Despite 'scientific', still utopic
I tried really hard to read this book without any bias. As someone with open-minded views on social aspects, and without any attachments to left- or right-wing thinking, I started looking for content considered foundational to modern socialism, just for fun and curiosity. I also put myself in the author's shoes, considering he wrote this many years ago, when the human species was at a different time and stage of development. Since then, we've had at least two major wars, the invention of the internet, and so many other things that are vastly different from the time of the Industrial Revolution, when this book was written. Even after reading, I still disagree with many aspects of the proposed "Scientific Communism." As we evolve as humans, we can't detach from the fact that technology and a globalized world don't allow us to live in a regime where people work only to produce sufficient amounts for communities, without any surplus that can be exchanged for profits, hence accumulating capital. Imagine a small community or town trying to live only with just enough food, enough clothes, enough construction materials, etc. Where does technology fit into this scenario? How can we develop science? Unless in this kind of world we live as primitives again, it's not a possibility when thinking with a 21st-century mind. Also, this theory completely denies the fact that, as humans, we prioritize our security and self-preservation. The moment the human race stopped acting like hunter-gatherers and started to concentrate in small groups around plantations, it was an inevitable path for communities to expand and interact with other growing communities. With that, they naturally began to transact goods among themselves. We can't regret the knowledge we have nowadays. I agree that capitalism isn't perfect, and money, as we know it today, is far from ideal. I strongly disagree with the flood of printed money by governments without any guarantees. Since the end of the gold standard, we've lost track on this matter. Also, this isn't the only problem with modern capitalism, but as it stands, it's the worst, yet best, way to govern these days.
