Capitalism Sucks!

[Orwellian_Ghost]

All of it. Every bit.



No you see it's not a matter of proper regulation or some such madness. Capitalism is predatory in nature and will always suck the life from the vast majority of the people to serve the tiny minority of the elite class.



Capitalism is sucking the planet dry just as it is draining all our souls.

We all deserve better. Speak out now. Act up now. The hour's getting late.

[El Supremo]

1. Most people would offer an alternative rather than just knock it.

What's yours?

[Orwellian_Ghost]

5. A habitable planet

Pick one. You can't have both.

[anonymous171]

2. What is your alternative?

[Mojambo]

6. A Pluralist Commonwealth. See Gar Alperovitz's book, "America Beyond Capitalism"

Here's a review

http://www.openintegral.net/blog/?p=238

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. There have been many new ideas for this planet by advanced thinkers

vs. the old capitalism vs marxism mantra you might know and hear.

Some are noble laureates.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

8. Listen to Uncle Albert

Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.

The situation prevailing in an economy based on the private ownership of capital is thus characterized by two main principles: first, means of production (capital) are privately owned and the owners dispose of them as they see fit; second, the labor contract is free. Of course, there is no such thing as a pure capitalist society in this sense. In particular, it should be noted that the workers, through long and bitter political struggles, have succeeded in securing a somewhat improved form of the “free labor contract” for certain categories of workers. But taken as a whole, the present day economy does not differ much from “pure” capitalism.

Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers' goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.

This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism.


Why Socialism?

[slay]

21. As a sociology major I say - Amen brother - and I'm not even religious!

Capitalism IS the problem. It encourages the worst parts of humanity like greed and selfishness while ignoring any problems (global warming, pollution) that interfere with obtaining more wealth, and that's just for starters. I could go on and on about the many ways and reasons I loathe capitalism, but I think we're both already on the same page there. Unfortunately we have a lonnnnnnnng way to go before all the capitalism addicts here in America wake up and realize that capitalism itself is indeed the cause of most of our problems. Excellent Einstein piece you posted - a great read - one of my favorites - hope others will click on your Why Socialism link and read the full thing.

[jobycom]

3. True. It's almost as bad as the alternatives. nt

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Laissez Faire Capitalism Sucks A Whole Lot

Properly-regulated capitalism sucks somewhat less than the alternatives, as far as I can see,

[JVS]

15. Regulation doesn't work. Experience has shown that attempts at regulation will be subverted by...

the influence of the ruling class.

[MannyGoldstein]

24. Yes, That's True

But, historically, capitalism + democracy lead to better outcomes than do the alternatives.

[alittlelark]

7. Capitalism as Adam Smith envisioned it COULD work

Capitalism as it is practiced by the corporate powers of this world is SOCIOPATHIC.

The 'WAKE UP" call is now at 300 decibels.... why can so few hear it?

[Mojambo]

10. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones. $349.95

Available at fine retail chain stores in your area now!

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. .

:spray:

[anonymous171]

13. No shit.

Adam Smith's Capitalism didn't involve a Corporate Overclass.

[JVS]

14. No it couldn't. The first thing that people who got richer than the others would do is turn...

it into a more corrupt system that better serves their interest.

[pork medley]

16. Sorry your little vacuum-sealed vision of capitalism doesn't really exist anywhere.

:rofl:

[pork medley]

11. I suppose you've got a BETTER idea?

Didn't think so. :eyes:

[JVS]

12. That's nice, but unless you're willing to go all Cultural Revolution on people's asses, it doesn't..

mean anything.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

17. Oh

Is this what you meant by "cultural revolution?"

[Steepler0t]

18. Laissez-faire Capitalism has failed

[defendandprotect]

19. Let's dump it ---

[bridgit]

20. And here's your flow chart...

[Winnipegosis]

22. Capitalism has built America into the strongest economy in the world

as far as I can tell.

We here in Canada have been great beneficiaries of it.

[asteroid2003QQ47]

23. To find proponents of Capitalism here is astounding!

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.
- John Maynard Keynes

Chanting their mantra of something similar to, "It's better than the alternatives," they demean those who at least suggest possible alternatives while offering nothing constructive themselves.

(On the bright side, the defense of their beliefs bespeaks volumes!)

[moondust]

25. It IS about proper regulation.

As an example I would cite Japan. I'm not a Japanese specialist but a few things seem obvious. Through hard work, discipline, education, and proper regulation Japan has gone from zilch after WWII to the world's second largest economy in less than 60 years. An island nation with little or no natural resources of its own besides its people!

Japan used to have and may still have regulations that capped the salary of the top dog in a company at something like 10 or 15 times the salary of the bottom dog in the company. I think regulation like that broadly discourages the selfish pursuit of grotesque excess which is often harmful to the collective and to the environment. While wild-eyed predatory greed was/is thus generally discouraged in Japan, it is actually encouraged in the U.S. The top dog in a U.S. corporation now commonly sucks up more than 400 times the salary of the guy at the bottom thanks to the complete lack of regulation and discipline. It is obscene. Only now with these bailouts is Congress beginning to test the waters of regulating excessive corporate compensation. It should have started a long time ago.

[blindpig]

26. I see a lot of 'buts' but there ain't no 'buts' about it.

All of this qualification, 'laissez faire capitalism', 'corporate capitalism', is beside the point. Capitalism will resist all regulation, under pressure(fear of revolution)they will back off for a while, the New Deal, but they always come back for more, more, more. Same thing happened after Teddy Roosevelt's progressive reforms and trust busting. Even more than rust, capitalism never sleeps. It will always seek the maximum profit, to the detriment of anything that gets in the way, workers and environment be damned. It's like keeping a rabid baboon, you can cage it and chain it but that suckers gonna get loose and cause havoc. Best to put it down.