal. When the anthropologist said “now”, all of the children took each other by the hand and ran together towards the tree. They all arrived at the same time divided up the candy, sat down and began to happily munch away. The anthropologist went over to them and asked why they had all run together when any one of them could have had the candy all to themselves. The children responded: “Ubuntu. How could any one of us be happy if all the others were sad?” Ubuntu is a philosophy of some African tribes that can be summed up as “I am what I am because of who we all are.” In 2008, Bishop Desmond Tutu gave this explanation of “ubuntu” . . . “One of the sayings in our country is “Ubuntu”, the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our inter-connection. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”

BRO I'm so happy to finally see someone mention Graeber's "Debt" book. It's sooooo good. I've seriously listened to the ebook about 20 times. I spent the entire video until you mentioned it actually thinking, "Wow, this video is really giving me big David Graeber vibes" and then you went and did it my boy

My man! These kind of things need to be discussed for the better good, and people's well-being.

This is a great point, back when I was doing gta5 RP, I did twitch overlays for the people that streamed it totally for free. It felt great to see my work out there and get requests for more. Giving away my overlays ended up with people sending me donations on paypal for what they thought it was worth.

Never back down! Never compromise! Keep doing what you do best J.T., debunk the lies, and speak the truth. I admire your courage. Honestly, you're an inspiration bro. Best random recommend I ever got from youtube was your channel. I love your videos man!

It scares me how strongly some people will grab onto, and hold onto, power. They’ll dominate and exploit others in almost any system, and blocking that dominance needs to be the first priority of any system attempting to make change.

If I could live my life being able to create art without having to make money to survive then I would likely just give stuff away that I make for free, even taking free requests. I love making things and sharing those things. I hate having to make money to survive.

Capitalism favors sociopaths and psychopaths; that's why for-profit corporations do so well.

Empathy, preservation of yourself and your species is our nature

We've spent generations saying the only way to get ahead is to be selfish and to exploit others, then turn around and are shocked that people act that way? Maybe we need to go into the nature vs nurture debate. It's not human nature to be selfish, it's nurtured in us.

The answer I always get is “that’s just the way things are” anytime I question how we do things and come up with a better way. I don’t understand how the majority of people are so complacent.

How fascinating that people are encouraged to be selfish and exploitative in a system designed to reward exploitation and selfishness.

Yes! Thank you for mentioning David Graeber's work here. He destroys the Adam Smith premise so thoroughly and actually gives many examples of alternatives that had existed and worked perfectly fine. Some were bizarre, too! It was thrilling to read, and even better to find further reading elsewhere when you know what to look for.

You really produced a quality accessible video here. You're just so damn good at this. I just watched young Karl Marx a film from 2018 It was really good. Anyways I'm just leaving this message for the algorithm and to tell you that you're doing great.

This always reminds me of how Conservatives think that faced with a natural catastrophe the population of a city will go berserk and try to kill, loot, and plunder each other and their wealthier neighbors for survivals sake. So their first response is to call for authoritarian measures like sending in the military to protect their lives and property, rather than send in humanitarian aid and support for the population to put their resources to good use. Like when hurricane Catharina hit New Orleans. While the mostly black population tried to help one another, bands of heavily armed white mercenaries, police and National guards descended on the city to control (and in some cases murder) people in need of assistance.

in the words of richard wolff, if you have a verbal commitment to democracy you are going to have a BIG problem justifying capitalism.

Human nature has always had a super fluidity about it. The nurture part of nature vs nurture

JT hitting another home run with this one. Great content, I love getting that notification of your videos published every week!

This guys just be dropping most thought provoking videos

There are remnants tribes that are still barely hanging on in corners of the world. They naturally practice a form of socialism in their hunts and the take care of their own. If someone were to be deprived of meat from the hunt the one that is trying to take a double share would be ostracized and ultimately banished by the elders in a well organized tribe. Ones reputation is directly related to how fair they are.

I'm shocked on how much we are indoctrinated into capitalism. Thanks for sharing, great way of presenting your ideas. I have to admit I'm an example of those where socialism grew out of when entering the workforce. But everyday I have more empirical evidence that this rampant capitalist that we live in is not the way we deserve.

Good day JT! Just finished binging The New F Word the other day. You continue to prove time and time again how great you are at providing educational content that is easy to comprehend and entertaining. Solve to support all the great work you do comrade! Never give up on the fight! Your work makes ripples that we will see the effects of for a long time to come.

You forgotten to add that Scarecity reinforce Capitalime... so it is in the interest of the Capitaliste to keep the rest of us in precarius condition.... or to be exact locked into survival mode. Because while you are busy surviving, you won't be able to try changing the system... it is a win-win for the Oligarche.

My sister hit me with, "Europeans pays more taxes". I asked how much do you pay for healthcare? She said "oh, a shit ton"..... Still not gonna change. Capitalism good Socialism bad. In her defense, she ignores politics. And she be gay yo. She was going to a drag show in our small town. I warned her that drag shows are being targeted by crazy right wingers. She laughed it off. A few days before the show that she already bought ticket to, it was cancelled due to creditable threats the FBI brought to the attention of the restaurant owner.... Yeah, pay more attention sis. Love you.

The "human nature" argument never held water for me. Like, capitalism is an invention. It's as much a part of "human nature" as horse saddles, writing, jet fighters, and social media. Inventions are great, but they don't work if you don't know how it works.

This is the best part of my Friday morning

Lmfao I was going to try and watch these to have real conversations with people in the comments but if you see something literally labeled “why abolishing your social security is awesome” and you don’t realize it’s paid propaganda you are to far gone. Next video “why you should take a pay cut at work while working longer hours” Or maybe “why fighting for your rights is actually bad” Good luck lunatics

Human altruism is simultaneously the answer to "how do good works happen under capitalism?", and something that magically doesn't really exist the moment we talk about socialism. Even is Addams was correct about the idea our nature is to trade and Capitalism is the latest step in our improving on that, it doesn't mean the next step is not Socialism. If we find a better way of doing things, that is what we should do. Even if it were this ideal system we came upon, it can have its flaws that need improving on. We can see very clear flaws, it is a system strained beyond its limits. It is a system preventing us from advancing. Scale is always a flaw needing addressing, and never one we can truly plan for. We need to replace Capitalism with a system that works at the scale we need right now and into the future. He is not correct, as you laid out; but even if you take the arguments at face value, it implies Capitalism is just a step.

Man your channel is truly top notch! As a capitalist myself I often find it very hard to dispute your arguments and I can’t really see how any rational, open minded person could disagree. You make very valid points and your delivery is flawless. Great work! 👍

💚Keep educating the people JT. Revolution doesn’t come thru brute force, but Revolution happens in the hearts & minds of the people. 💚✊💚

"Man, since we can't seem to agree on what is a good way to organize our society, so let's just do it in the way we all agree is bad. Waaay simpler." (shrugs) -Adam Smith, probably

The first human civilizations were communes. The first economies were built on gifts, trust, and debt and equity being the same thing. If capitalism were natural, why wasn't it proposed until the 18th century, and why did it take more than a century and a global war after that for it to become the status quo?

ALSO - despite what people say about Adam Smith re greed and the "invisible hand," etc... He also had the explicit assumption that all people participating in society have functioning feelings of EMPATHY. He said that a person can't help but feel pained at the sight of someone that needs help

I think even if it is, in a hypothetical situation where only machines work and people don't (a scarcity free society, like Star Trek for instance) this wouldn't matter.

We are social animals. Yes, we are competetive. We are also cooperative. Generocity is in our nature. If you are not generous, cooperative, and competative you are not human.

Retiring soon, my positions are depleted. My spouse and I are adding a variety of stocks/ETF to my present holdings for the long term, We've set aside $250k to start following inflation-indexed bonds and stocks of companies with solid cash flows, I believe it is a good time to capitalize on the market for long-term gains, but it wouldn't hurt to know means of actualizing short term profitS.

5:57 I literally just watched a video on social media this morning of a dog trading one of his favorite items for something his human had. I'm sure there are more examples of other animals trading (as well as just giving each other things) if people actually watched animals and considered their actions as intelligent and intentional. We're not the only ones to trade and give others desired items.

Here’s a thought. Economists ran with the misappropriation of Darwin’s statement of “survival of the fittest”. They emphasize competition because it was beneficial to markets and capitalism. However, at some point, everyone forgot that no market would exist if it was not for cooperation, Cooperation, greater than competition.

"I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love." (Gandalf the Grey, in The Hobbit) by J.R.R.Tolkien

I feel like the world is very traditionalist and that’s why there’s still so much inequality. It’s like we know that such processes in the past such as racism and sexism were bad and we condemn them, to an extent, but not fully. In the past capitalism was thought to be the only way for the world’s economy to work but now we know that that’s not the case and there are other options that are more inclusive and benefit everyone but the greedy people at the top who have been benefiting from the past ideals for years don’t want to let go of tradition that made them rich and powerful. And so the world remains unequal and poverty remains. 😔

Capitalism selects for selfishness and Socialism selects for cooperation. What world do we want to live in?

The funny thing is these videos always get uploaded right before i go to work XD

I really like this guy, I meet the polar opposite too often.

If human nature is so pointless to oppose then why have laws? Holding moral standards is fine when it's for imprisoning folks. We live in a society!

Excellent, as always! But, I wanted to offer a few respectful criticisms: I’ve read Wealth of Nations cover to cover. I don’t know if you have, but my reading of the text did not cause me to take away the sort of silly “pro-capitalist” tropes and axioms that are typically proffered by the neoliberal ideologues of today. If anything, I read Smith as having an almost “proto-socialist” view on society, albeit one that saw barter and trade as central. Given that he was writing at a time when modern bourgeois towns and cities were just beginning to spring up in Scotland, his text conveys an optimism about the power of “free trade” to counter the excesses and abuses of the mercantilist forms of government at the time. But, when his “free trade” mantras are taking together with many of the other ideas he saw as important to a fair society, it’s hard to imagine he’d place himself anywhere remotely close to the “free market” ideologues of today. I’ve also read Marx’s Capital and was surprised to find a large share of footnotes dedicated to Smith. Many were critical of Smith, but almost an equal number were not. I think this further supports the idea that Smith would absolutely reject the capitalist system as it has developed today and the “neoclassical” (just neoliberal) economists and thinkers that continue to use Smith as their “Founding Father”. Just my thoughts! Love your channel! Keep up the great work!

Imagine Vikings lecturing their kids about how taking other people's stuff is just sooooo natural and good

It seems people just seem to forget a lot of the good things that humans do to and for each other and just dive straight into the negatives. It's quite sad.

Watched this literally after listening to a review on Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead... and it's kind of interesting to me how even the books that glorify capitalism as if it's the only system that works, actively demonstrate the flaws in that Howard Roark *constantly* goes against what would make him money because it would compromise his vision as his artistic vision mattered far more to him than the actual profit.

Damn Smith’s whole philosophy really is the 18th c. Equivalent of a middle schooler from the suburbs oversharing their uninformed ruminations on Facebook circa 2009