I know people don't want to hear it, but that quirky old, dusty, grumpy bookstore you love and daydream about? an economic system which treats exponential profit as the only indicator of value is not compatible with a business model which is happy to break even and just *exist*

the old antique bookstores that are still going are kept alive largely by having bought their own building back in the mists of time, or bloody minded philanthropy from people lost to book mania (I could name a few historical figures) but who knows how long that will last

you want cute, inefficient, atmospheric bookshops and trades that value craft and heritage? then you build a society & economy that accommodates them I will take arguments on this only from people who also have an extremely specific degree in the history of books and bookstores

the people upset at this are upset because they don't like being told they can't have their cake and eat it too you can't have nice cute bumbling casual things if you create a system designed to chew them all up and destroy them in pursuit of your own profit it's simple as that

we *can* do better! we *can* figure something else out. we have alternatives to explore aren't you even *curious*? don't you think we could handle our resources better? if diehard capitalism isn't prioritising the right things, why stick with it? maybe we can try something else