> I hesitate to reply to people that hide behind throwaway accounts
My account is three and a half years old, has more karma than your account, and has an equal amount of personal information (zero). Calling it a "throwaway" is inaccurate, saying that I'm "hiding" is manipulative, and your further statement
> but sure, I'll bite
...is further evidence of emotional manipulation instead of reason and intellect.
> The very few attempts that we had in modern times were ultimately sabotaged by capitalism
Given the many non-free-market states (almost all of which were communist, but the point generalizes), every single one of which has failed, the overwhelmingly most likely cause is simply that they don't work. Any claims otherwise require a massive amount of evidence.
> Capitalism did sprout innovation, but that does not mean it's the best way to do so. Ignoring the inherent flaws around the profit motive doesn't help anyone.
Nobody, including in this thread, is "ignoring" anything. Sane people look at the free market system, realize that it needs some amount of regulation to remain stable, and apply that. Insane people suggest that communism is a plausible alternative to free markets - and nobody has been able to come up with another system other than those two.
> I don't think so, honestly.
You're incorrect, then. The point that you made was "[Capitalism] actually pushes innovation towards profits, not pure innovation" - and nobody claimed that capitalism incentivizes "pure innovation", so that's the very definition of a strawman argument.
> The reality is that a lot of research is done with the question of "how can we make money solving this problem?", rather than "how can we solve this problem?"
Again, nobody claimed otherwise - if you had read the comment you're responding to, you would have also seen:
>> the "side effect" of innovation happening as a result of chasing profits is literally how "capitalism" is designed to work
> Regulators that are corrupted in search of capital. It's a circular system.
This is both incorrect and irrelevant. Incorrect, because regulators are corrupted in search of money and power, not because of capital. Irrelevant, because those factors are present in every other alternate system. Free market systems are not unique in this matter, and so this is an irrelevant point to bring up because no alternative system will change this.
> Many do believe that democratically elect people should have more power than private institutions with zero transparency or checks. Not sure exactly how that "decreases the quality of human life". Where did that come from?
Again - you should read comments before you respond to them:
>> corrupt regulators that anti-capitalists would happily put into greater positions of power and give more power to meaningfully decrease the quality of human life
Putting corrupt regulators into greater positions of power is what "decreases the quality of human life".
My account is three and a half years old, has more karma than your account, and has an equal amount of personal information (zero). Calling it a "throwaway" is inaccurate, saying that I'm "hiding" is manipulative, and your further statement
> but sure, I'll bite
...is further evidence of emotional manipulation instead of reason and intellect.
> The very few attempts that we had in modern times were ultimately sabotaged by capitalism
Given the many non-free-market states (almost all of which were communist, but the point generalizes), every single one of which has failed, the overwhelmingly most likely cause is simply that they don't work. Any claims otherwise require a massive amount of evidence.
> Capitalism did sprout innovation, but that does not mean it's the best way to do so. Ignoring the inherent flaws around the profit motive doesn't help anyone.
Nobody, including in this thread, is "ignoring" anything. Sane people look at the free market system, realize that it needs some amount of regulation to remain stable, and apply that. Insane people suggest that communism is a plausible alternative to free markets - and nobody has been able to come up with another system other than those two.
> I don't think so, honestly.
You're incorrect, then. The point that you made was "[Capitalism] actually pushes innovation towards profits, not pure innovation" - and nobody claimed that capitalism incentivizes "pure innovation", so that's the very definition of a strawman argument.
> The reality is that a lot of research is done with the question of "how can we make money solving this problem?", rather than "how can we solve this problem?"
Again, nobody claimed otherwise - if you had read the comment you're responding to, you would have also seen:
>> the "side effect" of innovation happening as a result of chasing profits is literally how "capitalism" is designed to work
> Regulators that are corrupted in search of capital. It's a circular system.
This is both incorrect and irrelevant. Incorrect, because regulators are corrupted in search of money and power, not because of capital. Irrelevant, because those factors are present in every other alternate system. Free market systems are not unique in this matter, and so this is an irrelevant point to bring up because no alternative system will change this.
> Many do believe that democratically elect people should have more power than private institutions with zero transparency or checks. Not sure exactly how that "decreases the quality of human life". Where did that come from?
Again - you should read comments before you respond to them:
>> corrupt regulators that anti-capitalists would happily put into greater positions of power and give more power to meaningfully decrease the quality of human life
Putting corrupt regulators into greater positions of power is what "decreases the quality of human life".