Was thinking about what it would be like living under a post-capitalist system and this thought came into my head. Are there any behaviors or triggers associated with previously having lived in a capitalist system that still manifest in people who have lived in a capitalist system even when they are no longer doing so?

  • SovereignState
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    2 years ago

    I agree with what other comrades have pointed out, and would say that if I were to pathologize capitalism as trauma I would consider its lasting impacts on socialist society more akin to a societal C-PTSD than a societal PTSD if that makes sense. It is an extensive, long and dehumanizing trauma that withers away at ones’ psyche more than collapses it in an instant. This sort of calls to mind the defensiveness of socialism by older generations when confronted with a potential return to capitalism and the unfortunate political apathy that has overtaken many a socialist youth in the past. Having suffered through the worst of capitalism, generations who were born within it will feel the need to remain vigilant at all times and probably consistently worry about capitalism’s return. Younger generations who have known nothing but a socialist society may experience generational trauma from their parents, but that vigilance will fade with time. On the one hand, constant worry and vigilance is taxing to hell in and of itself. On the other, political apathy among the youth has been a factor in the downfall of socialist projects in the past. To truly be free from the threat and the fear, the globe needs to turn red, I feel.