Comment by fzeroracer

9 days ago

I'm not sure if you're doing this intentionally or not, but it is incredibly funny to see people on HN doing what is effectively manufacturing consent for people to not actually own anything. We've gone from home computing is the future to no one should own a computer because it's wasteful.

I'm not sure where this sentiment even comes from but if the economy only consists of renters and landlords then we don't even have the thinnest veneer of capitalism anymore. We're just Feudalism 2.0.

The sentiment comes from techbros who see yet another avenue through which to exploit the average person.

Capitalism was never about owning things. It's about accumulating capital (hence the name), and renting stuff is more profitable than selling stuff.

  • not quite: its about accumulating capital yes, but also with private ownership (as opposed to collective ownership) and the use of said capital to gain more capital (investment returns put back into more investment)

      > renting stuff is more profitable than selling stuff
    

    maybe, maybe not, but it is usually more stable and predictable

    • Nope, you can have capitalism where the vast majority of the population is legally or economically barred from owning anything. The only private ownership required in capitalism is that of the means of production, which says absolutely nothing about the rest.

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