• ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    You could simply stop the genocide. It would be a lot cheaper.

    The idea that capitalists are supposed to be these shrewd machines that care about nothing but profit is really damaged by everything to do with Israel, because if I wanted to maximize profits I would stop doing an expensive genocide with extremely expensive side effects

    • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      well that’s the thing. the blockade isn’t “supposed” to happen. the state is supposed to crush all resistance and barriers to capital formations. the state uses public resources, while the profits are extracted and privatized.

      it is a fragile system because capital cuts all its internal costs (labor, material) to the bone, operating under the logic that the empire and it’s victims will pay the true externalized costs leaving as much of the value as possible for them to extract.

      I think the historical model of the Dutch West India Company / Westindische Compagnie (DIC/GWC) is the most instructive about how stupid capitalists are, in that all these merchant capitalists were getting loaded with their mercenaries and PMC bases, slavers, colonies, and brutal plantations making money hand over fist. just running wild. but sometimes there would be losses greater than the gains and the merchants would just decide not to pay their debts, the state would not step in to float it or back up its posessions, and the company would evaporate. a mistake the British and it’s later franchise, America would not make.

      • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        It honestly baffles me that the capitalists as a whole aren’t even good at capitalism or imperialism. They’re incredibly stupid, petulant babies who care more about doing evil and not having to share than they even care about actually making money.

          • Ildsaye [they/them]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            They want the inequality more than the wealth. There are things that secure, healthy, educated, organized workers won’t do for any price. The leverage to coerce is the real wealth to them.

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
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          3 months ago

          I mean yeah, originally bourgeoisie only taken over when aristocracy was so rotted they couldn’t even find their own jaw without a map, and even then it was basically all done by proletarian hands who had literally force burgies to take the power.

      • huf [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        the UK had this problem with its east india company too, but that’s why they eventually took over its lands and started managing it for themselves. if they were gonna have pay to put down the rebellions that periodically broke out cos the EIC was squeezing india dry, they might as well just take over.

    • zed_proclaimer [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      Some of the bourgeoise understand short term losses for long term gains. Any costs to them now will be recuperated by having Greater Israel control the entire levant and sea routes and oil fields. Israel is an investment to then that runs in the red upfront but in the long term will pay off

    • Utter_Karate [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      They found out that it is because all the money was siphoned off to finance one guy having eight different plantation themed weddings in a year months ago. Same time they found out why your military wasn’t really that effective (guy had to get divorced seven times and is not allowed to make a net loss).

      • egg1918 [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        Initially they probably were. But since things have calmed down a bit and it’s clear that Ansarallah are only targeting ships supporting the genocide, other ships are getting through unharmed.

      • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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        3 months ago

        Yeah but then they started operating with the assumption that they could charge those prices and some brain genius suggested taking the old route but charging the same (i assume).

        The more probable answer is that labor costs a lot (if you wanna pay out big bonuses to the c-suite instead of staffing a ship with more than a skeleton crew), bunker fuel costs money and going around the Cape means they’re spending more time between ports and using more money to do it. Them taking longer probably also risks contracts due to JIT supply that we run with these days.
        To speak more to labour costs: Almost all innovation is shipping is driven by the question “how can we have fewer people doing the same task”. You have to be pretty self reliant working on ships these days, because there’s rarely a lot of people overseeing you, even if you’re an FNG. Or so I’m told.

  • Dolores [love/loves]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    i swear there was some talk about shipping companies doing well because the cape-route allowed them to charge clients more? how can maersk fail to pass along the higher transport costs to its customers?