i wonder what the first capitalistic act of man was...one of the tribe didn't tell the others about a stash of honey, so he could barter it for more in a different season?

is hoarding inherent to capitalism?

could you have a non-hoarding kind?

can capitalism refine itself into a purely non-coercive model?

can you have an enlightened socialism that preserves some of the apparent advantages of a more competitive model?

we'll just have to wait and see, i expect the two lines to continue to converge and if there is a future meeting point, they will be both unrecognisable from where we stand at present.

our true capital is resources we haven't carbonised yet, this numbers game of 'wealth' is a gossamer illusion we agree to be bound by, till we shuffle off the mortal coil, or are forced to return to hunter-gathering through social breakdown.

the only way out i see is for us to become hyperaware of how much our lifestyles are built on the backs of the poor, and seek not to inveigle others into becoming entranced by the glitter of consumerism, and help turn their focus to the vast global imbalances, and see how together we can wean ourselves off the habits that enrich those who see us as prey, giving up excess for a lifestyle that could be emulated by billions and not cost the energy of several planets to share in.

real capital is what's left of worth after a crash, at which time all the zeros in corporate bank accounts in the world aren't going to be worth anything.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty