Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Capitalism is a competition. [...] You won because someone lost. This is false, and frankly a bit insulting.
To expand... it's false, because wealth is not a zero sum game. There is WAY more wealth around on earth in 2017 than there was in 1917, 1017, or 117. Most of the wealthiest folks get rich by inventing/creating new wealth, not by stealing from others. If capitalism was just a competition, we'd still be fighting over castles and wheat and Trojan women. Cars, computers, and indoor plumbing wouldn't exist.
Agreed.
> There is WAY more wealth around on earth in 2017 than there was in 1917, 1017, or 117
Agreed. Also inequality is higher than ever.
> Most of the wealthiest folks get rich by inventing/creating new wealth, not by stealing from others.
False. They get rich by extracting surplus out of the new wealth created by someone's labor. Whether we call that stealing or not I don't care.
> If capitalism was just a competition, we'd still be fighting over castles and wheat and Trojan women. Cars, computers, and indoor plumbing wouldn't exist.
As I said, wealth is not a zero sum game.
But for someone to be rich, someone has to be poor. By definition. For someone to extract surplus, someone has to create value--i.e. work. By definition.
Now, you could argue that in a society with a lot of wealth, one can be "poor by definition" or a salaried worker, and still live a life in dignity. I concede that this could be a theoretical possibility. It could make for an interesting science fiction novel.
In most parts of the real world (including the USA), being poor is miserable and doing salaried work is alienating and most often exploitative.
