One of the big problems with this sort of discussion is that it quickly winds up talking about the 99% this and 1% that, these are boxes just as much as the political labels are boxes.
Those % are people, real people. They work, they eat, they live, they love.
It is really much better to discuss these things at a real person level.
If I am bothered by mice and you invent a better mouse trap I am happy to pay (share the product of my labor) for the use of your invention so that I will not be so bothered by mice. Will you get rich? I hope so. You made my life and many others better, you have added value to the world. And in fact each of us using that mouse trap are adding even more value as now the time we would have spent fighting mice can be used for more productive things. It is not a zero sum game, each step adds more to the whole.
If you gain riches from your mouse trap perhaps the money/time gain will help you invent more cool stuff. At the least you may hire a gardener and a cook etc., creating jobs for those that wish to work.
Now what happens if you are not allowed to profit from your mouse trap? Would you be bothered to invent it? If you did invent it would you be bothered to share? How would it be produced so that others could get it? Where would the capital come from to build a factory to make those traps? Would anyone have more than the minimum to live so they could contribute freely? Maybe we should make everyone give a % even if so?
Rather than toss around words like capitalism/fascism/communism it helps to think (and talk) of these things in personal terms, how does it actually work on an individual level.
Those % are people, real people. They work, they eat, they live, they love.
It is really much better to discuss these things at a real person level.
If I am bothered by mice and you invent a better mouse trap I am happy to pay (share the product of my labor) for the use of your invention so that I will not be so bothered by mice. Will you get rich? I hope so. You made my life and many others better, you have added value to the world. And in fact each of us using that mouse trap are adding even more value as now the time we would have spent fighting mice can be used for more productive things. It is not a zero sum game, each step adds more to the whole.
If you gain riches from your mouse trap perhaps the money/time gain will help you invent more cool stuff. At the least you may hire a gardener and a cook etc., creating jobs for those that wish to work.
Now what happens if you are not allowed to profit from your mouse trap? Would you be bothered to invent it? If you did invent it would you be bothered to share? How would it be produced so that others could get it? Where would the capital come from to build a factory to make those traps? Would anyone have more than the minimum to live so they could contribute freely? Maybe we should make everyone give a % even if so?
Rather than toss around words like capitalism/fascism/communism it helps to think (and talk) of these things in personal terms, how does it actually work on an individual level.