[account42]

Ultimately advertising is a zero sum game anyway. If you convince someone to buy your product then they are not going to spend that money elsewhere. Sure, they might have instead saved the money but that just means spending it later.

The only reason why anyone needs to advertise is to prevent others who do advertise from stealing all their customers. This is also why ads are becoming more intrusive and annoying over time - because you need to make your ads even more effective than the competition if everyone else already also uses ads.

[xanderlewis]

Your argument about advertising being zero sum might as well be applied to any form of business (we all have a certain amount of money, and we choose where to spend it). I’m not sure how you can believe business in general is zero sum — it’s the only reason we’re now not living in caves.

I get that we’re all embittered by having annoying, low-quality adverts thrust in our faces, but there’s no need to become completely cynical about economies in general.

[account42]

There are more industries that are basically parasites who don't contribute to society and instead insert themselves as middlement to extract value from others' work, yes. But no, you cannot apply this to any form of businesses. Many businesses fulfill real needs. If you'd take all agriculture away, everyone would starve. If you'd take all advertisement away then the world would not collapse. These things are not the same.

[xanderlewis]

> If you'd take all advertisement away then the world would not collapse.

That’s a statement that requires some evidence. Advertisement drives the world economy.

[tsimionescu]

There's a well known result in the tabacco industry, that tabacco sales didn't just disappear when advertising for tabacco was banned.

[xanderlewis]

What a stupid point. Tobacco is an addictive substance.

[squigz]

Make your own point better, without namecalling.

[squigz]

> I get that we’re all embittered by having annoying, low-quality adverts thrust in our faces, but there’s no need to become completely cynical about economies in general.

Well, maybe the adverts by themselves aren't enough, but... gestures broadly

[xanderlewis]

There’s much to be dismayed by in the modern world. But — and sorry to sound like such a cliche here — what alternative would you suggest to capitalism?

[squigz]

Why is the choice always "capitalism" or "not capitalism"?

It seems to me that the real problem with it all is the false dichotomy that so many people seem to have bought into. It wasn't too long ago that we understood that we need to balance out both sides for a society to flourish. Capitalism is useful, yes, but unfettered capitalism slowly eats itself and everything adjacent to it.

[xanderlewis]

Ironically, you’re the one assuming it’s a dichotomy. I never said anything about ‘unfettered capitalism’.

> Why is the choice always "capitalism" or "not capitalism"?

Any set A induces a partition of the universe into A and not A. You haven’t made any suggestions at all. Just the usual moaning — which is justified, but not at all helpful.

[squigz]

I'm not even going to engage with this. Don't ask someone "What's the alternative to capitalism" and then pull this crap.