Quote:
Originally Posted by Anteater
Sometimes I think the problems of the world only seem more prominent to us right now because information travels so much faster than it used to. But at the same time, I don't know if we would have the kind of technological or even medical advancements we have right now if it weren't for certain capitalistic tendencies that the 1st World as a whole adopted over the last two centuries.
I remember reading a Forbes article last year that's actually fairly pertinent to this particular subject, so I'll leave it here - Forbes - Why The World Is Getting Better And Why Hardly Anyone Knows It
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Maybe in the sense that greed may influence somebody to try and invent the next new thing, but capitalism also inspires the ****tiest consumerist tactics. There are many products that would be built much better if there wasn't something to gain from providing a product that you know will need to be replaced. Medical discoveries are almost useless if we can't afford them. If the world ran off of a system that wasn't based on building capital these benefits would be a world wide thing rather than privileges reserved for the rich.
Though, since we don't live in a world that isn't driven by currency, the people that hoard money and invest them in new, world changing ideas are making a much bigger impact than any poor person spending majority of their pay check on feeding a couple of kids. If you want to make a bigger impact on ending world hunger and curing humanity of it's woes you need to become a greedy wealthy person who uses the power and influence of money to push us in that direction. To build that kind of wealth probably takes a product that people will buy instead of feeding the hungry. So if you're spending your money on a product that goes towards a company with the right intentions you're probably doing more to help the world than you would by directly giving it to charity. Chances are that you're giving it to a company that doesn't give a **** though.