this post was submitted on 01 May 2024
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You don't seem to understand what capitalism is. Capitalism is not the market, it specifically refers to the economic model in which the means of production are privately or corporately owned (as opposed to collectively) and development occurs via the accumulation and reinvestment (aka redistribution) of wealth by the same.
Centralization is the crucial component of capitalism. Saying that the problem is centralization and not capitalism is like saying the problem with dictatorships is dictators and not dictatorship. You could say that if companies would just behave and reinvest/redistribute their wealth fairly and equitably then capitalism would be great, but you could also say that if we just had a benevolent dictator then dictatorship would be great. Accountability must be built into the system.
That is me entire point. Accountability must be built in and too much centralization needs to be managed or the beast will grow into a monster and impact all negatively including itself in the long run. Lots of ways to manage, but like all centralized systems, they tend to become corrupt over time and don’t kid yourself that other systems where the means are owned by the people as they suffer from the same issue. Centralization is the enemy here not capitalism per se.
You missed my point somehow so I'll try to say it again more clearly. Centralization is inherent to capitalism and inseparable from it. Capitalism places the means of production, and therefore power, into the hands of private individuals. Those private individuals accumulate wealth which allows them to accumulate more wealth and on and on it goes, leading to further centralization of power. Any solution to this problem involves collectivizing the means of production in some way, which means it would no longer be capitalism.
I think you are projecting more than a little as you are just describing other types of groups. Humans make groups and groups are a form of centralization and centralization has inherent issues. Not saying we would be better off without them as that is absurd, but we can better manage the negative effects be it capitalism or communism. They are just different sides of the same coin and if we fail to recognize that we are doomed for more suffering.
People can organize in a large variety of ways without centralizing power. This idea of "all economic systems suck, let's just make capitalism better" is misguided. Decentralizing the power structure within capitalism is tantamount to moving away from capitalism. What you call the economic system that results from this doesn't matter. The term communism for example is often used to refer to the communist party of the soviet union established by the Bolsheviks, despite the fact that the Bolsheviks betrayed the values for which the revolutionaries fought.
Communism is, by its' original envisioning, a fully decentralized economic system in which the means of production are collectively owned by the workers. Communism is decentralized by design and centralization results from flaws - often deliberate courtesy of selfish oppurtunists - in its' implementation. Capitalism is centralized by design and decentralization results from flaws - also often deliberate courtesy of those like you seeking to make it better - in its' implementation.
Trying to "fix" capitalism by introducing flaws in its' implementation will never make long lasting change; that can only come about by replacing the foundation of capitalism with something better.