[einpoklum]

> I worked my ass off to reach financial independence

This is a false pursuit, and in a sense a vacuous statement.

You are never independent of society around you. You are in constant need of others doing that invisible and visible labor - in production and in services - to maintain your way of life.

It's only with Capitalism being the way it is that you need to "work your ass off" to not be financially dependent on your parents, or at the risk of a crisis and collapse upon losing your job etc.

[ianbutler]

Not really capitalism's fault. Regulatory capture, weak laws that let that happen, government corruption, lobbying laws and other things are more to blame.

The USA was still a capitalist society when the American dream was alive and well with a thriving middle class. Meanwhile nations with planned economies, abolished land ownership and worker owned means of production were starving and seeing general iniquity.

Now those protections that gave us a thriving middle class and general economic prosperity have been largely gutted and our government generally subverted.

My point is, the ills of a country are likely the cause of governmental failings and destabilization exploited by the ruling class of the system to entrench themselves and expand their interests at the expense of the general public, regardless of what that that system is. It can happen to any system of governance paired with any economic system.

I think we should be cleaning our government up and taking that power back, but that by putting the blame squarely on capitalism you're missing the forest for the trees. The problem is allowing whatever naturally formed ruling class in an economic and or political ecosystem from concentrating too much power, and potentially resources [1], in the first place.

[1] Though I'm skeptical of this but in so much as resources equate to power maybe it's necessary.

[bavell]

Completely agreed. I see too many people jumping on the "Capitalism is the root of all evil" bandwagon too easily without critical thought. Like you, I see our current problems arising due to the usual historical culprits of corruption and shifting balance of power within a system of government. All systems of government are subject to these forces and while it's true our current system is clogged with crap, it's not capitalism we should be blaming.

[firedating]

I disagree that pursuing financial independence is a false pursuit.

"Financial independence" != "independence from the society". No one claims to be independent of the society. One just does not have to earn money anymore.

I agree that money are worthless without places to spend them and someone producing stuff to buy. This does not make financial independence less useful though.