The most challenging video yet.
Added 2025-03-04 05:05:11 +0000 UTCThe next video is about <gulp> why I think capitalism has died, and it's packed full of 40 minutes of receipts ranging from philosophical definitions, historical timelines, animated explainers of economic principles, and an (at times) deep analysis of what happened between 2008-2025. If I've done my job right, it'll help nearly all of my viewers make more practical sense of what is happening now.
Behind the scenes, this was initially going to be a book I wanted to write during the weird US market behavior during COVID, but since I'm (obviously) not an author, it was too difficult to really explain in a cohesive way without visual and audible elements to try and wrap things up properly.
I started the video script in October, but so many odd things happened between then and January, I once again started over as I felt like this was more important and less conspiratorial than I once believed.
As for fact-checking, filming, and editing, today marks 3 straight weeks of 14 hour days, 6 days a week. I hope to have it finally done in the next few days, and premiering on Sunday morning.
I just wanted to thank everyone for making this type of content a reality, as putting this much time into research and content like this would be utterly impossible without this Patreon.
Finally, since a lot of this video is about politicized information, I'm in the late-stage process of negotiating another sponsorship with Ground News, all of which will go to Unicef Ukraine (or another humanitarian organization related to Ukrainian citizens and children if a better one exists by the time I receive the payment). I think it's possible, with a lot of work and a bit of algorithm luck, that I can push past $100k in relief funds from organic video sponsorships by 2026.
That being said, they are CPM-based sponsors. While I have personally used Ground News long before I worked with them for the channel/fundraising, please do not sign up in support of me or this channel if you have no interest in the product as we don't get paid per sign-up or anything like that.
Anyway. I just wanted to say thank you and let you know that your support here is huge. 💗
Comments
I don't think it's just capitalism. The current times feel like a mass extinction event of the different kind. Democracy seems to fade out, education has peaked a long time ago, world health is declining, social media has eroded common decency, action on the climate crisis is deprioritized, the internet once underatood as a global haven of freedom has been turned against citizens.
cbx
2025-10-19 17:31:34 +0000 UTCBecause I couldn’t find a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqtrNXdlraM
Paul S.
2025-09-27 00:18:21 +0000 UTCpost capitalism? huh.. i still feel poor dude
Test_Subject 8
2025-09-04 17:17:24 +0000 UTCLooking forward, as c. just being a buzzword. Way deeper lies technocracy and hierarchiology and I'm looking forward to whether I find those buzz in your video. ;-)
Andre
2025-09-01 00:10:13 +0000 UTCGreat idea. I'd wager that video will pay dividends given the current climate. I'm sure you'll come up with some poignant metaphors, similes and analogies to put a bow on such a clusterfuck of a topic. Well met, nice work even though I haven't seen it, and well wishes.👍
Nathanael Lew
2025-06-08 01:58:26 +0000 UTCLike Jodi Dean's _Capital's Grave_?
nicklredwood
2025-03-23 04:57:03 +0000 UTCI haven't seen it yet. But let me guess: you're arguing that capitalism is dead and has been replaced by neofeudalism?
nicklredwood
2025-03-23 04:56:24 +0000 UTCReally loved this video. One of the main reasons I subscribed because it sent me into a binge of your content.
Cameron Rose
2025-03-22 05:38:08 +0000 UTCThis was possibly the best direction YouTube could have possibly steered me. What a ridiculously sad and great (comedy 🤌🏼) video! Currently watching how Influencers break the law and am so happy to chum it up in the discord! I’ll hopefully have more than a dollar to send when I wake up from the technocracy!
Auth Enti
2025-03-15 08:54:24 +0000 UTCHi Benn, Great video! Only comment I have is that it mostly considers the US as a closed system. Consequently, it treats Americans (even if mostly billionaires) as having more agency over their economic arrangements than is likely to be the case in practice. I strongly recommend "Trade Wars Are Class Wars" by Prof. Michal Pettis and Matthew C. Klein for an argument that the US as a "consumer of last resort" is actually forced to import the industrial policies of nations like China and Germany. So if the Chinese want to increase their manufacturing power while keeping wages low, their workers are not able to consume what they produce (by definition as the wages are artificially low). The elites who keep the surplus (that they can't possibly consume) want to invest it in US assets creating demand for them while lowering the price of manufactured goods. US consumers (who are by and large workers/producers) face few good options as long as the economy is open - they either reduce consumption, accept unemployment, or accept high levels of debt.
Jen Gor
2025-03-12 22:39:46 +0000 UTCThe yt algorithm matched your video to follow on a lesser known canadian banker making his political debut on an american talk show. Ah your video was better! Like a high speed car chase through the history of money.
Terra Kerani
2025-03-12 03:07:42 +0000 UTCExcellent work on making complex economic terms and concepts more accessible to the public . I enjoyed the video
Dedtek
2025-03-11 06:54:16 +0000 UTCDear Benn, thank you so much for this remarkable explenation on the development of the US-economy. I am deeply impressed by the way you offered an overview of this development that is clearly understandable and with enough detail so that anyone interested can continue to go for a deeper dive on the different periods if need be. Best regards and keep it up, Markus
Malcolm Jacquard
2025-03-10 15:58:22 +0000 UTCThat was fascinating. enlightening and scary! Long live the Tooting Popular Front!
Jason Read
2025-03-10 10:39:40 +0000 UTCGreat video.
Alex Pehotin
2025-03-10 10:13:55 +0000 UTCAbsolutely brilliant and necessary. Thank you so much.
Andreas Bodemer
2025-03-10 04:34:06 +0000 UTCRIP what.CD!
Taylor Thurlow
2025-03-08 08:28:53 +0000 UTCso looking forward to this... I love how you're not afraid of any topic
Mark'Oh!
2025-03-07 11:11:17 +0000 UTCLooking forward to this one!
geom
2025-03-06 14:13:22 +0000 UTCI'm personally not a fan of ayn rand at all, but you seem to have a relative open mind so that's cool. I'd suggest looking into other forms of anarchism (the ones based on a rejection of hierarchical forms of organization), I know some people end up moving over to them after being disillusioned with ayn rand / capitalism. There's market anarchists out there who like Proudhon & such so it's not only people who want to get rid of money being used to do trade (many do, but their overall analysis is relatively similar to market anarchists so I wouldn't dismiss everything they have to say based on that). Just because current society sucks & authoritarian socialist states didn't work out doesn't mean we've exhausted all options :). Also worth noting that how we organize governance and who decides the rules in society is pretty important, it is possible to have a form of direct democracy instead of politicians for example. Since you're presumably a youtube viewer, Anark on yt has a nice series called the state is counter revolutionary that might help with giving an idea for why exactly the failed socialist states ended up turning out badly and not fulfilling the general goals/purpose.
xyz 123
2025-03-06 03:24:30 +0000 UTCAs something that has now happened twice, I agree. I think monopoly is the end goal of capitalism and government and rebellion keep that in check (as history has shown). FDR pushed back against this when he broke up standard oil and the energy/train monopolies. There were union battles with police officers that ended in dead men at coal mining operations(the battle of Blair mountain, the Ludlow massacre). The government even bombed the union pushback. It makes sense that capitalism always leads to monopoly, as anyone who can make a cheaper product will, and will at the cost of human lives and the environment to capture more of the market until they can price gouge their competition and then stand atop (monopoly). Walmart, Standard oil, Uber, Doordash, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, Google. Where's the competition? Not to mention that over time capitalism WILL erode politics. Money IS power and power over the government will allow companies to eventually erode whatever protections set up for the environment or the people, at the benefit of profit. It ALWAYS starts with monopoly or duopoly being let through once and then the sharks are in, they use their excess money to erode the controls of the government or convince people to do that for them (Rupert Murdoch and the Koch family), and then they peel back the protections to the environment and people over time.
Red Dusk
2025-03-05 18:57:41 +0000 UTCLooking forward to this.
Adam Shephard
2025-03-05 15:07:46 +0000 UTCThanks Benn. Looking forward to it! Hope you're taking care of your own mental health, I can imagine making a video like this would be tough. Also hi, I'm new to this patreon but been loving your music ever since I discovered you via what.cd back in the late 2000s (you're my 3rd most listened artist; https://www.last.fm/user/beveradb/library/artists). I'm now enjoying pretty much every video on your YouTube too! Thanks for the wonderful music, and thanks for embracing private music trackers back then - it was super refreshing and definitely contributed to me becoming a long term fan. Soundtrack to a Vacant Life helped me get through some rough spots over the last decade too. Last thing I want to share is a track called "Head Rolls Off" by my favourite scottish rock band Frightened Rabbit - I know it's pretty different to the music you make but the lyric "While I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to earth" has stuck in my brain for almost 20 years and helped me deal with a bunch of stuff, including the current state of affairs in the US where I now live. Anyway, have a lovely evening, sorry for the wall of text lol :)
Andrew Beveridge
2025-03-05 03:32:08 +0000 UTCIs it dead, or has it become its "best self", i.e. what it's always wanted to be? Monopoly is the goal. It's a "feature" not a "bug".
adfaklsdjf
2025-03-05 01:35:54 +0000 UTCCame for the synths. Stayed and paid for the integrity continually on display in your research and results. The work is appreciated.
Eleventy Trillions
2025-03-04 22:32:44 +0000 UTCI appreciate you kind friend. It's why I'm here, not for distraction so much but to be reminded that there are actually so many good people and good communities to be found to exist in. I try to find the balance between being aware of the issues that exist but not being overwhelmed by it. It's a difficult line to find. And apathy is always on the other side of that line. I just find the system to me feels so turned against us all that short of a revolution it's impossible to undo. Regardless, I always find solace in places like this with good communities and continuing to do what I can where I can. Thank you.
mick rizos
2025-03-04 21:09:31 +0000 UTCSo I hope you can move past thinking and speaking about the horrors of capitalism and more towards banding together with your compatriots :) We, the regular folk, need to work together, now more than ever
Jonathan Yun
2025-03-04 20:29:09 +0000 UTCThere's this idea termed by Hank Green as the "Sad Gap", tho I'm sure the idea's existed for much longer. The Sad Gap is the space between knowing a problem exists and being engaged in solving the problem. It's the space where the problem weighs on your mind and occupies your thoughts, but you aren't yet working towards its resolution. It's a space that breeds depression and apathy, 2 emotions that seldom improve the material conditions of those suffering. In short (I'm certainly making assumptions about your conditions so take this with a grain if salt) rather than seek out music as an escape, you'd likely find more fulfillment in seeking out communities that work to help the needy and dismantle systems of oppression, i.e. capitalism. I've found infinitely more fulfillment from doing outreach with my local DSA chapter than I would have found from any amount of online argumentation and news cycle binging. As much as the big guy has any actual thoughts and desires, Trump wants people to pay attention to him and his news, rather than the actions they can take in their own communities, the agencies we still have within the husk of our democracy.
Jonathan Yun
2025-03-04 20:27:01 +0000 UTCI consider myself a Capitalist, having read a lot of Ayn Rand in the past. I acknowledge what flaws it has though. Any system gets corrupt eventually, and if people, animals, or the environment can be exploited for monetary gains without consequence, it surely happens under Capitalism. I'm open to Georgism or other alternatives that might work, but certainly not ones that have failed many times. It will be interesting to see your take.
redconfetti
2025-03-04 19:30:39 +0000 UTCthank you. I cannot thank you enough for propagating better thinking among your fans and not by way of force even. you don't attempt to command reality and demand people believe and think like you, you simply lead us down a channel of thought and let us form our own opinions. propaganda actually worth watching.
M. Hatfield
2025-03-04 18:11:59 +0000 UTCVery excited for this! Thank you a lot for putting it together! Can't wait to watch!...Also...I hope you get some proper sleep soon XDDD That's a LOT of hours.
Merlin Gyoery
2025-03-04 17:29:22 +0000 UTCI’m a huge fan of your videos and really look forward to this one. I, too, have been feeling like capitalism is morphing into a state of hyper capitalism or techno feudalism so I’m sure this video will ring true.
Mike Wescamillo
2025-03-04 16:33:55 +0000 UTClooking forward to it!
Franck Martin
2025-03-04 15:37:01 +0000 UTCI want to live in a world where my favorite friendly neighborhood synth dude doesn't have to make videos about the collapse of our republic. I appreciate your work Benn and I appreaciate how effectively you communicate. I hope this video gets a brazillion views and inspires more action. It's amazing that you are supporting Ukraine with the proceeds. I went to a rally on Saturday with my kids @ a Ukrainian church and the place was absoutely packed. I got off my ass and went to a thing and a lot of other people did too. There was a line out the door. People are pissed. More people are showing up.
baseten
2025-03-04 15:05:12 +0000 UTCI’ve tried to bring it up here and there, but people don’t seem interested in the idea that there’s a simple mechanism that could affect so much.
AquaticBorealis
2025-03-04 14:13:29 +0000 UTCI love the theme and I can't wait for the video. I've been doing a lot of reading about this myself and the best thing I can recommend that I've encountered so far is Tehcnofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis
Antero Duarte
2025-03-04 11:33:44 +0000 UTCSomething like a misguided "turbo capitalism" based on a false narcissistic narrative seems to be happening. I hope that this will be replaced by a future based on other principles and mutual communication at eye level. But who am I…I suspect 1 of many thinking similar I guess. Thanks Benn - for what was and for what’s coming
baze buster
2025-03-04 10:57:27 +0000 UTCI'm a regular consumer of some more news, and behind the bastards. Nearly all issue we see playing out in modern society land squarely at the foot of capitalism, which is the tool that enabled us to be greedy and unchecked. Music is generally my escape, but there just isn't a subculture that hasn't been adversely effected by late stage capitalism, as all your Spotify videos illude to. Looking forward to being more depressed about our broken world. More people need to be speaking about it.
mick rizos
2025-03-04 06:47:56 +0000 UTCThat was worth watching. I certainly hadnt made the connection. someone needs to remake it for the modern attention span.
Dale Carper
2025-03-04 06:28:41 +0000 UTCsounds amazing. literally can't wait to watch
A
2025-03-04 06:16:54 +0000 UTCCan't wait to watch and learn. Also, thank you for everything you do behind the scenes to help humanity that's sometimes not obvious to those just watching your videos. ✌️♥️
Bo Stephens
2025-03-04 05:22:12 +0000 UTCReally looking forward to this one!
lantertronics
2025-03-04 05:21:42 +0000 UTCJust finished reading Ray Dalio - can't wait!
Peter
2025-03-04 05:17:35 +0000 UTCYeah the form of Capitalism we have now is malignant. But there’s been something else at play, for more than 50 years now, especially in the US. And it’s making things much worse. I would highly recommend checking out The Cardboard Box Reform video on the Congressional Research Institute YouTube channel.
AquaticBorealis
2025-03-04 05:17:08 +0000 UTCThanks Ben! I was just talking with my friend last night about your bot video and the implications on the election. Videos like this really help cut through the bs which is much needed during these times. Looking forward to everything!
Owen
2025-03-04 05:09:52 +0000 UTCI’m both excited to watch and terrified of what I’ll learn. Thanks Benn.
Steven Garcia
2025-03-04 05:07:14 +0000 UTC
