Why do "intellectuals" tend to hate capitalism?

Agree with several others. Recognizing that capitalism has deficiencies (as all economic/political systems do) doesn’t mean you hate it. An obvious shortcoming is that it inevitably leads to income inequality. This isn't necessarily a bad thing on its face (some people might get more of the pie, but if the entire economy grows we're all better off), but income inequality inevitably leads to power inequality, which inevitably leads to policies that serve to protect the wealth and power of those who currently have it. It’s undeniable that this is, to an extent, what has happened in our current system.

KudzuRunner wrote:

That's why cookies get placed when we surf the web: so companies can assess our desires, advertise to them, and sell us lots of stuff that we think we need in order to be whole. That is how capitalism works.

This feeds into another critique of capitalism that is harder to talk about without sounding either overly simplistic or pompous, but I will try anyway.

Our capitalist system thrives on a consumer culture that is heavily informed by the notion that a life well-lived is one that maximizes individual pleasure and our capacity to buy stuff. We are all constantly being mass-marketed to in ways that appeal to our need to be “individuals” (“Be unique like Lil Wayne! Drink Mountain Dew!”), as well as our most basic fears, insecurities, and desires. This is all fine and dandy when it comes to encouraging economic activity and improving GDP, but it’s problematic when it comes to developing a collective sense of civic duty or even a basic sense of empathy for other human beings. Our attention spans have become shorter and we have become focused on comfort and easy pleasure to the exclusion of important things that are dull or difficult (e.g., reading up on candidates and policies). The result is that we are quicker to anger and increasingly unable to differentiate things like governance and politics from low-brow entertainment.

KudzuRunner wrote:

and the handful of remaining doctrinaire Marxists

Except, even in America there are communist organizations, right now.

REI -> communist

Farmers (coop)-> communist

Religious groups who live in communes. (Christians too)

Employee Owned Businesses -> communist

For some, the communal model works.

Defining Terms wrote:

What exactly do you people mean by "intellectual"?

Various posters have excluded lawyers, accountants, scientists, engineers, and teachers, from being "intellectuals." Whatever definition people are using, it seems strange to exclude members of those professions from being "intellectuals".

Whatever group they like is excluded. It's a perfect world.

Capitalism is the separation of economy and state and rests on the moral principle of individual rights. Regulation is the subjugation of individual interests to the collective or "public interest" and conceptually antithetical to capitalism. The primary cause of the 2008 financial crisis was a massive, economy-wide, systemic act of regulation: the Federal Reserve's aggressive manipulation of interest rates during the years of the housing bubble, which enabled rampant irresponsible lending behavior. The subsequent government "stimulus" program, consisting of seven years of 0% interest rates and the greatest deficit spending binge in world history, has placed us on the precipice of a much greater crisis than the one we should have experienced in 2009. Those of you who continue blaming capitalism from problems created by your own government-run-everything ideology could not deserve it more.

Aristotle2 wrote:

Capitalism is the separation of economy and state and rests on the moral principle of individual rights. Regulation is the subjugation of individual interests to the collective or "public interest" and conceptually antithetical to capitalism. The primary cause of the 2008 financial crisis was a massive, economy-wide, systemic act of regulation: the Federal Reserve's aggressive manipulation of interest rates during the years of the housing bubble, which enabled rampant irresponsible lending behavior. The subsequent government "stimulus" program, consisting of seven years of 0% interest rates and the greatest deficit spending binge in world history, has placed us on the precipice of a much greater crisis than the one we should have experienced in 2009. Those of you who continue blaming capitalism from problems created by your own government-run-everything ideology could not deserve it more.

Newsflash: a true free market economy has never existed. The idea that there can ever be an economy that is completely independent of government is completely fantastical and only obscures the role power inequality plays in market participation.

I'm no intellectual, but I have no interest in capitalism. I'll throw the idea into the mix that capitalism is a single entity of a diverse existence. In my opinion getting too caught up in a single aspect like the wealth of money can overtake the other wealths like health (yours and not yours), relationships, spirit, and moments.

The Gallant Pig Man wrote:

Newsflash: a true free market economy has never existed. The idea that there can ever be an economy that is completely independent of government is completely fantastical and only obscures the role power inequality plays in market participation.

The fact that a true free market has not existed does not mean that it cannot exist; it means it's the unknown ideal. It is certainly possible for the government to refrain from central economic planning and limit the scope of its activities to the protection of individual rights by providing law enforcement, law courts, and a military. One day in perhaps a few hundred years, some nation will figure this out, and their economy will blow away anything that ever been seen.

I've been accused of being an intellectual. I've also managed a few capitalist enterprises. My opinion of capitalism? I certainly don't hate it. What I do hate is 15% unemployment! people who work full time and don't have health insurance or a living wage. You know what? I think I love capitalism more than you do. I think capitalism is good enough to overcome the aforementioned problems. It's just a shame that the Republucans have ZERO interest in doing away with unemployment, giving people a living wage, or ensuring they don't have to go bankrupt to get proper health care. They believe in a different kind of economics. It begins with o and ends in y.

Leftist wrote:

Personally I do not have a problem with capitalism.

As a leftie myself, I believe in regulation to prevent business from taking advantage of the unknowing public. For example, sub prime loans that are given primarily to low income people. This is immoral behavior from banks that eventually led to the housing market crash.

Well, the Federal government also encouraged home-ownership which led to lending to less qualified applicants.

Fentrekker wrote:

I've been accused of being an intellectual. I've also managed a few capitalist enterprises. My opinion of capitalism? I certainly don't hate it. What I do hate is 15% unemployment! people who work full time and don't have health insurance or a living wage. You know what? I think I love capitalism more than you do. I think capitalism is good enough to overcome the aforementioned problems. It's just a shame that the Republucans have ZERO interest in doing away with unemployment, giving people a living wage, or ensuring they don't have to go bankrupt to get proper health care. They believe in a different kind of economics. It begins with o and ends in y.

and everyone gets a unicorn!

Fentrekker wrote:

I've been accused of being an intellectual. I've also managed a few capitalist enterprises. My opinion of capitalism? I certainly don't hate it. What I do hate is 15% unemployment! people who work full time and don't have health insurance or a living wage. You know what? I think I love capitalism more than you do. I think capitalism is good enough to overcome the aforementioned problems. It's just a shame that the Republucans have ZERO interest in doing away with unemployment, giving people a living wage, or ensuring they don't have to go bankrupt to get proper health care. They believe in a different kind of economics. It begins with o and ends in y.

Let's get one thing straight, Democrats are the chief facilitators of crony capitalism. Don't deny it if you don't like it.

Agreed. Nice analysis.

The Ayn Rand fan fiction is sad. You guys put a tonne of time into your fanciful fiction. It would be better spent in the real world.

Universities are the most intolerant environments in existence? What? Huh? That's an offensively asinine generalization, pal... and not saying this is the case with you, but that statement sounds about right for someone who has never been accepted to, attended, or even visited a university.

Byrd boi wrote:

Universities are the most intolerant environments in existence? What? Huh? That's an offensively asinine generalization, pal... and not saying this is the case with you, but that statement sounds about right for someone who has never been accepted to, attended, or even visited a university.

HA! Somebody says universities are intolerant, and rather than saying his statement is wrong, you say it's offensive.

Byrd boi wrote:

Universities are the most intolerant environments in existence? What? Huh? That's an offensively asinine generalization, pal... and not saying this is the case with you, but that statement sounds about right for someone who has never been accepted to, attended, or even visited a university.

there is some truth to that tho - at least at liberal arts universities, right wing thought in the faculty is not allowed. It really isn't. There aren't rules against it, but you will be ostracized.

KudzuRunner wrote:

Our capitalist system thrives on a consumer culture that is heavily informed by the notion that a life well-lived is one that maximizes individual pleasure and our capacity to buy stuff. We are all constantly being mass-marketed to in ways that appeal to our need to be “individuals” (“Be unique like Lil Wayne! Drink Mountain Dew!”), as well as our most basic fears, insecurities, and desires.

In other words, demand must be diligently engineered to keep the system afloat.

A developed capitalist economy drowns itself in oversupply and breaks down. When you have to fool people into buying stuff, it's absurd to claim the system works, particularly when the overabundant essentials still aren't distributed to everyone.

The problem is that most Americans are sickly jealous of each other, particularly when it comes to their relic pioneer work ethic. They can't stand to see someone paid without working, even if they're aware the work is pointless or harmful. It seems unfair to them - though of course they'll disavow any other notions of fairness in economics. And rich people, who do no work at all, are generally exempted from this ethic too.

Intellectuals are less likely to suffer this form of doublethink because they have functioning brains.

because it's difficult to live in a society centered around wealth accumulation when you're focused on altruistic goals and don't want to be measured by how much you produce

Liberalism = a mental disorder wrote:

Byrd boi wrote:

Universities are the most intolerant environments in existence? What? Huh? That's an offensively asinine generalization, pal... and not saying this is the case with you, but that statement sounds about right for someone who has never been accepted to, attended, or even visited a university.

HA! Somebody says universities are intolerant, and rather than saying his statement is wrong, you say it's offensive.

Now now. We all know that universities are comprised of more conservatives than liberals and have a parity between republicans and democrats, mirroring the numbers in society at large. All topics are open for discussion and conservative speakers get shouted down no more often than hate groups like the violence-promoting black lives members.

If you think otherwise, you have Byrd brains.