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Comment by constantcrying | Hacker News Reader

Trad Marxism is absolutely hilarious. Nowadays a significant portion of the population own the means of production, e.g. laptops, but somehow capitalism is going as strong as ever.

Also quite funny to see people going on about "class consciousness" when almost everybody in the first world is living a life of luxury unimaginable one hundred fifty years ago.

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I'm confused by the analogy. Let's use the iconic steel mill from the industrial revolution. Even if you gave me the machines, I still need the feed stock, electricity, and a bunch of fellow-workers (Carnegie said his workers were the most important part of his business). Sure, now most folks like us can buy a laptop and an internet connection, most business ventures need a bunch of folks working together to make a company. We love to glorify the solo-prenuer, but that's pretty rare.

>Sure, now most folks like us can buy a laptop and an internet connection,

Making you the owner of the means of production. Trad Marxist theory sees that as one important goal in abolishing capitalism, but somehow capitalism remains just as strong. Curious...

That you need others to work as well is true of all production, it is obviously true under marxism as well and marx certainly did not argue against it.

You think you can compete with Facebook using your laptop? No, the "means of production" are server farms.

Class consciousness ends at the border.

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