"Croatoan" <christiansaccount@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1194135405.100522.153300@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Nov 3, 6:30 pm, "possum" <zen102...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> "Croatoan" <christiansacco...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>
>> news:1194123616.258945.91760@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>> > On Nov 1, 2:13 am, ibshambat2...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>> >> There are many people on both the left and the right who claim that
>> >> capitalism and humanitarianism are incompatible with each other.
>>
>> > And if you really want to see how humanitarian capitalists are, just
>> > read this one sentence.
>>
>> >> Among other things, the company
>> >> looked at low-income consumers as a vast and unexploited commercial
>> >> op****tunity
>>
>> > They are "unexploited". Which means they want to "exploit" them.
>>
>> i think rupert murdoch was way ahead here when he invested in satelite
>> tv
>> for the indian market...if you only get a penny a week from the poor,
>> and
>> there are so many of them...
>>
>> i am not disagreeing with your sentiments, but the word 'exploitation'
>> imo, is losing and likely to lose entirely, its perjorative meaning,
>> and
>> become rehabilitated, in the way that meanings of words change over
>> time,
>> unless there is a change of direction ... 'exploiting' for the
>> purpose
>> of profit is acceptable, commendable even, maybe ultimately, _required_
>> in
>> the value system of capitalism as it is writ today...and used in a
>> similar
>> sense to 'utilizing' or 'employing'. i guess it is possible that
>> adverse
>> connotations would disappear, if the language of capitalism is dominant
>> beyond a point...the term 'human resources' in which 'human' is a mere
>> adjective for distingui****ng between types of resources, no longer
>> raises
>> any eye-brows...
>> 'exploiting' a gap in the market is entrepeurism, isn't it? people win
>> awards and get the backs slapped for it...
>
> You miss the issue completely however. That "gap" in the market is
> created by capitalists exploiting people in the first place. If the
> pejorative meaning of "exploitation" is lost, humanity is lost. We
> went from destrying the forests, to exploiting them, to turning it
> into capital.
You made the point about the use of the word 'exploitation' and i
addressed it.
you misunderstood my remark about 'exploiting a gap in the market', which
might have been because i didn't make it clear - it was meant as an
example of how the word 'exploit' is currently used in contexts considered
praiseworthy rather than blameworthy.
the reality of exploitation is harsh. how will you oppose it if the word
has no currency? you might have to give deeper thought about defining
the ill that you see and how it might be addressed.
in your earlier post you said this -
>>>When you go to work, you sell your time. You cannot do what you want
during that time. You sell yourself into slavery. There is nothing
humanitarian about capitalism>>>
it is true that when you go to work you sell both your labour and your
time.
this can also be true of self -employment. many would dispute your use of
the word slavery, because although a person is not free to please himself
what he does when he is working, the arrangement is voluntary, he is not
without rights, and he receives payment in exchange for his labour. it is
also possible that the worker is doing work which he or she is happy to do
and has chosen to pursue for a variety of valid reasons, including the
social value of the work.
there may well be cir***stances when other conditions apply and the
description of 'slavery' is more apt. it is the fairness of the
exchange, is it not, which makes the difference between exploitation and
trade, slavery and employment?
if the reality of exploitation gets lost, humanity is not lost.
would it break your heart if it turned out that capitalism and
humanitarianism are not necessarily incompatible?
you cannot rely on the word 'exploitation' to win your debate.
>
> I understand your ignorance on the matter. Most people are too
> befuddled and amused by cor****atism, religion , and entertainment to
> give these things the deeper thought they deserve.
those ****ing humans standing in the way of humanitarianism, eh pop?
possum
>
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