system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
There is no viable alternative to capitalism, though the current system can be altered to serve people's needs. CMV

(I've tried researching discussions on this topic before but I only found ones involving incredibly biased participants. Hope you guys can do better)

I honestly don't understand how there is a significant number of people who believe that capitalism* can be replaced. History shows that absolutely no ruler in a socialist or communist regime is capable of upholding their ideals. If you subscribe to the notion that socialism/communism is supposed to exist without a state, then I respond that in any circumstance, whether it's survival or business, etc, people will gravitate towards leaders, whether it's in a formal or informal fashion (for instance, my workplace has a fairly "flat" structure but even within my group, I always seek the advice of the more experienced people).

Furthermore, even though I do agree that everyone has the right to have their MOST basic needs fulfilled (via, say, some basic income that allows people to eat, drink water and practice basic hygiene with anything else having to be worked for), I don't understand how one can transition to an economic system that no longer seeks profit. Yes, infinite growth in a finite world and all that, but without profit, we have stagnation. If you were to tell me that my income would not change for the rest of my life, I would only do the bare minimum to get by, regardless of how much I enjoyed my job. I deserve to be rewarded for my efforts.

Therefore I do not understand why is it not possible to simply retool the existing system (by enforcing tax laws more harshly on large fortunes and boosting the welfare state, for instance) to allow everyone to have a living wage. Yes, some might call it implausible but I find it much less implausible than the alternative.

Forgive my lack of coherence and I understand I might have some incorrect notions about this topic but that's what I am here for. I await a hopefully enlightening discussion.

* Note: let's be exact here: I also think that when people online call for the end of capitalism, most of them are referring to the capitalism practiced IN THE UNITED STATES: As a European citizen, I honestly look at said system more as borderline Cyberpunk-esque anarcho capitalism more than anything else. Do you think the discussions I mentioned are mostly a result of semantic differences? (I have heavily considered this as well). If so, please mention it below.
gpt
Your argument assumes incorrectly that the economic system and the government are identical. Capitalism is not a system of government, and socialism is not a lack of government. You could just as easily have a totalitarian capitalist state as you could have a democratic socialist state. So in the interests of of a little clarity, I'll just tackle the economic plane:

1) There is no choice between on the one hand capitalism and the other hand socialism. The majority of modern democracies, as you note in your discussion of safeguards, use a blending of both economic systems. Neither pure capitalism nor pure socialism has ever existed on the scale of a nation-state. So there is a viable alternative to pure capitalism: socialized capitalism. At what point, through the process of retooling, does the current system become a different system? What's the minimum number of features that need to be changed before it's not capitalism anymore? 

2) Your rejection of socialism based on the economic motivation argument (you'll only work hard for the possibility of a raise) presumes that you're in a capitalist system. In a pure socialist system, you'd have everything you wanted. So why would you work hard for the possibility of a raise? A raise would get you nothing. You'd likely still work for promotion, prestige, or to prepare yourself for placement in a more satisfying job.   

3) I'd argue that history shows that no capitalist leader is capable of holding to his/her ideals. Power corrupts. It doesn't really matter what the economic system is. Plus, most of the systems you're probably thinking of failed not because of the economic system, but because of the governmental system.