this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
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Both capitalism and feudalism are class societies, but the conditions of industrialization accelerated by capitalism have dramatically improved on feudal squalor. Life expectancy has dramatically improved the world over, and the conditions for collective ownership and planning are possible because capitalism paved the way for it.
Capitalism has come with its own atrocities, and in many ways workers are less obviously exploited but to an even greater degree, but is still a historical stepping stone as a progressive movement from feudalism, that which will be usurped by socialism.
You really can't say that life expectancy has improved, just because you have created more customers. At the same time you have polluted every single part of the planet, and people are suffering because of this, and we are killing of species in record speed.
It's sick, sorry to say, that you think that capitalism paved the way for anything good.
Oh, maybe you should read up on socialism, because that's really what's have made the world a better place.
Name one concrete example of capitalism bettering the world - and be careful not to confuse your example with that of socialism?!?
I think you're deeply confused, here. I'm a communist, I support socialism and working our way to communism. Life expectancy has dramatically improved from feudalism, and it isn't close. Socialist countries like Cuba, the PRC, and former USSR would never have existed had capitalism not come into existence yet, as industrialization is the base that allows for planned, collectivized production.
To be fair, isn't the reason life expectancy improved is largely attributed to China uplifting over 800 million people out of poverty?
While yes, the overthrow of feudalism, which prevented scientific progress as it had threatened the ruling class's power, led to medical advancements, better food production and access, etc., capitalism negated a lot of improvements toward life expectancy because of deadly working conditions, genocide, wars, colonialism, etc.
I do agree with your point that capitalism is often a necessity to eventually enable a socialist revolution to be possible once it faces crises from its contradictions and did contribute, at least indirectly, to increased life expectancy, Russia/USSR and China, as mentioned above, are examples of nations that were able to achieve socialism earlier, and their impact towards humanity cannot be understated.
Capitalism certainly lowered life expectancy initially, Marx makes this abundantly clear in Capital - Volume 1. However, with industrialization came advancements in socialized production (not socialist, socialized, ie cooperative work on an expanded and industrial scale in capitalism), which allowed for an acceleration of the sciences. Feudalism was holding science back, which in turn held medical science back. Same with farming, industrial farming increased outputs dramatically.
The Soviet Union and PRC absolutely made more dramatic improvements on a far-shorter time scale thanks to socialism, and indeed they did not rely on a developed period of capitalism (though they still depended on market forces), but the proletarian ideology of Marxism could not have come to existence without the prevalence of capitalism somewhere, this case being western Europe, allowing Marx to make critical advancements and Lenin to analyze the impacts on imperialism to successfully lead a revolution.
Feudalism was more obviously exploitative, and to a lesser extent than capitalism's theft of surplus value, but the sheer productive capacity of market forces ultimately provided the base for class struggle and development of proletarian ideology.
That's fair