Right interesting post by Momus on Post-Capitalism and the creative class. It is kind of about those hip neighborhoods, where people seem to get by jobless, or freelancing, and always seem to be working on their own projects. Generally the problem with those neighborhoods are that the rents have to be low enough to support the so-called 'slacker' lifestyle. So then demand for apartments quickly outstrips the supply, and the creative types quickly get priced right out. SoHo, Dumbo, and Greenwich Village are all examples of these ex-bohemian conclaves here in NYC.

Anyway, there seems to be some interesting points there, and I have been wondering what the next counter to the capitalism model was going to be... Since communism, socialism, and anarchism all seem to have faded from people's imagination. The interesting thing about the post-capitalistic lifestyle is that is more of economic Buddhism then anything else. It poses the question of "does a bigger TV make you happier, considering everything you have to put toward getting it?" Well if this actually goes somewhere, then that might have some interesting ramifications.

Ah well, these are noble ideas, but the practicalities seem to always be the stumbling blocks. It is hard to raise kids, and it is harder still if you are laboring under self-imposed economic austerity. It can suck to be poor when there are mouths to feed.

Still in the end it is a question of people's values shifting away from the capitalistic model, (which is certainly not the only model) which can have a big long term impact down the road. Generally if a people as a whole come to realize exactly how much they are getting shafted, they force an adjustment. In this case the assumption that people will continue to organize their lives around maximizing their paycheck, even as their quality of life continues to slide- well, can it be assumed that they will not follow their self interest even if it leads outside the capitalistic model?