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?
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.
According to the laws of dialectics, when a thing changes qualitatively, it first retains features of its previous state, but as it keeps changing quantitatively over time, it “grows out” of these vestigial features. Society is superstructure, shaped by the economic base; however, all change is gradual, and society won’t transform right away just because the economic base changed, confirming your guess. So it will take a while for society to realize and internalize “wait, I don’t need to follow these old capitalist laws anymore”.
This is kinda what I thought, like the older generations will keep some habits from the capitalistic era as it is hard to break old habits and the younger generation who only knew socialism would to an extent find such habits odd or old-fashioned.
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tell me how this won’t be traumatic
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read it for yourself LOL https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/the-great-resignation-aussie-man-quits-100k-job-to-work-at-mcdonalds/CO4QMHSSPGBEMMN2AOUYEWF73E/
these people talk down on non-corporate workers so much
Honestly, most of their complaints just boil down to alienation and exploitation. One of them said their cleaning job made them feel like they were actually doing something. They complain about having to be constantly on the job to answer emails and stuff. Just wish they would realize that it was capitalism instead of a corporate job that was doing it to them.
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Strange article, isn’t it?
On the one hand it’s trying to portray a AU$100k job as being at the top of the corporate ladder (there’s a strong ideological function in this framing). On the other hand it seems that AU$100k is just middle management. Either that or cleaners are paid exceptionally well in Australia.
Of course middle management is going to be stressful and unrewarding – you’re only there to deliver the bosses orders and the boss takes a wager that you don’t need to be bribed very much to be a dickhead to everyone below you.
As @carpe_modo@lemmygrad.ml pointed out, it seems the guy bought into the dream and realised that companies are run for the shareholders, so what Paul (not pictured @treadonmedaddy@lemmygrad.ml) is facing is his own exploitation and alienation.
Still, I bet Maccy D’s is enjoying the publicity and the message that it’s jobs pay just enough to live on and are rewarding. And that might be true enough, but it’ll be treated as a mantra the next time the workers ask for a pay rise: ‘but don’t you know we can replace you with people who want to be happy’.
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Isn’t alienation a traumatic event in and of itself? Individualism breeds trauma because it encourages us to get as little support at possible. And that’s just if your in the imperial core. Most people have to deal with all the trauma that imperialism brings about.
I definitely think capitalism is traumatic for all involved. People just have different abilities to cope and different coping strategies. That being said, if your coping strategy involves allowing the current exploitation of people around the world, your coping strategy is causing even more trauma and should be disregarded.
Even the ruling class is traumatized. Look at these miserable, wretched fucks and tell me that 5th yacht made them happy.
Not just trauma but learned behaviors. There is something deeply sick about our social contract, the way we socialize and go about both in the short and long term. It could take some years to unlearn these behaviors and the root “this is just how the universe operates!” sickness capitalism inflicted upon them.
