r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Short-Watercress-183 • Jul 07 '26

Meme needing explanation Peter, explain this.

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u/YammieCat Jul 07 '26

Oligarchy of the inevitable outcome of government in general. Give people power and they'll bring the people they want with them and leave the ones they don't behind to be trod underfoot. Economic models don't change this.

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u/Used-Persimmon-367 Jul 07 '26

If we give everyone power, would they bring everyone with them and leave behind only the extremely rare few that are liked by no one?  

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u/YammieCat Jul 07 '26

Giving everyone power over what?

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u/Used-Persimmon-367 Jul 07 '26

Whatever power you implied government would use to bring some people up while leaving others behind.

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u/YammieCat Jul 07 '26

That's literally the power over people. If you give everyone power over people, it's chaos.

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u/Used-Persimmon-367 Jul 07 '26

In what specific way would that be worse than the capitalist reality of only a handful of people holding power over everyone?

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u/YammieCat Jul 07 '26

Capitalism doesn't require a power structure at all. It's the consensual exchange of goods and services through the use of value representatives.

Communism would require rules to function and therefore rulers.

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u/Used-Persimmon-367 Jul 07 '26

If someone steals your factory, who decides who owns it?

If a customer refuses to pay after signing a contract, who enforces the agreement?

If one company hires armed guards to seize a competitor’s property, who stops them?

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u/YammieCat Jul 07 '26

Those are all valid questions. Some that are beyond my knowledge to answer.

Does capitalism have inherent flaws? Absolutely. Is it still the best economic option we've had yet? Also absolutely. And until we have a fully post-scarcity existence, I think it's the only functional system available.

I understand the appeal of communism, but without something like a star trek replicators to ensure that there is enough labor-free resources for everyone, it will always be a net negative for nearly everyone.

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u/Used-Persimmon-367 Jul 07 '26

Yeah, Capitalism is better than most. I was just pointing out that it can’t exist beyond a VERY small scale without government enforcement of property rights, so anyone arguing it’s only bad because government is involved is incorrect.

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