I want to say that i appreciate your nuance on the subject. You have raised many good points, and i will take a lot of what you have said into consideration in my future discussions on the topic.

I also want to give kudos on your shift from focus on income to more the relationship with that income which i agree can create problems especially when it comes to power imbalances. The overfocus on the income is as you put it "obscurantist".

If a machine produces a thousand cubes but also produces at least one octahedron, what would you describe the function of the machine as being?

You raise a very good point here as well. One which makes sense with your analogy.

I've also gone through the articles you posted, and there's some pretty eye-opening stuff in there.

I guess this is in some ways an admittal of defeat. I do not know whether i completely subscribe to a "communism is the next best". I think i still need to educate myself more on this topic.