Hacker News with Generative AI: Capitalism

All That Is Solid Bursts into Flame: Capitalism and Fire in the 19th Century US (academic.oup.com)
Industrial capitalism arrived in Europe as great urban fires were already retreating. The United States, however, was generously timbered and far more reliant on wooden construction. As a result, its infernos continued, and even increased, well into its age of capital.

History, Capitalism, United States, Fire, Urban Development

8 points by samclemens 4 days ago | 1 comments

The Fallacy of Techno-Feudalism (2024) (petrapalusova.com)
The digital age brings a new economic epoch. Many say that traditional capitalism is ending, and by many, I mean plenty. It is said to be a result of the change of the social fabric and advance of technology – intertwined. The core of this is happening in the digital domain, or better said informational domain and through digital platforms, which will soon move into synthetic virtual spaces as a next step.

Technology, Economics, Social Change, Capitalism

53 points by gasull 13 days ago | 74 comments

Searching for black swans (upgradingcapitalism.substack.com)
I received my initiation into the flaws of capitalism in September of 2000. In July of that year, our Silicon Valley software company went public, raising $60 million on NASDAQ. In August, I turned 30 and experienced my second full burnout. And in September, the market crashed, taking our company’s valuation down with it. In the space of a month, we went from a $400 million market cap to less than 10% of that.

Capitalism, Startups, Economic Crisis

11 points by merricksb 18 days ago | 6 comments

Millennials were priced out of capitalism (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

Millennials, Economics, Capitalism

14 points by nailer 27 days ago | 9 comments

An Overwhelmingly Negative and Demoralizing Force (aftermath.site)
We’re a few years into a supposed artificial intelligence revolution, which could and should have been about reducing mundane tasks and freeing everyone up to do more interesting things with their time. Instead, thanks to the bloodthirsty nature of modern capitalism and an ideological crusade being waged by the tech industry, we’re now facing a world where many people’s livelihoods–like video game developers–are under direct threat.

Artificial Intelligence, Labor, Capitalism, Technology

443 points by Doches 45 days ago | 409 comments

Climate Crisis on Track to Destroy Capitalism, Warns Top Insurer (theguardian.com)
The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.

Climate Change, Capitalism, Finance, Insurance

10 points by m463 50 days ago | 1 comments

Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer (theguardian.com)
The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.

Climate Change, Capitalism, Economics, Insurance

19 points by ljf 50 days ago | 3 comments

We Should Own the Economy (elysian.press)
We need to change who owns capital.

Economics, Capitalism, Social Change

27 points by tndl 64 days ago | 48 comments

Rentier Capitalism (wikipedia.org)
Rentier capitalism is a concept in Marxist and heterodox economics to refer to rent-seeking and exploitation by companies in capitalist systems.

Economics, Capitalism, Marxism

8 points by CharlesW 69 days ago | 0 comments

The Tyranny of Work or Why Are We Still Measured by Our Productivity? (anticapitalistmusings.com)
The idea that work is a moral duty rather than a means of survival is so deeply ingrained we rarely question it. But as technology advances and work becomes more precarious, exhausting, and intrusive, it is worth asking why productivity remains the measure of a person’s worth.

Work, Productivity, Philosophy, Capitalism, Technology

13 points by robtherobber 70 days ago | 8 comments

The end of capitalism – or the end of civilisation? (theconversation.com)
Beware of hyperbolic headlines. But in this case, I’m afraid, as Ulrike Herrmann’s very readable book The End of Capitalism makes clear, the choice between capitalism and civilisation really does seem to be either/or – and the end will probably come a lot sooner that we thought.

Economics, Capitalism, Society, Politics

10 points by axiologist 71 days ago | 2 comments

MAGA Wants to End Capitalism as We Know It (bloomberg.com)
Corporate America is learning the truth of Winston Churchill’s warning about the appetite of crocodiles. Trump’s tariffs on friendly countries, which were reaffirmed yesterday, will be only the beginning of his assault on the pillars of post-war prosperity. Some of the most influential people in Trump world are determined to go even further and deconstruct the great workhorse of American capitalism: the publicly owned and professionally managed corporation.

Politics, Economics, Capitalism

16 points by helsinkiandrew 78 days ago | 16 comments

Brother Jonathan (wikipedia.org)
Brother Jonathan is the personification of New England. He was also used as an emblem of the United States in general, and can be an allegory of capitalism. His too-short pants, too-tight waistcoat and old-fashioned style reflect his taste for inexpensive, second-hand products and efficient use of means.

American Culture, Symbolism, Capitalism

9 points by zfg 90 days ago | 0 comments

Bill Gates Is Playing Both Sides of the Climate Crisis (jacobin.com)
Bill Gates presents himself as a climate champion, but his trust has actually increased its fossil fuel investments since his divestment pledge. It's just the latest example of the billionaire appointing himself to solve problems he helps perpetuate.

Climate Change, Environmentalism, Billionaires, Capitalism

16 points by zdw 95 days ago | 0 comments

The cod-Marxism of personalized pricing (pluralistic.net)
The social function of the economics profession is to explain, over and over again, that your boss is actually right and that you don't really want the things you want, and you're secretly happy to be abused by the system. If that wasn't true, why would your "choose" commercial surveillance, abusive workplaces and other depredations?

Economics, Social Commentary, Capitalism, Inequality

11 points by lapcat 132 days ago | 2 comments

It's Still Easier to Imagine the End of the World Than the End of Capitalism (astralcodexten.com)
No Set Gauge has a great essay on Capital, AGI, and Human Ambition, where he argues that if humankind survives the Singularity, the likely result is a future of eternal stagnant wealth inequality.

Capitalism, Artificial Intelligence, Future, Wealth Inequality

34 points by ralphsebastian 136 days ago | 11 comments

Myth of Meritocracy (wikipedia.org)
Myth of meritocracy is a phrase arguing that meritocracy, or achieving upward social mobility through one's own merits regardless of one's social position, is not widely attainable in capitalist societies because of inherent contradictions.

Social Inequality, Capitalism, Sociology

12 points by DiscourseFan 138 days ago | 5 comments

It's Still Easier to Imagine the End of the World Than the End of Capitalism (astralcodexten.com)
No Set Gauge has a great essay on Capital, AGI, and Human Ambition, where he argues that if humankind survives the Singularity, the likely result is a future of eternal stagnant wealth inequality.

Capitalism, Artificial Intelligence, Economics, Future, Inequality

6 points by toomuchtodo 141 days ago | 1 comments

The Plot to Poison Children's Minds (paulkrugman.substack.com)
This is going to be a post about social media, why it’s often harmful, and the disgusting failure of Congress to do anything to mitigate the harm. It’s part of what I envision as a series on “limbic capitalism.” But first, let’s talk about drinking.

Social Media, Politics, Capitalism

24 points by bhouston 142 days ago | 28 comments

Surveillance Capitalism 2024, Wrapped (asomo.co)
How spying-as-a-service now gets sent to us as a Christmas present

Surveillance, Privacy, Capitalism, Technology, 2024

16 points by nikodotio 146 days ago | 1 comments

Before you can have Smalltalk, you must first defeat capitalism? (mgaudet.ca)
At SPLASH 2024 there were a few talks and sessions that felt a bit like lamentations.

Software Engineering, Capitalism, Criticism

14 points by ska80 206 days ago | 11 comments

Reading Marx's Capital with David Harvey (davidharvey.org)
Dialectical analyses of the capitalist totality through a Marxist lens.

Marxism, Economics, Capitalism, Philosophy

9 points by squircle 221 days ago | 0 comments

I've Soured on Open Source (greaterdanorequalto.com)
Look, I get the noble intentions that originally spawned the movement, but y'all, capitalism is winning, and Open Source isn't changing that fact by an appreciable margin. What it is doing, however, is convincing a whole lot of talented people to donate critical hours of their life to working on tools and libraries that profitable corporations are making bank off of.

Open Source, Capitalism, Software Development

37 points by shprd 238 days ago | 90 comments

Japan's Public Didn't Buy Fumio Kishida's New Capitalism (foreignpolicy.com)

Japan, Economics, Politics, Capitalism

35 points by segasaturn 274 days ago | 113 comments

A Lego Model of Capitalist Central Planning (asomo.co)

Lego, Capitalism, Economics, Art

68 points by Gigamouse 276 days ago | 49 comments

The Shareholder Supremacy (wheresyoured.at)

Business, Economics, Capitalism

9 points by elorant 326 days ago | 0 comments

Degrowth In Japan: Mending the "metabolic rift" of capitalism (noemamag.com)

Economics, Sustainability, Japan, Capitalism

10 points by Bluestein 335 days ago | 2 comments

Adam Smith, the Prophet of Profit (historytoday.com)

Economics, History, Capitalism

16 points by pepys 351 days ago | 3 comments

Why Unregulated Capitalism Always Leads to Enshittification (howtosavetheworld.ca)