- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Capitalism's sales pitch today is socialism, doesn't mean we live in socialism. Capitalism tries to evade their responsibility.

Socialism is just radical statism masquerading as liberation.

In 2020 the state apparatus took over the economy and even private life in what can only be called a global totalitarian takeover.

Call it what you want

You're right. State took over economy even before 2020 but I would rather go with Benito Mussolini: "Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."

There are slight differences between different types of collectivism, yes.

I no longer do them the favor of caring too much about their infights.

National socialism, international socialism, 'democratic' socialism, communism...

Same shit, different flag

We share a love for Thomas Mann, it seems.
I love German literature in general, but the Magic Mountain always stood out to me...

What a masterpiece!

Also:
Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen

Never read Musil, even though he was always on my mental list.

Fascism evolves from liberal capitalism, too. That's why I don't like the whole socialism bashing conversation out there. In the US even more than in Germany, the development has nothing to do with socialism nowadays.

Why do you think fascism evolves from capitalism?

Fascism is just as opposed to individual rights (property rights) as all other forms of socialism.

You'd probably have to define what you mean by 'capitalism', for me it means basically individual rights.

Haha, I guess the grand Germans are being read overseas more than in their own country. Tells you all about Germany today. Intellectually wiped out after WW2.

Musil is like a steel bath crushing all wrong sentimentalities, leaving you with the true ones.

We agree that there are fascist signs today. So I ask you: Have we lived in capitalism or socialism in the western world? We live in neo-feudalism because that's where capitalism tends to go. Capitalism and socialism need to be crossed effectively.

Capitalism brought down feudalism.
Socialism is the attempt to bring it back while promising freedom and equality.

Is the greatest (German) thinker of our time also read more outside of Germany than amongst his own people?
;)
https://twetch.app/t/0fb04de9d9300b2a3a7265ed455f1c79312bc5064065f274eb069624bc558842

Hoppe: A theory of Socialism and Capitalism

Free download.

https://mises.org/library/theory-socialism-and-capitalism-0

We wouldn't blame socialism now if capitalism was a success. Capitalism leads to fascism and so does socialism. We are convinced of the latter (thanks to capitalism). Future will convince us of the former. Till then, capitalism will keep blaming socialism.

What people call 'the capitalist system' IS in reality socialism but they don't recognize it as such because the MOP have been seized only partially, through taxation and inflation - until 2020.

Socialism is a spectrum, like autism.
Statism is socialism.

He's certainly right about conservatism. The problem is that convervatism (protection of the middle class) has been wiped out and there's no replacement. Instead we are stuck with pseudo leftist rhetorics that have been built by Big Business.

We largely agree here!

That book is pure dynamite...

What you said about Musil is very much true for Hoppe.

Slapps the shit right out of you.

I guess you could call it capitalism when there is an extremely small government that doesn't get involved in the economy at all, but as we all know cancer tends to grow and mestastazise...

https://twetch.app/t/a9ee60df4c7dfea44b4c67bbdb3e72abab1b7fc6e4f93db910387d8d360283ac

I see. We're arguing over hijacked concepts that are misleading. You think we're living in a highly ineffective socialism. For me, it's a highly ineffective capitalism because it'll produce too many losers. That I call it capitalism is an old habit ;)

Glad we found consens, will take a look at Hoppe and Libertarianism. Problem is that they always struck me as apologists of Big Business and meritocracy in a world that reproduces and highly extends inbalances. Probably just my unfair view.