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Things are feeling pretty darn dystopian right about now. Oh, capitalism has pretty much always seemed to have this edge of unfairness and greed to it, but these days, things are reaching nightmare levels of aaaaAAAA and No, God, Please, No! Inflation is rearing its ugly head and many workers feel like their wallets are getting thinner and thinner. Energy prices are up. The cost of rent is up. Food prices are rising faster than bread yeast. And the stock market is in a pretty confusing place. So, yeah, things are looking pretty grim. And with how everything is costing a bit extra, you (yes, you), have effectively taken a pay cut.

Angel, the founder and moderator of the ‘Humans of Capitalism’ Instagram page, documents the most egregious and dystopian examples of capitalism and corporatism, and shares them with their 351k-strong community of followers. We’ve collected some of their best posts, showing the worst side of the reality you’re currently living in, to share with you today, Pandas. Scroll down to lose your faith in humanity (though if you want it back again later, take a peek at our super wholesome post full of animals and awesome people).

If you enjoyed this list and would like to see some more apocalyptic, soul-draining economic stuff, feel free to check out Bored Panda’s previous feature of the ‘Humans of Capitalism’ project in this article right here.

More info: Instagram | Patreon

#2

humans_of_capitalism Report

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Saint Thomas
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup. And stop saying "expat" for Europeans or Americans who go live in another country, especially poorer countries. Just say "immigrant"

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#3

humans_of_capitalism Report

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Jrog
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While the story has a sliver of truth (Reflective paint was tested on reindeer in Finland in 2014, the test failed along with similar others) the photo is fake and is part of a series by a visual designer and digital artist https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-glowingantlers-finland-idUSL1N2OP2K9

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During an earlier in-depth interview, Angel, the founder of ‘Humans of Capitalism,’ opened up about their project and shared their thoughts about economics with Bored Panda.

"I was inspired by a lot of things, like the absurdism of the current capitalistic system and its flaws, the injustice that 99% of the people experience every day while they are at work, shopping, and home," they told us about what made them create the Instagram page in the first place.

#5

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Jrog
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's called "hostile architecture". Sometimes makes sense, most often it's just harassment. The contrast with the advertisement is striking though.

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#6

humans_of_capitalism Report

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Will Tiernan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The "myself" looks greyed out (i.e. it would not do anything if clicked). Presumably it's a standard "form" but that option has been disabled for when requesting death certificates.

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According to Angel, consumers are bombarded, non-stop, with information to build up their consumerist spirit so they can keep capitalism alive."A not-so-famous movie from the late '80s, 'They Live' (1988), explains this concept perfectly. I believe everyone should watch it if they want to combat the urge of consumerism and mind control," they told us.

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In their opinion, “human greed cannot be measured,” which leads capitalism to evolve into corporatism.

#7

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Ahmad Hamad
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how nobody predict that Louis Vuitton is actually Lord Voldemort!!

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#8

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Aran Lindvail
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My workplace has a few child-friendly office rooms for short term situations when parents have no childcare available. It's actually a good thing, as the alternative would be unpaid leave for the parent. So this picture might simply be something similar.

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"We often see many small businesses collapsing because they are not able to fight with the current trend or to combat with the giant competitors. So they have two options, close the business or sell it," Angel pointed out that small businesses have to constantly compete with well-established, powerful companies.

"We have many companies that have been bought by enormous giants that I do not want to mention and they won't stop there, they are trying to get their hands on any business category. Is there a solution for it? I believe that there can be some solutions, but capitalists will work and find a way to bypass those solutions and continue with the destruction of the system while being totally ignorant about it.”

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#13

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Libstak
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Has to be America. If you fall and sprain your ankle plus dislocate your finger, will cost you 2 visits...

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In their opinion, all systems, whether we’re talking about capitalism or socialism, can eventually become corrupt. This happens when ‘bad’ behavior isn’t punished.

"If we go back in time where socialism or communism were at their prime, we can see that the top of the head of the system was corrupted and that resulted with the fall of the system," they pointed out that corruption was endemic in these cases.

#16

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jade s
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This may not be dystopian, just out of context. Some japanese companies allow nap breaks in the afternoon.

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According to Angel, humanity as a whole may be moving toward a “utopia” of "automated communism where machines will produce, deliver, and take care of food supply, clothing, health." Though that still leaves the question as to who will control the distribution system and how it operates. That’s where the power is. What’s more, some people will end up losing their jobs as they become replaced by machines.

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"The idea of getting free food, water, health, clothing, is nice and, in reality, if we take a closer look at the current system we can see that more people are let off and replaced by machines. For example, we can see that McDonald's workers are fired and they have been replaced with machines that work on touch or by sound and they take orders, forward orders to the employees, etc."

#22

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Agfox
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Change of mind, fortunately, it won't be dismantled https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/06/rotterdam-bridge-wont-be-demolished-for-jeff-bezos-yacht-trouw/

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The founder of ‘Humans of Capitalism’ told Bored Panda that, eventually, more and more people will lose their jobs due to automatization with barely any need for human input. That way, businesses will be able to maximize their profits and reduce employee costs.

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#27

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Ross Warren
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How does dancing like a moron for the amusement of idiots help the war effort?

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"I believe that 50 years from now machines will provide food, clothing, healthcare services, and much more, by themselves, with little to no employees monitoring them. But there is an issue with that. You will leave millions of people jobless and cause huge riots as the famous quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau goes: 'When the people shall have no more to eat, they will eat the rich.'"

You know, when we envisioned living in a cyberpunk dystopia, we thought we'd have a lot more neon and cool body modifications. Alas!

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Tell us how you're dealing with all the recent financial pressure, dear Pandas. Are you worried about the future or are you hopeful? How do you stay optimistic during hard times? What would you change about the way the world runs if you could do anything? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

#31

humans_of_capitalism Report

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Edgar
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Include the photo of gatherings/concerts organized to fight against pollution, where the place is left covered with litter...

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#33

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Fenchurch
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Near me on the last shopping weekend before Christmas 2020, at the entrance to a major supermarket, blocking the entrance for everyone, the idiots in charge thought having the town brass band play was a good idea. The number of covid cases that Christmas was huge and we went back into lockdown.

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#37

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Downunderdude
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not sure how this shows 'most egregious and dystopian examples of capitalism and corporatism'?

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Josh Schrank
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

destroy a tree's natural shade-giving foliage so you can strap an umbrella to it to get shade.

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manalonedies
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If only there were a growing, living thing that could give shade...

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JMil
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The umbrella cartel lobbied congress to remove all shade trees.

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Elin Calliel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cut down a shade giving tree and turn what’s left into an umbrella stand in order to provide shade. Got it.

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Jo Morris
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If the tree had branches and leaves, there would be no need for an umbrella in it. Not sure if it's an example of capitalism and corporatism or more a case of over-zealous tree-pruner.

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Jason Leaf
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Society is improved when men plant trees the shade from which they will never see.

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Al Padilla
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Must the planter have a 46XY karyotype? I suspect you're using an old quote....

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Christina Odermatt
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1 year ago

This comment has been deleted.

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MadamGreenIce
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reminds me of Joni Mitchell's big yellow taxi. Cut down the tree, install a brolly.

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Lonecoolman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

SO SMART. NOT LIKE HE PARKED HIS CAR AND RAN IT WITH AIR ON SITTING INSIDE IT.

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Nicole Tomme
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey if the umbrella fits, I would sits... in the shade.

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TheEndIsNigh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So...basically you could have left that one tree in its natural state so that not only could it continue to thrive, but proved natural shade. Instead you chop off all the branches (yet oddly still painting the trunk to "protect" the tree you just destroyed) and slap up an umbrella. Genius. /s

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Stoopham McFernybabes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not sure how much judgement you can caste without more info, here. We’re the branches dying and dangerous? Was the painting done before the branches got sick? What other structures are around the tree? Did vandals break the tree? Like, there are a lot of possibilities.

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#38

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mulk
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this company have a notice on its closed door: EVICTED ^^'

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#40

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Note: this post originally had 77 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.