Hello cawacko,

Quote Originally Posted by cawacko View Post
"we'll just make what's needed"

Who would have created that computer and then internet that is allowing us to communicate now? A mate in one part of the globe would have said back in the day "let's create something that allows us all to communicate!" And someone would have said "I've seen the future and it is called a computer and here's how you build it..." and voila, a computer was born?
People will always create new things. It is done out of curiosity. Did you think Dr. Jonas Salk worked so hard and cured polio for profit? No. He did it because it needed to be done, and he realized he might be able to do it. So he tried. He wanted society to have it. So he tried, (really hard for a long time) and he did it. It didn't make him rich. It could have. He could have sold it. He was fine. He already had a nice house. Moderate house. He was happy to have been able to do it. He made it widely available for free. He was what we called: 'A nice guy.'

He was not alone. The world is full of nice guys. Still is.

Did you think Nikola Tesla gave us AC, Alternating Current, the basis of our electrical infrastructure, for profit? No. He was simply fascinated with electricity and suspected it was possible to create an AC motor. Everybody laughed at him. Edison thought he was a kook and fired him. Edison was wrong. He had already wired several blocks of NYC on DC power so he didn't want to accept that Tesla was right. Tesla actually went to work as a laborer until George Westinghouse took an interest in Tesla's AC current idea. Westinghouse was a great capitalist. He got Tesla to sign away his rights to the invention in return for building it. Westinghouse got fabulously rich 'creating jobs.' Tesla died poor. After all he did for mankind and the USA.

Most people don't work jobs to get rich. Only the owners of a successful company get rich. The capitalists.

The workers get paid. That's it. Most stand no chance of becoming ultra wealthy at all. They get their agreed pay. And get shown the door after they are no longer useful.

Many workers don't work for capitalists. But they still work hard. They work full time jobs with lots of stress and goals and hard work. All without working for capitalists. People simply like working at something, seeing results, and achieving that sense of accomplishment that comes with a career. They work for the government or non-profits. Or they run small limited sole proprietorships or partnerships.

Most mom n pop small businesses are limited in scope. It's an independent job but usually there's no getting rich running a small store. It's just an independent job. They are capitalists, but not usually the kind we see giving capitalism a bad name. They're just making a living, not trying to rip people off. If they do well, they truly earned it.

The workers who work for extreme capitalists have been convinced to believe in capitalism, fantasize that some day riches will come their way. But unless they go out and try to make that happen, 99% of the time it does not happen.

Most workers are not motivated to work by the profit motive. They work hard because they are afraid if they don't, they will lose their job. Yes, they are in competition. They are in competition with the other workers and they know if they look bad in comparison that their job is not as secure.

People work because it feels good to accomplish something, to serve a purpose to society, be a part of things, be a productive member of society, one of the collective. We sure as heck don't live alone on this planet! Everybody is faced with the same lifetime challenge: Figure out where you fit into this whole thing...

What more people should do is just think positively. There's a lot of good around, but it doesn't make the news. There's good people EVERYWHERE. Mostly you don't hear about them. Maybe if somebody does something extraordinary they might get one of those feel-good spots on the news, a one-shot deal. If it's bad news we beat it to death. Under capitalism, the most profitable media story is bad news that keeps getting updated with new information. What a money-maker! But good news? Forget it. Good way to get your ratings in the dump. But just because we hear this constant stream of bad news all the time doesn't mean the world is such a bad place. All that kind of stuff has always been going on. We're just hearing about it non-stop now unless we tune it out.

I think too many people get too addicted to this social media and mass media technology. It's like we're turning into The Borg from Star Trek Next Gen. All this constant stream of data is causing our nation to be super polarized. That's not an encouraging thing. So we need to think more positively. And the cool thing is that is really easy to do. Just look for the good. It's out there. Make it a habit. There's always some good. Look for the good, make it your own. Think positive thoughts. All of the problems the world faces have possible solutions. All we can do is our best to try to solve them. It is of little practical or logical use to dwell on the bad. So think positive thoughts. It is the rational thing to do!

That's why I try to be positive here in my posting and everywhere in my life. We're not going to get anywhere being hung up on how bad somebody else is and letting that dominate our thoughts. We'll do far better if we feel good about the world, and about ourselves. My life is great. I don't know about you, but I love MY life. I wish everybody could enjoy their life as much as I enjoy mine. I worked for what I have, as a sole proprietor and as an employee. I've worked as a fund-raiser for a worthy charity. I've been a musician who played for free, entertained hundreds, volunteered for food drives, clean-ups. I've run amateur sports events, volunteered at concerts to get in free. I've got lots of great friends, and we enjoy life together, share our lives, keep in touch, have parties, celebrate and mourn together.

Life is what you make it.

I would advise anyone who wants to enjoy their life as much as I am enjoying mine to begin by thinking more positively. The good news is not going to slap you in the face. You have to look for it!

And yeah. People will work for other reasons than the profit motive.

Sometimes I think capitalism is almost a religion to some people. I know otherwise.