Socialism the base of society, with Capitalism providing the flavor on top. My view on ‘how the world should be’ seems to shape up to this mantra. Make sure the needs of the people are met, then let capitalism reign free over that foundation.

I used to believe that a pure capitalistic system works best, as long as there’s an altruistic side to its benefactors. I still believe that that would work. However, now I don’t believe that enough altruism will ever creep into the system.

I’ve lost my belief that people, if given the choice, will generally choose to benefit society over their own benefit. Not that people would not choose good over evil, per say, but that “enough is never enough”. One only needs to look at the wealth disparity today to see how this has played out. The problem also is that it’s difficult to blame it on one thing. It’s the collection of small decisions, small advantages, that have led us to where we are today.

However, I can’t blame the ideal behind capitalism, since it emphasizes a meritocracy: those who are the best can do the best. However, once one accounts for human nature, selfishness + never being satisfied, the system can only go awry. Therefore, as much as I believe in capitalism, it needs a foundation of socialism for it to work.

The problem with socialism, though, is that innovation is difficult. So, even within the socialist foundation, some capitalistic principles should be instilled. Some form of competition would be necessary. However, I’m unsure exactly what this social/capital blend would look like.

What I hold to, though, is that ‘needs have to be met’. Once ‘needs’ are met, you can play around, take risks and let capitalism play out. However, when the system has turned around and enslaved its people by putting them in debt, by forcing them to stay in jobs they don’t want to be in, by tempering the human spirit, that’s where I think the line has been crossed.

I view this as a problem with why people don’t get involved in politics as well. People just don’t have time to spare (down time is a necessity as much as ‘work’ is). People stuck in the rat race can’t think about the fact the ‘race’ they’re in has been stacked against them, that it’s been made much more complex than it needs to be. They have to spend their energy figuring out how to get out of this stacked ‘race’ and only a few make it out. Once they make it out, most want to enjoy their freedom, not fix the ‘race’.

As much as people may believe in what I say, I think people would be baffled at how to change the system barring a revolution. I do think a ‘revolution’ is necessary, but not a violent overthrow of the government, but a technological one coupled with a moral renaissance.

So, I’ll establish this for now: I think we need to get to a system where socialism is the foundation and capitalism is the innovation-driver on top of it. How can we get there? I think we’ll get there, but the question is: will it happen through revolution or will we get a chance to consciously design it?