- Capitalism and Alternatives -

My suggestion

Posted by: Anne ( Canada ) on April 30, 1999 at 10:04:17:

In Reply to: and you would secure that right how? posted by Gee on April 29, 1999 at 11:09:37:

: : Furthermore, technological evolution has resulted in a machine taking the place of thousands of workers, not just one. Any idiot can figure out that many people will be left in the cold and denied the right to live independently in a free society.

: So how would you secure that right to live in a free society? by taking from other societies and making them unfree? Im not beiong obtuse, Im interested in any ideas.

My suggestion, although premature, would be to maintain a certain level of individual freedoms, but with the best interests of the collective good taking precedence over the right to exploit people (note: this is an easy way not to use "man" or "mankind" - PEOPLE, SOCIETY, HUMANITY...) The real problem with capitalism and a free market is that one can only prosper by keeping more, and paying less. The end result is that wealth is very unequally distributed, with a handful of people owning great masses of wealth, and the majority of people with barely enough to get by. There is an intrinsic inequality in receiving money as a result of another person's labor, and in capitalist countries, this is precisely what we do.

I am not suggesting that I have all of the answers, but at least I am willing to look at other options.

: : I would also like to add that the term "man" does not include women, and perhaps you should investigate your own sexist attitudes.

: No doubt 'mankind' is a better, but longer word.

As a man, would you feel included when you are bombarded with messages that use sexist terminology like the ones mentioned above? In the beginning, God created woman, for all of womankind, god bless our foremothers,...

It is very important to recognize the effects that language has on a person's very essence, and the use of gender-biased language has the result of excluding women and making them feel invisible. If you only knew how it felt, you might understand.



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