Capitalism vs. Socialism; and Industrialism

I agree with Richard's assessment that it is Capitalism, the blind to
externalities profit motive system that is driving us towards
extinction.

Of course, the answer is not so simple, so white and black as
Capitalism versus Socialism. The ideal system will be communitarian/
mutualist in a way that does not extinguish entrepreuneurial spirit
and motivation, but is different from Capitalism in that it focuses on
needs and reasonable wants, and encourages the best qualities in all
of us, not the personally and socially debasing characteristics so
rampant in the USA and its Capitalist Empire: greed, opulence,
ostentation, consumerism, immediate gratification, irresponsibility,
the glorification and justification of violence, etc., but instead
focuses on and acts with love and caring of our fellow humans (and
other species) and whose overall libertarian mission focuses on
inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life, sustainability, and the
resultant peace.

Industrialism also needs to be called into question for its lack of
humanity and for the pockets of excess which are resultant from its
success (kept in the perspective of their raping virgin landscapes and
exploiting, dehumanizing, murdering, and ruining fellow human beings)
which has lead to so much decadence, arrogance, and selfish
irresponsibility towards their fellow men, towards animals and the
environment (they don't seem to grasp the suicidal nature of their
genocidal, ecocidal highways of life) and towards a future for the
youth and children of the planet.

Eschewing industrialism does not eschew industriousness. Unfortunately
the spoils of industrialism, the evolution of a concentrated ownership
class living side to side with a welfare state, has caused great
degeneration in the work ethic of many rich and poor alike. The
reorganization, reallocation, relocalization economic redevelopment
paradigm will recapture the humanity and joy of life if it embraces a
return to artisanship. The cultivation of beauty within ourselves and
in all our environments will go a long way towards realization.

We must fundamentally change the way that we allocate resources to and
within communities, and within and among economic sectors. We can do
this if we can get fundamental consensus that the purpose of our lives
is consistent with a mission of making the world a better place for
our contemporaries and especially for the progeny.


In Peace, Friendship, Solidarity, and Cooperation,


Mike Morin
http://groups.google.com/group/world-unity-and-cooperation


> Richard Robinson wrote:
>
>> In short, it is capitalism that is the ‘fifth horseman’ who drives the
>> four horsemen of our impending environmental apocalypse – global
>> warming, ecosystems collapse, resource depletion and (the disastrously
>> adverse effects of) population growth. Conversely, it is wholly
>> implausible that the motivation for and control over our industrial
>> civilisation will shift away from profitability and radical
>> unsustainability without equally radical political intervention.
>>
>> All in all, I don’t know how far capitalism can be adapted to social
>> and environmental sustainability – given its inherent drive for
>> economic growth, either it or civilisation itself will have to give –
>> but I am quite certain that capitalism is a much more realistic answer
>> than Paul and George’s rather speculative abstractions.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Richard
>> Fifth Horseman blog:http://richardjrobinson2.blogspot.com/