By investing in publicly traded stock, you’re purchasing part ownership of the means of production and making profits off someone else’s labor. I don’t see how you can even justify owning small amounts of stocks when it contributes to such awful things on a massive scale.
This is just the "curious, you critique capitalism from your iPhone" argument but for retirement funds. Don't invest in literal arms manufacturers or oil companies and stop hand wringing.
To be your only point of income where you essentially become a member of the VC/Investment class? Yeah not great.
To like make a little extra money so that you can retire someday or struggle a little less to survive? Who cares.
You want to change society, but you exist in it, interesting.
bruh, yeah, but you still live in a capitalist system. so you gotta do what you can to live.
Think of it this way - if you're already earning enough to eat good food, live in a good place, afford a decent education for your kids, have good healthcare for you family, have a retirement plan etc etc, then don't invest in stocks if you want to say you're a leftist.
But if you don't, and investing into stocks can help you get those things (healthcare, food, education), then don't feel guilty about it - you're not investing anywhere near the amount you would need to for it to be practically exploitative - compared to what the millionaires and billionaires are putting the workers through, you're basically an ant that bit them one time. you're being in the stock market doesn't mean shit either way.
holy shit, that 2nd point tho. Only ever thought of it in the first way.
Apparently Marx himself made some money with stocks
So yeah Marx is canceled
I mean, when you use electricity or drive a car you're helping to burn the environment. Its hypocritical but you gotta try to enjoy life to some extent, and shit, the stock market can be a part of getting to a point where you are financially secure. I mean, I'm not doing it, but I'm also shitposting on the job when my job pays me with taxpayer money.
In addition, whats going on now isnt really workers producing a shitload more value for Gamestop than they were a week ago. Its ghouls who directly invested in a company failing getting outghouled by redditors, which is the kind of embarassing fate they deserve. Its also the most concrete proof that none of this shit is real.
Getting ripped off by gamestop good, ripping off people who invest in gamestop bad?
No more lifestyle marxism, investing in stocks is amoral but better than blowing it on camgirls or cheetos. Think of it as cheap entertainment.
You sneaky dog. Been sitting on your account since August! And only one comment, namely THIS comment, and you come out to flex.
I love it.
If all leftists stopped investing, it would not stop capitalism, and stopping investing isn't a viable way to change society. I don't think leftists should be into deontological ethics.
But I would be suspicious of a leftist who made their living from stocks.
I mean, if you're a leftist living in the west you're probably doing a million things that could be considered 'hypocritical'. While investing in stocks is less of a necessity than many of those things, I personally don't feel any way towards people who do it to reach financial security. If you're straight up investing in shit like Raytheon though, I'd say that's different.
I think this is one of those questions where if you look at it entirely through morality you could argue for both sides. However, marx traded stocks and I wonder if he ever wrote about this
I mean pensions don't really exist as an option for most.
My question is why leftists generally are fine with investing in stocks (see the other comments), but not being a landlord. Is it just a matter of how much income you're making, or how direct the exploitation is?
Maybe it's because stocks are more impersonal than owning land? Or maybe it's because owning stocks doesn't give you power over someone else's basic right to live idk. I think both are bad
Dividends are tiny, you usually get like a few dollars a year from the amount of stock normmal people can own
I've struggled with this a lot and my solution has been that I have a number basically where I could retire on and any amount past that(hypothetically ofc Im no where near it) gets immediately donated to either leftist orgs or helping the global south(imo the most effecient is mosquito nets as it says the most lives per dollar stats wise ~$2300 per life saved iirc) If I reach that number earlier than I want to retire I keep working and money gets donated, also only investing in indeces/etf like things not doing the stupid gambling no directly supporting companies that are wholly unethical, but at some point you have to retire ya know its not ideal but it's true
