I think when most people complain about capitalism it has more to do with the monetary policies and banking systems of certain implementations of capitalism then with the capitalist ideals themselves.
For instance, fiat money that is created by the governing body and interest charged on the lending of that money is a specific condition that allows for wealth inequalities and the aggregation of power. I think alternative currencies have an absolutely amazing potential to change society but governments violently suppress any competition that will result in them losing control and power over the system.
Interest was lauded by the founders of the USA and Benjamin Franklin himself remarked that it is the 8th wonder of the world, but as fascinating as compound interest is, it ultimately creates cycles of debt and unsustainable behavior.
An example case that is cited often is the use of alternative currencies in the towns of Spain during their civil war. When banks shut down and money was not available, the towns began to fall apart and enter deep depressions. As a response, the towns took the initiative to create local exchange trading systems, and almost immediately their situations began to improve and prosperity started to return to the towns. The governing bodies, deeply afraid of losing control, shut these systems down, choosing to purposefully let them fall into a depressed state rather than lose power.
Now, if you believe that friendly AGI is around the corner and will result in the singularity occurring sometime before our current social systems collapse, then you probably do not want to rock the boat. You would not care for sustainability, you would want to keep accelerating innovation at all costs and keep the system as is till our friendly AGI savior arrives to save the world.
If, on the other hand, you are skeptical that such a singularity is inevitable or you weigh the probabilities higher that our social systems which are allowing such accelerating innovations will collapse before such a singularity arrives, then thinking about sustainability starts to become really important.
I think when most people complain about capitalism it has more to do with the monetary policies and banking systems of certain implementations of capitalism then with the capitalist ideals themselves.
For instance, fiat money that is created by the governing body and interest charged on the lending of that money is a specific condition that allows for wealth inequalities and the aggregation of power. I think alternative currencies have an absolutely amazing potential to change society but governments violently suppress any competition that will result in them losing control and power over the system.
Interest was lauded by the founders of the USA and Benjamin Franklin himself remarked that it is the 8th wonder of the world, but as fascinating as compound interest is, it ultimately creates cycles of debt and unsustainable behavior.
An example case that is cited often is the use of alternative currencies in the towns of Spain during their civil war. When banks shut down and money was not available, the towns began to fall apart and enter deep depressions. As a response, the towns took the initiative to create local exchange trading systems, and almost immediately their situations began to improve and prosperity started to return to the towns. The governing bodies, deeply afraid of losing control, shut these systems down, choosing to purposefully let them fall into a depressed state rather than lose power.
Now, if you believe that friendly AGI is around the corner and will result in the singularity occurring sometime before our current social systems collapse, then you probably do not want to rock the boat. You would not care for sustainability, you would want to keep accelerating innovation at all costs and keep the system as is till our friendly AGI savior arrives to save the world.
If, on the other hand, you are skeptical that such a singularity is inevitable or you weigh the probabilities higher that our social systems which are allowing such accelerating innovations will collapse before such a singularity arrives, then thinking about sustainability starts to become really important.