[mkstowegnv]

Every time this argument is made I wonder how capitalism would look if a fair comparison were made. All the mortality and cruelty of the slave trade and it's aftermath, all the genocide around the world that accompanied colonialism. Marx's ideas would not have created the defacto religious fervor they did if they had not created hope for an alternative to the horrors of 1800's capitalism. The real problem is that humans are too easily swayed by men seeking power who offer simplistic purist solutions. We are better off recognizing that we will always be in an unstable equilibrium where we work constantly creating changing complex mixtures of insights from Marx and Smith and wise humans of all stripes in a never ending battle against entropy and human nature.

[WalterBright]

It's perfectly legal to set up communist communes in the US, and there have been no shortage of attempts. They all failed. It's hard to claim they haven't been given a chance.

[kiliantics]

There are plenty still in operation. However, any of the attempts which actually posed a threat to the system were usually violently suppressed. See for example the unlawful assassination of Fred Hampton or the MOVE bombing. There is often a big difference between what is legal and what is practically implemented when it comes to these issues.

[WalterBright]

> There are plenty still in operation.

Feel free to join one.

> what is legal

What are you claiming is making communes illegal?

[Mediterraneo10]

A great deal of the slave trade and colonialism happened under mercantilism, not capitalism.

[boomboomsubban]

The parts that happened under capitalism were incredibly terrible, leaving tens of millions dead.