No, that's not because of the competition, Elon musk is one of the clear example, completely dumb and yet, completely rich.
Eh, you take one extreme to make a point. Plus, you can think whatever you want about Elon Musk but this guy literally has his own means to be a billionaire. That doesn't seem like he's dumb.
I mean, I even agree with you when it comes to the very rich. They probably do a lot of messed up things behind the scenes to be that filthy rich in the first place.
However, I just have a problem with the generalisation of people who are wealthier than you.
For example: One of my acquaintances had his own business but over the years, he was very depressive and got burnout over it despite living quite wealthy. He was a total mess, barely got sleep and was constantly worried. Ultimately, his company went to bankruptcy. His son made another business and now they are on track again.
Sure, I don't deny that there are filthy rich people who would even sacrifice their own mothers to get more money. But it's not always black and white. After all, company owners also create opportunities for job applications with their business. Both parts are crucial in economy.
This is something that everyone can do with the right education
It isn't that simple though because not many even want to carry the responsibilities as a company owner. I mean, I just talk about very small businesses. Then there are several forms of companies. A department manager also gets lots of money but these people also carry more responsibility with projects.
Thus, some just want to work and be lead on, others want to take things in their own matter. Both sides have pro and cons. I'm the former btw.
There is no need for an alternative concept. We simply need a better system
For that, we must get rid of capitalism and liberalism and the belief in meritocracy
I think capitalism is already a good system with its ups and downs. At least it's better than communism.
It's always easy to say "We need a better system" but people need to come up with such things in the first place.
This is called a fatalism. It means that poverty is just a fact of nature and the social life.. it just HAPPENS.
This denies the reponsibility of the system and our beliefs systems. This denies the fact that powerfull and wealthy people are literally doing EVERYTHING to prevent poverty from disappearing. This puts the responsibility on something we can't control.
It all depends on what you're contributing socially and economically.
You cannot expect a person to life in wealth with two low paying part time jobs. Neither can you expect nearly 6 figures with a nursing job (although such jobs are now being paid far better in Germany due to the inquiry of positions).
It's always fine to seek higher, to fight for your rights, to fight for higher wages but you also need to have realistic standards, possible economically.
It's like female football fans criticising why female footballers don't nearly get paid as much as male footballers. It is not a matter if they are being discriminated or not. It's a matter of attracting customers, merch and many other factors why male footballers gain much more money. On the other hand, female models also get higher wage with similar reasons.
I believe we have a good systems but like everything else, it sure can be criticised. Now I don't have a problem with it. However, this entire conversation started when Solis didn't even try to address the real issues but just wants to point the finger at others more successful than him. Sorry but that's really petty imo.
Now onto the actual topic again.
As much as this system needs to hold responsibility for the citizen, we also need to recognize how much it gives people opportunities to make it big. I mean, you could be a Twitch streamer tomorrow and build your entire career around that. Whether you're successful or not is another topic.
That's the good thing about capitalism. How would it be profitable if you have fixed goods? We saw how it escalated in communistic states. The higher ups and riches misused this system for their own greed and gains.
Plus, businesses make positions which you can apply to these. It's two sides of the same coin, it needs both sides. Employers and employees.
I can just say it over again but in comparison to other countries, especially the third world countries, the gap between rich and poor is significantly less over the last decades. Sure, there are still problems but you pretend like they are the worst. You can have no job, no education and still get money from the Government in Germany (it's called Bürgergeld). They also pay for a part of your rent in apartments owned by the agencies. They also cover your heating bills. If you can life with that money, it's another question but there are preventions that you're not ending up homeless. Health care? You're also secured if you apply to these agencies for Bürgergeld.
Its not at all because billionnaires are lobbying to negate workers rights or rightist people militing to suppress social servives or working conditions or refusing to give better wage...
Then it's better to address these issues instead of saying "Riches and Government = bad".
I'm all in for better wages, especially due to the recent inflation currently in Germany (honestly, the government fucked up our economy so much) but would I really change the system? Nope, because I think it's still a very good concept.