# Thoughts on Hacking Capitalism By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-08-19 How does one go about hacking capitalism? First, one must understand how it works and what drives it. Primarily, capitalism believes that individual motivations left mostly unchecked will result in the betterment of all. Any restrictions on individuals only serve to limit the net social benefit. For example, if one institutes a policy that restricts how someone can make money, one is limiting the creation of jobs that support that industry. A pure capitalist thus dislikes regulations and controls. Of course, few people are pure capitalists. We all acknowledge that some things should not be permitted, such as stealing someone's organs and selling them to the highest bidder. This example is extreme but shows the beginning of how someone could hack capitalism. One could hack capitalism by doing something that generates wealth in an unregulated and questionable segment of society. For example, consider giving loans to people who can't afford them and charging them a massive amount of interest, as seen in payday loans. It's not technically illegal, many people need the money for unexpected expenses, and you'll gladly give them some of it now in exchange for taking a large chunk of it. If one is willing to do this and live with it, this is one way to hack capitalism: find where human needs and regulation gaps overlap. Another way to hack capitalism that feels less "icky" is to find gaps in corporate employee work regulations and exploit them for personal gains. This is the basis for the quiet quitting and overworking movements. Quiet quitting is doing the bare minimum to keep one's job because many corporations cannot enforce regulations about doing more work. Most don't regulate it all. There is only a myth that they are regulated. The myth goes that if one works hard, one will not only keep their job but also be fulfilled, rewarded, and potentially promoted. But, read through the employee handbook and rules of the organization. There is no such thing there. At most, the company will highlight that employment is "at will," meaning the employer and the employee can choose to terminate the relationship at any time with no reason. Some lucky individuals may get stock bonus promises that vest in the future, but there are no guarantees that any of this is real, and the only requirement is that one is employed at the time with the company. There is no requirement that the work be good or the employer must keep the person employed on the payout day. They could fire them the day before reaching it without reason. It seems only reasonable that this is absolutely a gap in the regulation that hardly seems "social" and "we are all in this together." Thus, quitting quietly is a hack worth considering. What one does with their new free time naturally leads to the other hack: overworking. This is when one has multiple jobs. Again, most corporations do not regulate this because it is legally questionable within a capitalistic society. Suppose a corporation does have it as a policy and fires someone for working a side hustle or another job. In that case, I suspect it will not stand up in court because what judge and jury will give up their power by saying a corporation can limit what a person does during their free time? Revolutions and riots have happened for less reasonable things. Of course, I am no lawyer, and one should not take legal advice from me. But, one should be aware that hacks, by definition, are on the edge of what is socially acceptable but legally possible. Hacking capitalism is no different. If one finds these hacks' ever-increasing necessity to survive unnerving, consider the system itself and what changes are needed for progress. #### Related Items [[Capitalism]] [[Hacking]] [[Systems Thinking]] [[Work]] [[Organization]] [[Business]] [[Decision-making]] [[Economics]] [[Legal]] [[Society]]