Capitalism did not form as a response of socialism- It formed to accrue capital. On the other hand, socialism *did* form as a response to capitalism. Socialism exists to call into question the sins of capitalism. Ergo, it is not possible to destroy socialism through hostility, because it forms in the heart of the people as a *result* of the hostilities of capitalism.

Therefore, the solution of “capitalism vs socialism” isn’t a matter of capitalism destroying socialism. That’s the *least* possible outcome. If capitalism is to survive it must absorb socialism or eventually be destroyed, either from inside or out.

And anyone who says argues that capitalism can’t exist without its negative aspects, and cannot coexist with socialist ideas, this person is woefully ignorant of various economic systems in our world, and ignorant of history at large. I’d never argue that there’s such a thing as a flawless economic system or a flawless government type, but we can take steps to improve.

What use is an economic model that is a detriment to the majority of humanity? At that point, what is really being built? Can you even call it building when over half the people have livelihoods that get continuously more volatile? If capitalism is so good at improving things, then why are things getting worse in our primarily capitalistic society when you compare it to the economic advances of the 50s and the 90s, when our regulations not only were more socialistic but also coexisted with economic growth that was more general and more pronounced?

There’s a terrifying aspect of corporations: Although they are comprised of humans, they do not benefit humanity. These things are machines made of internal rules that have one goal: To accrue income at all other costs. This is orthogonal to the human existence. Capital is useful to humans as an intermediary trade good, but it has no other uses. There are individual humans who, due to a psychological flaw, will obsess over a thing to their own destruction. An addict will die because of an overdose, an adrenaline junkie will die from making a stunt too dangerous, and a serial killer or an arsonist will keep killing and burning to chase the thrill even as the destruction represented by the authorities closes in on them. Would you balk at the idea that an individual could obsess over money in the same way, that they will destroy everything, including themselves, for that thrill? Wouldn’t a corporation, headed by an individual(and, in the US, not distinct from an individual) do the same to others, to humanity, to the world? To itself? Our brains are made of neurons that cannot each comprehend the brain and its desires, and organizations are made of individuals who cannot fully comprehend the whole and its consequences.

Sure, our technology has advanced, but show me how that is *due* to our current economic situation. Can you even prove that our technology is better *because* of the legislature of *this* decade and not that of thirty years ago? Because it is how it is, and the other thing is how it is, therefore one resulted in the other? Do you believe that knowledge is the result solely of regulation which is some vague level loose than another level of regulation, rather than the work of passionate and dedicated thinkers?

Even if that were the case, there comes a time when the things that benefited us in the past become irrelevant and unwanted. We benefited once from slavery, but we put that away. Nazi Germany did horrific medical experiments on innocent unwilling people, and today we recognize the horror of those acts even though we today have medical knowledge that descended from it.  If we slay an evil being and our lives are better for it, that does not mean we should worship the act of slaughter itself. This is not hypocrisy. It’s called growth.

I would never go so far as to say that capitalism hasn’t enabled growth, and that growth hasn’t enabled an elevated human experience. But it’s one thing to value the tool that is fire, and another to throw sacrifices into it. We don’t have to set our homes on fire to keep ourselves warm. We can control it if we *choose* to, and still get all the benefits without the carnage.

The key is moderation. Capitalism needs socialism whether it knows it or not.