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Reason To Hate Capitalism #233 - We have solutions to our worst problems but they don’t happen because they don’t make Capitalists enough money #capitalism #anticapitalism
Note: This post isn't only about solar power, but how any disruptive technology or alternatives which can’t be easily commodified and profited from challenge capitalism are either undermined or subverted by it.
@NateProle There is an actual physical problem here though that just manifests as negative prices under capitalism. Excess energy in the grid has to be consumed or there is gonna be a blackout. So if there is excess energy and no one who wants that energy the cost goes negative so people operating facilities to handle these situations get paid for making sure the grid doesn't collapse. In a non capitalist economy the same physical problem would still exist.
@lurkingsquiddle Of course we need to address excess electricity being consumed or stored within any system, though these decisions wouldn't be financial without capitalism, they'd be resources and needs based, and made collectively.
I'd expect there to be more storage as part of the infrastructure, which would likely evolve into more decentralised micro-grids. Without the limits of ability to pay, we could develop flexible uses for surpluses, transforming temporary excess of electricity into an opportunity rather than a problem.
The goal would be to restructure our approach to energy in a way that serves community needs directly, rather than subjecting it to the artificial scarcity of the market which must maintain prices and profits - even when this only benefits a relatively small group to the detriment of everyone else.