this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
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Communism

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

as Cowbee wrote: the 'free market' narrative assumes the market is participatory, and that you can simply opt out ('go live in the woods').

but capitalism doesn't work without a labour market, and the labour market isn't stable without a buffer of un[der]employment. so living outside the market — and general 'propertylessness' — is criminalised or made so inconvenient/unsustainable that you're left with 'the choice' between peonage or starvation. the people who fall into homelessness and houselessness serve as a warning to anyone who might consider 'opting out'.

i don't think anyone genuinely believes this is a real choice, but i've experienced this narrative being used to dismiss critiques of capitalism and wage slavery.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago