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The post that was quoted here has been removedI've read opinion pieces making the point that capitalism per se is not the problem, it is capitalism dominated continuous quest for (1) short term profits without (2) a measure of environmental impact and (3) equitable social distribution.
21 Aug 18
Originally posted by @js357I believe that Capitalism is a byproduct of the free market system.
I've read opinion pieces making the point that capitalism per se is not the problem, it is capitalism dominated continuous quest for (1) short term profits without (2) a measure of environmental impact and (3) equitable social distribution.
I'm not an economist but that's what I think.
I also think that the extremes, full blown Communism and cowboy Capitalism, and more alike than we think.
They both strive for extreme concentration of wealth.
The only difference being who holds the keys to that wealth.
The state or private corporations ?
The post that was quoted here has been removed"For all the deepened divisions of America, many voters occupy the big
prairies of belief in between the populist surge of Trumpworld and those
who think that the answer to modern economic woes is the promise to
make more stuff free. If the extremes of politics feel like the exciting place
to be, however, centrists have to define their own radical agenda with
much greater verve. Outsourcing that will leave centrist Democrats with
little to run on but their pride and legacy – and that never carries the crowd."
Normally I would agree, but at the rate Donald Trump's legal situation is degenerating, I predict Donald Trump and the entire GOP will be so politically weakened by 2020 the Democrats will not need a cohesive and intelligent message to regain power.
21 Aug 18
1 edit
The post that was quoted here has been removedAn interesting question, but impossible to determine at this point since we won't know the full extent of Russia's ties to Donald Trump, the NRA and by extension, the entire GOP for several more years until the legal process runs it's course. The wheels of justice turn slowly.
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21 Aug 18
The post that was quoted here has been removedI do not suggest defining "capitalism per se" using the definition of Laissez Faire capitalism. If we are to define it, I suggest starting with the Wikipedia article which begins "Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.[1][2][3] Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets.[4][5]"
Starting this way, owner-specified deductions* from gross income for social equity and environmental costs can be envisioned before profits are calculated.
*Of course this is an academic, perhaps naive, starting point,
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The post that was quoted here has been removed"I would submit that nothing in capitalism "per se" (in itself) is intrinsically bound with humane values."
Then we need to insist that the cost of furthering humane values be attached, even if "un-intrinsically," to the obligations of those wishing to prosper from investment in a capitalistic system. This is the essence of progressivism in a capitalistic economy.
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The post that was quoted here has been removedI believe it is legitimate for a democracy to saddle corporations wishing to operate within it, with financial costs that the corporation may not believe are "intrinsic" to its capitalistic business, such as for example the long-term sustainability of the physical environment of the host .country and measures to protect the work force economically to some degree in case the business goes belly up and exits the country. Of course the state has to realize that it is in competition with other states for the corporation's access to its resources and work force.
This is an admittedly simplistic first-pass approach to progressivism in a global economy.
22 Aug 18
Originally posted by @js357Well, let’s try lots of different versions of capitalism... see how it pans out?
I've read opinion pieces making the point that capitalism per se is not the problem, it is capitalism dominated continuous quest for (1) short term profits without (2) a measure of environmental impact and (3) equitable social distribution.
Oh yeah. We did.
And this is how it pans out.