"Humanity is a disease" is not the same statement as "humanity is capable of committing atrocities" though. The latter leaves the door open for a "but", while the former makes humanity itself a systemic problem but refuses or "forgets" to pin the blame on anyone or any system.
Such statements devolve the conversation into defeatist pseudo-nihilism, where a "true nihilist" knows that the betterment of humanity will have to come from within.
I do agree that capitalism is not the root of all evil, but it is central to the particular "planet's fucked, housing is unaffordable, and no-one cares" doomer sentiment that is depicted in the meme (at least that is how I read it).
Some one on that "we need more sensitive men like in LOTR" post one of the top comments was about how men aren't like this because capitalism. I point out the absurdity of that message and get ratio'd
People really do love to try and tie every world issue into one thing, when the fact of the matter is that things like "the patriarchy" or "capitalism" are just tools of the oppressor and not the oppressor themselves.
It doesn't matter what ideology you run a society with if the people are the top are all shortsighted, self interested ideologues.
People accosiate monarchs with oppression for a reason.
Hey sad person, my parents are super rich so I could afford to go to a fancy university that had a legit communist poli sci professor. That's where I learned how to talk to the poors. Which is what you are.
You see your problem is that you're poor because you didn't have rich parents like I did. No I'm not going to do anything to help you, I gotta get of the hair salon LOL. But now that you understand that you're unhappy because you're poor, that's going to make your life so much better! Ok, I've done my good deed for the day so I don't have to feel bad about having a trust fund. Gotta go, byeeeeee!
Everytime I think rich kids must feel bad for inequality, I remember how easy it is for them to cure their own guilt with the small platitudes of progressivism that won't at all effect the system that empowers them to our detriment.
No it has nothing to do with my specific situation it has everything to do with looking at human history and realizing we've been destructive barbarous cunts the whole time.
We literally just act like we're not or ignore the obvious violence that has been constant on this planet.
And honestly it's not even just humans. Other animals are also incredibly violent and cruel. They just generally don't have the ability to know what their doing is cruel.
Like a monkey eating another animal alive because killing it takes more effort. Or a group of hyenas gnawing at the ass of an animal because it's the easiest part to chew through which results in the animal staying alive until it's about halfway eaten and dies of blood loss. Or the fact that a lot of animals can survive with mortal wounds for days just prolonging their suffering before their certain death.
Hunter gatherers hunted and gathered mega fauna to extinction too. So aggressively did we hunt before we even wrote anything down that we had to settle down and say "this land is mine, and you may not take the grain from it"
How many megafauna did we hunt to extinction before we even invented language lol. Humanity is literally a disease. We exploit resources until there is nothing left to exploit. Every. Single. Time.
I encourage you to look at experiments with kids involving altruism. The research suggests much of our fucked up nature is rather learned through the environment. The more we improve our environment, the more we'll likely see that altruism shine through. Not to say psychopaths don't exist, but they are extremely rare, and research demonstrates that they can live relatively well without acting on their impulses with proper treatment, too.
Noise and smell are natural parts of being human. Any social system that doesn't accommodate the existence of human physiology should not be used for humans.
In regards to noise and smell, open space offices and Amazon toilet breaks are prime examples of how capitalism have failed to accommodate for human physiology.
I switched to lemm.ee partly to avoid the constant doomerism vibe in reddit. Unfortunate to see lots of lemmings here trying to keep the negative vibe tho.
Let's have a quick reality check: human civilization is young AF. We are cosmic toddlers. No need to throw in the towel just yet on our collective (and individual) ability to be/come more self-aware and ethical. Let the sample size grow, fam.
Even the elderly can learn. But also we’ve existed less long than any known member of our genus so yeah we aren’t cosmic toddlers, we’re Terran toddlers
I'm no "repressed worker exposed to the constant violence of capitalism...". I retired happily end of my 20s, living carpe diem every day since and never have to worry about the technicality of life.
But just because i profit personally from the world, doesn't mean i have to like it the way it is.
I would give that up for a fair and just world.
My "misplaced blame" lies very well placed on our species itself.
We made capitalism which makes the lifes of most people just miserable and has a system-immanent failure included for free.
we enslave people as a commodity, treat women like animals and property, treat animals even worse.
we torture and kill our own species for fun and sport and war and feelings and whatever else reason there comes up
we care mostly just for ourselfes. We only care for others when nothing is at stake or we fear our god's wrath.
And it's not really "a few individuals". It's true that those hold the rudder, but I'd bet my left nut on it, that the vast majority of people that currently think to be "good" would instantly be one of "those" if given the chance. And do everything to defend it then.
Yes, I'm a misanthropist for >2 decades. Doesn't mean i hate humans, i hate humanity. I'm the nicest shit to other people. Be the change in the world you want to see. Still doesn't blind me to the way the world IS.
So what you're saying because "power over" is bad, humans are bad? There are plenty humans civilizations who did a better job at preventing power, maybe your misanthropy is a symptom of a narrow worldview?
Exactly. But you're right. It must be narrow worldview.
Our species even favors/rewards the "dark triad"-personality traits. Nice people (or civilizations) have no chance in the long run, as all it takes to topple it, is one of the aforementioned with enough ambition. History shows, life all around us show.
Sarcasm aside, I'd really prefer if it'd just be my "narrow worldview". Then the problem would die with me 😊
I feel like when you see some people being evil, and your conclusion is that everyone would be evil if given the chance, you kind of have to also be evil to come to that conclusion. Good people don't "turn evil" easily. If you suddenly "become evil" as soon as the opportunity presents itself, were you ever truly good?
Ever heard the phrase "power corrupts"?
Sure, there might be people who are good and come to might and power. But how often does that happen? Name one powerful person that does good? Even if you can, name another 3.
While naming poweful people who fuck(ed) this planet and everything and everyone it, is prerty easy.
So, without even discussing the nature of man, the simple observation of what currently is and always was, seems to suffice.
Also you're not wrong with your last statement. That is basically what i said. They weren't truly ever good. We play by the rules until we mustn't anymore.
You can be a bit of both sides, sometimes. Knowing the stuff on the right makes me feel the stuff on the left, if that makes sense. But not to such an extreme degree
It’s ultimately the people who didn’t do anything about being exploited. It’s us who are not furious with our “leaders” and it’s us who are littering and poisoning this planet. Yeah, capitalism is just a symptom
Was in the supermarket on a Friday morning, so it was mostly people in their late 60s+, all white folk, all looking bitter. Brexit as fuck Boomers, y’know? And I was going to shitpost about this on Mastodon, but it hit me that the opinion I’d formed was based on fuck all. I had no evidence that those people were what I’d ascribed to them.
That class of people subjugating is larger than you think. With the stock market, line goes up is on all of us. Even those "just trying to build their retirement". The entire system must be torn down.