There’s nothing like a philosopher to set the record straight for everyone. Corey Mohler, the mastermind behind ‘Existential Comics,’ voices his razor-sharp thoughts about the world not just in webcomic form but also in spot-on tweets. And today, we’re featuring some of his best insights about capitalism, economics, greed, and just how unjust the entire system can seem living in the 21st century.
As you’re scrolling down, remember to upvote the tweets that you found to be particularly enlightening, dear Pandas. Meanwhile, tell us what you think of Corey’s ideas in the comments. And if you’ve got any insights about inequality, finances, and the job market, we’d love to hear what you have to say, too. Got your thinking caps? Good!
More info: Twitter | Patreon | ExistentialComics.com
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Corey has been making ‘Existential Comics’ about philosophy and “the inevitable anguish of living a brief life in an absurd world” since December of 2013.
The software engineer from Portland in Oregon took an amateur interest in philosophy and decided to make it a more popular, approachable subject through the skillful use of comedy. The comic is educational, fun, and it’s something that we’ve been sneakily reading for years and years.
If you’d like to see some of Corey’s latest webcomics, you should definitely check out his website or social media. Or you could take a peek at the ones Bored Panda featured in a recent article right over here.
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In the 8+ years of being a philosophical webcomic artist, Corey has covered more than 120 philosophers. He’s also had a small spat with Elon Musk, one of the richest, most powerful men on Planet Earth.
In 2018, Corey called Elon “the villain from Atlus Shrugged.” The billionaire decided to get involved in an argument with him on Twitter, insulted the philosopher, and then ended up blocking him.
"I was super-shocked. I've tagged people before with hopes that they would respond, but I didn't even consider it because he is so big,” Corey said about the incident.
"The honest answer, if I can psychologize him, is that he is just addicted to his cult of personality, and extremely immature. The more I read about him, the more it just seems like he is stuck forever as a high school nerd."
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Way back in 2014, Corey told ‘Critical Theory’ that he first learned to draw by practicing drawing his ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ character in high school.
“Some time in college I pretty much left it behind, and I never used any kind of comic style to begin with (the first comic is roughly how my high school art looked). So it was a lot of learning and rough patches at first as I learned how to draw in a comic style, as well as drawing digitally for the first time,” he shared some insights into his interest in art.
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“Essentially I wanted to write or do something, and I took a look around the internet and realized that if you want to be popular online you have to draw some [bad] cartoons next to what you write. I figured I had enough drawing skill to pull it off, so I might as well start a webcomic,” he explained how he first got started with ‘Existential Comics.’
“I got my tablet and started practicing and writing, but it took me about a year and a half before I published my first comic. The first serious comics took a long time to produce, but I’ve gotten much more efficient now, and the art generally looks much nicer now. It was originally intended to be mostly serious comics with a few jokes thrown in, but it turns out jokes are much easier and more fun to make, so it ended up being the reverse.”
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Earlier, Bored Panda spoke about the benefits and drawbacks of capitalism with a couple of financial experts. According to finance writer and financial independence expert Rick Orford, the main issues arise when capitalism is taken to the extreme. Both extreme greed and extreme capitalism thrive when a large enough part of the population is willing to take risks.
"Remember though, greed is widely accepted to be the reason for the two largest financial crises in the last century; namely 1929 and 2008. It also creates the income inequality that’s largely seen in the United States. Indeed, while everyone, in theory, has an equal opportunity to flourish, the scales seem to tip to those with the most money," Rick explained to us during a previous interview.
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"[Capitalism] allows folks like you and me to succeed by creating or investing in businesses. Indeed, one looking to borrow money from the banks today won’t have to pay much for the loan. As such, it encourages growth. However, extreme capitalism creates a scenario where greed overtakes reason, and it risks the financial system," he suggested that capitalism isn’t ‘bad’ in and of itself.
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Rick pointed out that on the other end of the scale from capitalism you have social democracy, aka modern socialism. At its core, the system differs from capitalism by taxing citizens more.
"However, in return, citizens are given services such as free and (easily) accessible healthcare, child care, social welfare, etc. Conversely, highly capitalistic societies charge for these services, making it incredibly challenging for the poor," Rick told Bored Panda.
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A banking and investment expert who wanted to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of his job explained to Bored Panda that capitalism disproportionately rewards individual incentive while punishing a lack of it.
"As someone acquires more capital, it—on average—becomes exponentially easier to acquire even more of it, which adds to extreme wealth inequality," he shared with us.
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"It really bothers me when trillions in pension funds are wiped out only for a couple of bankers to get slapped on the wrist. Making sure that the costs of financial crises are borne by financial institutions that manufactured them (even if unintentionally), as opposed to transferring the burden to other members of society, would increase accountability,” he said.
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The expert firmly believes that free markets have led to high standards of living that are “unparalleled in human history” and believes that the system works. However, instead of pure capitalism, he advocated for capitalism with “effective social programs.”
Meanwhile, he urged critics of capitalism to consider whether there are viable, practical alternatives. "Ask yourself—do you really want to help the poor, or do you simply hate people richer than you?"
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