All hail the ice nuggets!!!
😄

Of course, specialization and division of labor also exist in communism.

So I guess the main difference always comes down to who owns the means of production, and how it’s utilized.

Anyway, I agree that trade isn’t capitalism, but trade is the backbone of capitalism.

People produce goods on their own, accumulate surplus on their own, and trade their surplus on their own, without—or in spite of—government restrictions.

That’s where Specialization & division of labor comes in.

I really need to get around to reading Marx some day.
😄

My impression is that the purer the communism, the more everything is about the group rather than the individual, and that within a true communist society, individuals wouldn’t engage in significant trade, but that the nation would.
🤔

I don’t know if trade would exist within a perfectly communist society.
That’s an interesting question!
We do know that every communist nation so far (afaik) has traded with other nations, though, so yeah, it’s not incompatible with trade.

I think the difference is who’s making the trades, though.

Guess it depends on what you picture capitalism entailing.

Wage slavery is dehumanizing, but it’s not an inherent result of private ownership of the means of production.

Either way, though, surplus, and trading that surplus for personal benefit is definitely human nature.

Pretty sure we knew that too.

That's nothing we couldn't figure out just by watching the dude try to talk, though.