Existing Alternatives Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 Yet another example of someone who built a road... with nothing but a hammer and a chisel nonetheless... http://www.upworthy.com/they-told-him-it-was-impossible-it-took-him-a-hammer-a-chisel-and-22-years-to-prove-them-wrong?c=ufb1 https://www.youtube.com/embed/xAVUDKw4AIk
Alan C. Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 An amusing aspect of that video is that it shows the stark contrast of a society without capital accumulation. They literally built a road with their hands which took 20+ years (the time it took for infants to become grown adults). A capitalist, with excavating equipment, could've carved out that road in matter of weeks, and those people could've enjoyed the benefits for all of those years. The harm done by a lack of capital accumulation is on display for everyone to see. 1
bootoo Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 I dont think its a capitalist thing I think of it like this - humans have lots of diverse needs, you focus on the few important ones, get good at taking care of them and live a very independent life free of other humans. The upside is you are then able to freely associate with whoever you want, willful free exchange. The downside is you are probably trading animal skins and potatoes and only the strong survive. The second option is, you specialize in taking care of one specific human need, this means you are completely dependent on other humans to meet all the other needs. Downside, you are not free to associate with whoever you want, and your exchanges may not be as free or as willful as you'd like. The upside is, the value you do create can be traded for healthcare, technology, education and lots of other great things due to all the efficiency and gains of specialization. Its not necessarily capital you need, its trust and communication. In the information age banks and money shouldnt be needed to get people together for a project. Today a few dozen can provide everything for the 100's of people pulling and processing the raw materials and laying/maintaining the road itself, along with all the support systems like education and R&D that is necessary for a technology dependent society.
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