Faces of Capitalism with Liv Boeree
Starring game theory expert Liv Boeree, Faces of Capitalism seeks to integrate the insights of pro-capitalism and anti-capitalism into a synthesis view.
CREDITS
Brought to you by: Synthesis Media
Director: Stephanie Lepp
Script: Stephanie Lepp and Liv Boeree
Starring: Liv Boeree
Music
Waltz of the Damned (Solo Piano), by JCar
New Theme 86, by Hays Holladay
Kokobongo, by Alessandro Gugel
Special thanks: Igor Kruganov, Greg Johnstone, Glenn Loury, Jeff Salzman, Carter Phipps, Jim Rutt, Denise Hearn, and Nathan Schneider
POINTS OF SYNTHESIS
Capitalism and socialism are often pitted against each other, but most modern economies are mixed — they combine the decentralized intelligence of the market with the stabilizing force of the state.
Capitalism and socialism share the same fatal flaw: they both prioritize narrow metrics at the expense of other values. In theory, socialism prioritizes equality at the expense of freedom, efficiency, and innovation. Capitalism prioritizes profit at the expense of equality and sustainability.
It’s time to reframe the debate
From: capitalism vs. socialism (or free vs. regulated markets)
To: economic systems that prioritize narrow metrics vs. systems that account for more of what we truly value
It’s not just that capitalism has upsides and downsides. It’s that capitalism’s downsides have become globally existential, but its upsides are what’s enabling us to create an omni-win economic system.
SCRIPT
PRO-CAPITALISM: Capitalism is the most powerful prosperity-generating force ever known.
ANTI-CAPITALISM: Uh, I think you mean the most extractive force ever known.
PRO-CAPITALISM: It has lifted billions of people out of poverty, expanded access to food and literacy, and effectively created our modern world.
ANTI-CAPITALISM: It has caused the extinction of hundreds of species and decimated countless traditional cultures — extracting resources faster than anything that came before.
PRO-CAPITALISM: Okay but the market is genius at driving innovation. It gives us the economic freedom to buy, sell, and compete in ways that make society better off.
ANTI-CAPITALISM: How can you call it “economic freedom” when the most affordable food is diabetes-inducing junk? How can it be “genius” when life-saving drugs aren’t fast-tracked, because they don’t generate enough profit?
PRO-CAPITALISM: Listen, if you want to grow the pie, the name of the game is: capitalism.
ANTI-CAPITALISM: The game of capitalism is rigged. Who cares about the size of the pie if it’s so unevenly distributed?
PRO-CAPITALISM: Honey, size always matters.
Plus, what’s the alternative? Would you want the government managing our food supply, or setting drug prices?
Sure, capitalism has its problems. But it solves them through innovation. And it’s the best economic system we’ve ever known.
ANTI-CAPITALISM: Yeah, but innovation can cause more problems.
There's a paradox where innovations in energy-efficiency often make us use more total energy. Which is a problem if that energy isn't clean.
Criticizing capitalism doesn’t mean pushing for socialism. What it means is being realistic about the fatal flaw of unchecked capitalism: in its pursuit of profit, it fails to fully account for its costs.
We have an existential crisis on our hands when arms races are counted as economic growth, a tree is worth more dead than alive, and people are worth more outraged and addicted than conscious and free.
An economic system that doesn’t fully account for its costs eventually self-destructs. Unchecked capitalism is destroying the entire playing field!
SYNTHESIS: Whoa whoa whoa, guys. Chill.
Look, everyone loves to pit capitalism against socialism. But most modern economies are mixed. They combine the decentralized intelligence of the market with the stabilizing force of the state.
But ultimately: capitalism and socialism share the same fatal flaw: they both prioritize one metric at the expense of others.
In theory, socialism prioritizes equality at the expense of freedom, efficiency, and innovation. Capitalism prioritizes profit at the expense of equality and sustainability. Capitalism has created the most prosperity (in terms of overall wealth), but if it keeps deferring costs to the future, it risks humanity’s capacity to play any game at all.
So here’s the thing:
Capitalism is the most extraordinary engine of economic growth we’ve ever seen, and its benefits have not come for free. It’s not that capitalism is evil, just partially blind. It’s great at maximizing profit, but that comes (in part) by externalizing costs. And those costs have always been high, but now they’re globally existential. Which means: it’s time to change the game.
And now, we increasingly can change the game, because of capabilities that capitalism enabled us to build. Like, for example: closed-loop production systems, and platforms for decentralized coordination.
In other words, capitalism has brought us to a terrifying and miraculous point at which: humanity MUST change, and is newly ABLE to change.
Perhaps our next economic system (which is just the next one) can take the best of capitalism and evolve beyond it.
Perhaps we can reframe the debate, from: capitalism versus socialism…to: economic systems that prioritize narrow metrics versus systems that account for more of what we truly value.
And for sure, we can integrate more perspectives. Our view will probably always be incomplete, but we can always strive to see more faces of the hyper-dimensional shape that is reality.
In that spirit, what if we integrate the faces of gender?
Faces of X is a series devoted to perceiving reality more fully. Watch the full series and make your own.
CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
Nuggets that didn’t make it into the script:
A definition of capitalism, e.g. an economic system characterized by private ownership and free-market competition
The economic system in America today isn’t true capitalism, but a crony, perversion of capitalism
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Capitalism is not the goal, but an economic strategy for achieving the goal. So the question isn’t (only) is capitalism good or bad? but what’s the best strategy for achieving the goal? Which begs the bigger question: what's the goal?
In the words of Pope Francis, "the economy should be at the service of people, not the other way around"
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Don’t hate the players, change the game
Replace the fiduciary duty to maximize short-term profit with a broader duty to account for more of what we value
Shift the spectrum
From: regulated markets ⇔ free markets
To: economic systems that account for narrow metrics ⇔ systems that account for more of what we value
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It’s not just that capitalism has upsides and downsides. It’s that capitalism’s DOWNSIDES have brought us to the brink of self-destruction, but its UPSIDES are what’s enabling us to evolve FROM it
What’s upstream of capitalism is Moloch — the so-called God of rivalrous dynamics. To learn about how capitalism is an instantiation of Moloch, watch Liv Boeree in conversation with Daniel Schmachtenberger
REFERENCES
ARTICLES
From Capitalism to the Collaborative Commons, by Edward Berge (2019)
New Economic Series, by Daniel Schmachtenberger et. Al (2017)
The Non-Libertarian FAQ, by Scott Alexander (2017)
Meditations on Moloch, by Scott Alexander (2014)
BOOKS
Doughnut Economics, by Kate Raworth (2018)
Conscious Capitalism, by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia (2013)
Debt: The First 5000 Years, by David Graeber (2012)
The Ascent of Money, by Niall Ferguson (2009)
The Origin of Wealth, by Eric D. Beinhocker (2007)
PODCASTS
Daniel Schmachtenberger | Misalignment, AI & Moloch | Win-Win with Liv Boeree (2023)
Beyond Capitalism Now with Donnie MacLurcan, Denizen podcast (2023)
Post-Growth Economics with Donnie MacLurcan, Denizen podcast (2023)
Dignities and Disasters: Capitalism, with Robert MacNaughton (2020)
Capitalism: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity, with Robb Smith and Douglas Rushkoff (2017)
Future Thinkers 036: Daniel Schmachtenberger - Phase Shifting Humanity (2017)
The mother of First World problems: an integral look at capitalism, with Jeff Salzman (2014)
Free Market Economics and Happiness, with Arthur Brooks, Jonathan Haidt, and the Dalai Lama, among others (2014)
Great talking Baby
Love Liv!