These donations have nothing to do with capitalism. He owes his fortune to capitalism, yes. The fact that Warren Buffet donates part of it shows, if at all (keyword tax write-offs), that Warren Buffet has more heart than whoever (don't know the party conferences of the Left Party). "More" is relative anyway. The system of capitalism itself certainly has no heart, rather the opposite.
@Redfox77 And yet there is no system that has brought more general prosperity across all sections of the population and more individual freedom. No left-wing system has achieved this so far, rather the opposite.
@Redfox77 I think that is questionable. Capitalism owes its profit to the loss of others. Without poor people and losers in the system, capitalism doesn't work and when a certain level of prosperity is reached or resources become scarce, it always leads to war 🤷🏻♂️
@Redfox77 Capitalism is the solution, not the problem. Unfortunately, we don't have capitalism, we have creditism. Capitalism is a communist term of war, it is actually the free market economy. In no system is there more prosperity.
@AE23 Capitalism is definitely far from perfect, but there has been no other system in human history that has provided similar prosperity, progress and stability. Communism has caused a lot of poverty around the world and under the guise of helping everyone, many have been repeatedly oppressed and there are certainly areas where the prosperity of individuals is achieved by exploiting others, but the belief that gains are always the loss of others cannot automatically be derived from this. Anyone who buys from NVIDIA today pays a lot of money for it, but would not do so if they did not see a higher value in the product. Many people have become rich at NVIDIA, founders, managers, employees and shareholders. The circle of those who benefit is even larger, as the company has a lot of stakeholders who benefit directly or indirectly. Buffet is special in many ways, he is particularly successful as an investor, also because he himself remains modest. But I think there are many entrepreneurs who tick in a similar way
@Techaktien Capitalism without losers has been refuted millions of times? Show me the study! I'm more familiar with works by Piketty, Streeck, Nachtwey & Co. They show that inequality is not an accident, but rather "built-in" and intentional. The question is not whether, but how far the losers will fall and whether we will cushion this politically or simply accept it. Capitalism without regulation produces inequality, with regulation it can distribute prosperity. But that is not what many market radicals and neoliberals want. The decisive factor is how strongly the state regulates in order to prevent exploitation, monopolies and social division. There is also a structural tendency. When major capitalist powers come under economic pressure, they are more likely to consider military means to protect their interests. In economic crises, states come under pressure to secure or expand their position - by force if necessary. The best example of this is currently the USA, which does not shy away from attacking Panama or Greenland to secure its position. The USA has always done this. Iraq war to secure oil reserves, Panama they have been before, and to maintain control of the Panama Canal. Several interactions in Latin America and France, Great Britain etc. Have "managed" in the same way over the last few centuries. Military as a means of economic power. Fact 🤷🏻♂️
Capitalism always discovers its heart when the coffin lid rattles. Isn't it? It's not about whether Buffett is a philanthropist (he is), but about the fact that a system is suddenly celebrated as "heartfelt" when individuals voluntarily give something from their billions. And a system that hopes for voluntarism has no heart, but is lucky if someone brings one.
@Techaktien Exactly. Taxes are mandatory and fund schools, hospitals and infrastructure. The fact that this has to be sold as a "donation" today shows exactly what is wrong with the system.
@user28461 If donations were enough, there would be no state. Anyone who seriously confuses this has not only failed to understand the system, but also their own role in it.
@Savvy_investor_2000 A night watchman state that guarantees property and physical integrity is completely sufficient. Everything else is latently socialist and exploits high achievers and tells the lazy about justice. Opium for the people, just as the people want it.
@user28461 Anyone who equates justice with laziness is moralizing downwards. Justice has to do with structures. Not with sympathy. Not with charity. And "lazy" is the label you stick on people when you don't feel like arguing. I'm open to any debate, just not to role-playing games in which someone stages themselves as a "high achiever" and sorts others to fit in.
@Techaktien As I said, an extra effort compared to a click to like - just shifts the "result" artificially in one direction, but maybe that's exactly how it was intended.
Billionaires could also simply pay taxes instead of selectively supporting the foundations they like. I can't choose what happens to my income tax either. In this respect, this "philanthropism" is cheap.
@jonas189 Taxes are not used efficiently for socially useful purposes such as education (e.g. explaining to kids what shares are and why they should buy them), but are instead pumped into an unnecessary state waterhead. Buffett has done the most socially responsible thing there is - Ralf Stegner will never understand that, of course.
@jonas189 Always this permanent embrace of the state. What has the state done in recent years with the billions more it has taken in? The state quota has risen. The Bundeswehr has been scrapped. Digitization is not progressing. The bridges are crumbling.... And yet we still have to take on 1000 billion in debt.
I agree that capitalism may have more "heart" than nowadays left parties combined, but I wouldn't say capitalists are generally good people. They're still those who start wars, manipulate the news, poison our food and profit off the poor. As Latins would say: "In medio stat virtus"
No, capitalism has no heart and no answer to important social issues such as wealth inequality. And no, I am not in favor of states taking more and more. Spending for the general public should be decided democratically and not by representatives. Again, this is part of left-wing theory. I would read up on any political direction before demonizing everything. I have read and continue to read left-wing theory as well as economic literature and newspapers. Leftists show a lot of heart and commitment in the community environment in areas where the Getquin community (fortunately) doesn't have to be because of their income.
@Herr-Horn Excuse me? You write "... should be decided democratically and not by representatives..." Well, someone really missed out on a lot at school when it came to democracy.
@FairyDust Why should I have failed at school if I don't call representative democracy alone a true democracy? I did not say that representation should be abolished. But it would make sense to supplement it with direct democratic institutions at local level. The status quo can also be revised from time to time and does not always have to exist, especially in times of great disenchantment with politics.
@Herr-Horn The thing is, the left have proven more than once that they are even worse with money and taxpayers' money would be used even more wastefully and inefficiently under them. Like you, I would welcome more democratic and less representative spending decisions. But in the end, no left-wing government has ever really done that.
Reads like a BILD headline. The interpretation is the same. You have to be pretty one-sided to interpret the donation accordingly.
Anyone who donates something is worthy of honor. Respect.
But anyone who knows the history of Warren Buffet also knows where the mosquitoes came from and that he was pretty ruthless in his early days. That's what he says about himself.
But I still think his action is good. Maybe he wants to go to heaven with it ;-).
But I find it really laughable to make a connection with the Left Party. Similarly blinded as in the corresponding podcast.