this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023

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Capitalism at its finest (mediacdn.aus.social)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

47 comments fedilink hide all child comments

alt text

A cartoon depicts a chasm with a rope bridge, once connecting both sides, cut and hanging from the side of the cliff, sabotaged by a suit standing on the well forested right side beside a spool of rope and holding a saw. The left side of the chasm is a wasteland of sawn tree stumps. There’s a sign that reads “Please return saw and rope when done”. An empty box sits beneath the sign. The suit calls out to a person in the wasteland on the left side of the chasm “BUILD YOUR OWN DAMN BRIDGE LIKE I DID!” The person in the wasteland replies “WITH WHAT?! “

Caption: Capitalism at its finest

h/t to @[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 234 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This incorrectly depicts that the capitalist built his own bridge.

[–] [email protected] 77 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, the left side of the chasm should be full of all of the workers who built the bridge.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago

Or, hear me out, they’re at the bottom of the chasm now?

[–] [email protected] 75 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Though it is correct they would claim they did.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I wouldn’t say that capitalists do no work at all, that’s just a way to exploit people in the middle class to say the people on the lower class think they do no work and they are lazy.

It perfectly fits the metaphor because while the person on the right will tell a story about how when they started all they had was trees and a vision, it’s clear to see they were able to have that vision because of the tools that were handed down to them from the people before, that they selfishly hand removed from the equation not remembering they needed at least a scrap of iron and some fibers to make the vision seem reasonable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The cartoon did not show that. He's lying saying he did. He found the bridge therefore it's his and the "you made this? I made this!" meme kicks in and here we are.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

A capitalist would keep the bridge and charge people for crossing.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Except when profit no longer rises by double digit percentages every year, then they cut the bridge.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

And then declare bridge bankruptcy, absolving them of building a new bridge.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

The bridge is not a literal toll road but a metaphor for economic mobility.

The capitalist has found opportunities to improve his his wealth and has now created conditions where others are barred from same opportunities.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's the most efficient use of capital though. Everyone building their own bridge is stupid.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

No the most efficient use is the government building the bridge because they can do it most cost efficiently when they already have to build 1000 bridges.

It also works for health care. Socialism works.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Government costs a lot of extra money, even when the scope is just building a 1000 bridges. That's not cost efficient at all.

The capitalist alternative is worse though, because the cost for using it will be higher, even if the cost for making was lower.

[+] [email protected] -6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

But that takes capital away from the government who could be spending it on healthcare...

Opportunity cost

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They can do both.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Magic money tree eh?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They certainly seems to have one for military and police.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Every country does. Every country doesn't need to be building bridges constantly though, there's only so many rivers. It's inefficient.

Better to contract that out via competitive tenders to specialist bridge builders.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Infrastructure needs to be constantly maintained and rebuilt. Do you think once someone builds a bridge, it's fine and no one ever needs to replace it? Or that a river needs a new crossing somewhere else?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No, that'd be a stupid thing to think.

People who maintain bridges are not the same as those who build them though.

If your bridges constantly need rebuilding, you're not building very good bridges.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry, you think two different groups of construction crews exist and one builds bridges and the other maintains bridges? And you also think that, when even small countries have hundreds of bridges, they don't need to be rebuilt on a regular basis?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, one is construction, one is maintenance... These are different things...

Why do you think bridges need rebuilding? How many times has Arkadiko Bridge been rebuilt?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I see. So one bridge has never been rebuilt and that means all bridges out of hundreds or thousands of bridges in a country last forever.

Also, why would there be two different crews? You do know maintaining a bridge involves doing many of the same things you have to do when you build one, right? I don't know where you live, but that sounds like a colossal waste of money.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Lol. How many maintenance crews are pouring thousands of tons of steel reinforced concrete?

How many architects are maintaining bridges?

It's ok to admit when you're wrong you know?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bridge maintenance requires pouring concrete all the time. Because concrete weakens over time. I know you think bridges last forever with no need to do anything but tighten a bolt here and there, but that is not how something with heavy vehicles passing over it constantly works. Roads have to be regularly repaved too. They use the same crews that lay the road down in the first place. You know that, right? You really don't understand why it would be more expensive to have two completely different crews?

Seriously, you don't know anything about construction.

Speaking of admitting you're wrong...

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

They are two different things you moron.

https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/how-are-bridges-built

https://bridgemastersinc.com/approaching-bridge-maintenance-efficiently

I have worked in civil engineering, maybe when you finish high school you could too!

You really don't understand why it would be more expensive to have two completely different crews?

🤦‍♂️

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry, stopped reading at the insult. I will not pay attention to anything you have to say unless you can talk to me without insulting me. If you can't, we are done here.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry, but you are trying to argue that black is white. It's pointless.

You then present my argument back to me that it is expensive to have two specialised teams.

A maintenance crew does not build bridges. It would be too expensive to have architects and engineers sitting around waiting for a bridge to be built

It's an inefficient use of capital, which was my initial point... Just saying socialism fixes all problems is naive at best.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are you going to stop insulting me? Because I don't see a reason to continue this conversation unless I know that this post isn't just the preamble to a future insult.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not insulting you. You're just wrong and you don't have the capacity to admit it.

Here's an example

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Severn_Crossing

It was built by a french company that specialised in bridge building.

The maintenance was not performed by the same company

Specialisation of skills is how you utilise capital efficiency

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And now you are lying. You said this:

They are two different things you moron.

I am not interested in talking to someone who insults me and then doesn't even have the courtesy to admit it.

Goodbye.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Sorry, but you are trying to argue that black is white. It's pointless.

Do you not understand what sorry means?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

With your own bootstraps of course

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Capitalism when life gives you lemons

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Exactly!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Just build a bridge outta love

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

With the pieces of the bridge that fell to your side?

I feel like the original bridge builder should have burned the bridge, not cut it away, for a more accurate description.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah but he kept the tools

[–] Rediphile 1 points 1 year ago

Sure, but neither of those tools will help span the gap and get the rope and precut logs back in place. Like if they were on his side would it even help?

Also, I'm still not sure how the boomer guy got over there in the first place. Like, did he just jump or something?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Rawr xD

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago

I'd say this is just the inheritance problem.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Not defending capitalism, but this is not capitalism, this is just a person being a sociopath.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The capitalist stand-in character privatized common resources. Which is the definition of Capital.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sure, but in every centralized political and economic system, regardless of what you want to call it, some have more control than others and will exploit when they think they can get away with it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Almost every CEO is a sociopath. Except Costco's that man is a treasure!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

So is almost every “leader” regardless of political or economic system.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

in fact there are studies showing this https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniesarkis/2019/10/27/senior-executives-are-more-likely-to-be-psychopaths/?sh=333d4e4e47c4