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Triodos economist Hans Stegeman advocates for a 'sufficient-is-sufficient society' in an interview and argues that capitalism, as a human construct, does not need to govern us, which elicits responses from Volkskrant readers about the sustainability of economic growth and the role of financial institutions. #kapitalisme #duurzaamheid #genoegisgenoeg (translated)

The author argued that capital ownership could leave people vulnerable to disempowerment, despite some people’s assumption that it would protect them or delay its effects until after jobless people dependent on UBI. The post’s title said capital ownership would make people “go crazy first”. #Kapitalismus #Vermögensbesitz #SozialeGerechtigkeit

Jochen Bittner wrote that discussions about educational deficits and equal opportunities are always important. This also includes the question of what consequences it has in an immigration society when immigrants are taught up to the third generation that the West and capitalism continue to plunder and colonize their countries of origin. Such a portrayal could lead people to plunder in return, he argued. https://t.co/0XmAHwtUWr #Bildung #Chancengleichheit #Einwanderung (translated)

Yanis Varoufakis, never short of an original statement, reports a hopeful mood even among the last remaining Marxists in China: capitalism will not survive AI, as the abundance of goods it creates will cause their exchange value to plummet — a prediction that, by the way, is very similar to the expectation recently expressed by Elon Musk to the "Economist"; perhaps the American billionaire will soon also be counted among the Chinese Marxists. #KünstlicheIntelligenz #China #TechnologieRisiken (translated)

Dark clouds are gathering. There are two paths: that of billionaires, slaves, and fascism, and that of democracy, freedom, and the reform of capitalism. One will end with the obliteration of humanity in the climate catastrophe. The future is not yet written for the other. (translated)

Artificial intelligence described the example of a retiree who had worked all his life, lived frugally, and rented out a semi-detached house as a pension plan. It wrote that he wanted to sell the rented property in retirement but, due to the abolished 10-year holding period, would have to fully tax the difference between the purchase price and the selling price. Even if the selling price turned out to be lower than expected due to the tight market situation and new energy standards, artificial intelligence argued that, from the tax office's perspective, a profit could arise. As an example, it mentioned an increase in price from €200,000 to €350,000 and pointed out that the purchasing power of the euro had fallen to half over the past decades. According to its presentation, costs for maintenance and renovations, vacancies, and difficulties with tenants were not taken into account. Artificial intelligence criticized that people who had saved and refrained from consumption could ultimately pay for their retirement plans through taxation. At the same time, it claimed that saved money was distributed all over the world and benefited people who had lived less frugally. Finally, it asked what lessons future generations would learn from this injustice. #Kapitalismus #Altersvorsorge #SozialeGerechtigkeit (translated)

Kolja Barghoorn wrote that socialism is already having an effect in Berlin, even though no government has yet been formed. In his assessment, in the end, only the casino at Potsdamer Platz will generate profits – unless taxes are raised there as well. In that case, he will go to Rozvadov to play poker in the future. #Sozialismus #Berlin #Kapitalismus (translated)

Hans Stegeman, chief economist of Triodos Bank, advocates in an interview for a welfare society that bids farewell to growth-oriented capitalism, which he believes is unsustainable due to ecological and demographic constraints. #Kapitalisme #Duurzaamheid #Welzijnsamenleving (translated)

The Hayek Club Weimar described socialism as a beneficial business model for politicians. State benefits and subsidies created dependency and thus secured voter support, the account wrote. Politicians would thereby become suppliers and citizens clients. In contrast, capitalism posed a threat to the political class, argued the Hayek Club Weimar, because it rewarded personal responsibility, innovation, and private initiative, making people more independent of the state. Regulations intended to tame the market served, according to the account, to limit competition and protect established interests. The account also accused politicians of portraying capitalism as unjust and antisocial while presenting the state as a moral authority. The state did not want free individuals but dependent subjects, wrote the Hayek Club Weimar, linking its criticism to calls for freedom and property as well as a rejection of taxes and state coercion. #FreiheitstattKnechtschaft #SteuernsindRaub #Eigentum #Freiheit #ParasitenwegmitEuremZwang #Freiheit #Kapitalismus #Sozialismus (translated)

Hasnain Kazim remembered the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. At that time, he arrived by bicycle in Heidelberg and heard discussions about the attack in the marketplace. The terror had strengthened his resolve to stand against extremism. He described the attack as the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Kazim wrote that religiously justified restrictions and violence had occupied him since childhood. He had experienced, among other things, the outrage over a joke by Rudi Carrell about Khomeini, the persecution of Salman Rushdie, and the deaths of more than a dozen acquaintances, friends, and colleagues at the hands of Islamist extremists. He had also found statements that praised Hitler or Osama bin Laden to be profoundly unbearable. Since October 7, 2023, he has observed that Hamas terrorists are celebrated in Germany as well. In Berlin-Neukölln, people distributed candies after the massacre. Kazim also criticized the fact that some young people appeared with keffiyehs and pro-Palestinian slogans without understanding their political and historical significance. He wrote that Hamas fighters and bin Laden are portrayed on TikTok as representatives of the oppressed or as opponents of capitalism. At the same time, Kazim warned of extremists demanding mass "remigration" and threatening people who appeared foreign or Muslim to them. He accused the political center of not rejecting Islamism and the glorification of terror decisively enough and of ceding the political space to others. He did not want to live in a society where extremists set the tone, nor in one where Sharia law prevailed and religious authorities dictated people's lives. Kazim also referred to the vulnerability of people who could be identified as Jewish, as well as the need for protection for restaurants, kindergartens, schools, places of worship, and diplomatic missions. This was neither resistance nor criticism of the Israeli government, he wrote. In conclusion, he commemorated the victims of October 7, wished healing and peace for the injured, and called for the defeat of the terrorists. #Terrorismus #Extremismus #Frieden (translated)

Eppo Tjuchem criticized Antifa Groningen because, according to him, the group entered a Jumbo store with meters-long flagpoles while a participant was checking out oat milk at the self-scan. He wrote that the protesters did not want to roll up the poles because they would see that as a limitation of their right to protest. According to Tjuchem, they mainly wanted to attract attention and seek problems. #kapitalisme #demonstratierecht #Antifa (translated)

Matias Turkkila wrote that the leader of the French left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, had spoken about the end of capitalism at an event and said that a socialism based on white Catholic workers would not be realized in France. Turkkila compared Mélenchon to Finland's Li Andersson. According to Turkkila, Métapolitique interpreted the comment to mean that Mélenchon considered the old socialism focused on white trade union workers to be dead and wanted to build a foundation based on immigration and cultural diversity instead. He also mentioned that 69 percent of France's Muslims had voted for Mélenchon's LFI party in the first round of the presidential elections. According to Turkkila, The Jewish Chronicle and The Telegraph were among the critics who described this as an opportunistic alliance with the growing Muslim voter base instead of the traditional working class. He asked if this scenario sounded familiar. #sosialismi #Ranska #monimuotoisuus (translated)