Someone argued with me that buying stuff enables capitalism and that buying things in itself is already performing capitalism. They then went on to say that the best way to overcome capitalism is by simply not participating in it (instead of revolution, something they explicitly rejected). When I asked how they intend to do that they told me that they work at a cooperative, only take public transport, and live in council housing. They, therefore, don’t participate in capitalism, and doing so is a personal choice, not a systematic one.

I have a hard time accepting that as a viable solution since they forgot that: not everyone can work in a cooperative or live in council housing by the simple virtue of not being available and that they completely ignored stuff like buying groceries or that public transport is still run for profit (at least in my country).

Are there more counters to their argument? Am I missing something? Do they have a valid argument in the end?

    • @RedCatOP
      link
      82 years ago

      Honestly, I don’t even think they are socialist. The way they rejected revolution as “partisan diatribe” and ranted about crony capitalism makes me think they are some weird kind of libertarian anarchist or something equally braindead.