If you could ask capitalists questions, what would they be?

[Diirez]

I'm in a formal debate with a capitalist and I need questions to ask him as part of the debate and I figured the RevLeft community would have very good questions.

[BIXX]

Is he a capitalist or a liberal? What is the context? We need more details.

[motion denied]

So it's gonna be forever, or is it gonna go down in flames? You can tell me when it's over (uh) if the high was worth the pain.

[Rudolf]

Answering Placenta cream's questions would be useful.


But I'd ask "what is the origin of property?" It's a trick question because they'll generally come out with either it being a natural right, a result of first occupancy or a result of labour. All of which you can easily poke fun at as being nonsense.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

"From whom do you get your wealth?"

[RedWorker]

Is the individual a member of the capitalist class or just pro-capittalism?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Ask him why pro-capitalist arguments are so weak and full of shit.

Actually, I think we do need some more information about the context. But also the questions will depend on the main points you want to make about why you are anti-capitalist and that also depends on your audience.

If it's regular students, you probably want to make arguments more based in current pressing issues and practical concerns. If the point is a more intellectual wank-y formal debate, then you may want to focus more on undermining the ideological and philosophical assumptions, etc.

[consuming negativity]

gun or guillotine?

[Mr. Piccolo]

Ask which is indispensable to productive activity: the capitalist, the landlord, or the worker.

[Tim Cornelis]

Weird debate if it involves asking questions. I learned that asking questions to your opponent puts the ball in his park. Ask any of the above questions and he will give a typical pro-capitalist answer and he's already one ahead.

[Diirez]

The context is he is a liberal capitalist who believes in strong social safety nets.

[Jimmie Higgins]

The context is he is a liberal capitalist who believes in strong social safety nets.

yay, good one! Usually in the U.s. You see this kind of debate with libertarians or trad. Conservatives. This is more interesting because there should at least be a common ground that inequality is bad rather than a virtue and that black kids don't deserve to be shot dead in the street by cops if they litter or run a stop sign and that climate change is not a good side-effect.

Some of the following may or may not be good questions for your purposes, but they are ones I want to ask liberals.

- how can capitalism, a system based on competitive and unending growth, ever be comparable with environmental sustainability?

- how is social equality ever possible in an economic system based in competition and the concentration of wealth (and therefore power)?

- (without blaming republicans) why has mainstream liberalism shifted so far to the right in recent decades (I.e. Why has mainstream liberalism rejected Keynesian measure this person probably supports in favor of neoliberal logic)? Why are things like charter schools seen as progressive causes now when they started off as far right positions? Why have mosty very liberal urban city governments pushed policies that have increased police repression of poor communities while slashing budgets and education and housing? (You might have to use a different example, but oakland hasn't elected a republican or ostensible conservative since the 1940s) and yet liberals like Jean quan and Ron dellums have overseen a situation where oakland has been gentrified and schools charterized while 50% of the budget goes to police (each cop costs the city 180k a year and their staring wage alone is 70-90k) while all other services are cut or increased in user-fees.

- (without blaming republicans) why do liberals think there has been a bi-partisan agreement to dismantle the social safty reforms and social-justice reforms of the past? (Weaker abortion rights, weaker ant-discrimination laws, more restrictions on welfare, reductions of welfare and housing, stagnant federal minimum wage since the 1970s, etc).

- why have u.a. liberals in power traditionally supported wars they claim to not support? Woodrow Wilson, obj, and obama all ran promising not to further or start wars that, once in power, they ran or expanded.

[Red Eagle]

Who creates the wealth?
Obviously the workers do all capitalists do is they hire managers, scientists, researchers, engineers and laborers to do the work for them. They just move capital around.

[sushiisawesome]

We does he believe people should be born rich while others are born poor?
Or inheritance in general, really.

[Rafiq]

The context is he is a liberal capitalist who believes in strong social safety nets.

This is nonse. You cannot have a debate about which utopia is superior. You can't pick and choose the specifications of productive relations as you do a smartphone.

[Habermas]

Do you think you earned all your wealth? And your workers did not?

[Slavic]

Weird debate if it involves asking questions. I learned that asking questions to your opponent puts the ball in his park. Ask any of the above questions and he will give a typical pro-capitalist answer and he's already one ahead.

When I debate I typically use a Socratic method which does involve a lot of questions.

When you are the one asking the questions you can steer the discussion into any topic that you wish. Typically the goal if you are debating someone with opposing views as you is not to display how "grand and awesome" your position is. The goal is to show the contradictions and illogical conclusions that your opponent has by using questions to draw these out.