Is Capitalism Evil?

[enderpotato00]

Hopefully conflict can be resolved before it gets to that level but if someone is trying to attack, then people will have to defend themselves.

Since it will be decentralized... power won't be given to some greater authority and it won't be centralized like a state. People would make decisions through direct democracy and consensus... everyone would be able to have a say. Society would be organized horizontally so everyone has the same amount of political power and hierarchical structures don't arise.

People will still take advantage of it. Plus you'll be equally poor with no innovation. Capitalism encourages competition that causes the innovations we see in our modern world.

 

[enderpotato00]

Hopefully conflict can be resolved before it gets to that level but if someone is trying to attack, then people will have to defend themselves.

Since it will be decentralized... power won't be given to some greater authority and it won't be centralized like a state. People would make decisions through direct democracy and consensus... everyone would be able to have a say. Society would be organized horizontally so everyone has the same amount of political power and hierarchical structures don't arise.

 

[justjess]

First off you cant say communist or socialist systems dont work based on the ones weve seen attempted. Every single pne of them was black listed and punished by the usa as well as the rest of the capitalistic western world to ensure they failed to mantain the status quo.

Second there really is no need to reinvent thw wheel here.. we dont need to go full communist/sociallist to improve on what we currently have. The nordic countries have successfully implemented social democracies which are much fairer then our system and have had way more successful Outcomes across the board. Theres nothing stopping us from replicating wjat they already have.. except greed.

 

[Kung Fu]

The funny things is we don't even really live in a Capitalist system. We have several companies that practically control and produce almost everything. And without "real" competition Capitalism doesn't exist, at least according to Smith.

 

[justjess]

The funny things is we don't even really live in a Capitalist system. We have several companies that practically control and produce almost everything. And without "real" competition Capitalism doesn't exist, at least according to Smith.

Im pretty sure that this is the exact endgame capitalists wanted though. If it wasnt there wouldnt be so many ridicukous regulations and obstacles that hinder regular people from being able to start businesses themselves

 

[mecca]

Read The Conquest of Bread.

 

[enderpotato00]

Read The Conquest of Bread.

It could be done, but it wouldn’t last very long.

 

[mecca]

It could be done, but it wouldn’t last very long.

I disagree. It could last.

 

[enderpotato00]

I disagree. It could last.

You’re not taking in account people. People are different. People could still take advantage of the situation and gain power. You are thinking like its a Star Trek World.

 

[enderpotato00]

I disagree. It could last.

You must be a young person. Because you don’t understand anything about Capitalism. Capitalism is not slavery, yes there are dickbag corporations, but with capitalism you CAN move up. My grandpa (Opa) started poor and through Capitalism, managed to become a scientist (studied fungi).

 

[mecca]

You’re not taking in account people. People are different. People could still take advantage of the situation and gain power. You are thinking like its a Star Trek World.

No I'm not... people try to take advantage of everything but that's not an excuse to stop trying to do anything. People have found ways to take advantage of every system and relationship that has ever existed... but what does that even matter? If someone is trying to exploit a system, there can be other systems in place to minimize that person's affect. There will also be other people there to stop someone form exploiting something they shouldn't be. I already said that communism is decentralized which already greatly limits someone taking power over others.

 

[rainerann]

The only way to minimize the opportunity for people to take advantage of a system is to reduce its size. The US is already set up to do this, which changing our system at all. We have a representative government that is collected to form "Congress." Any state and local area should have the freedom to set up something similar to what small European countries like Norway. However, this requires getting rid of most of the Federal government--not expecting the Federal government to accommodate something like this.

This is what the Libertarian party supports. In reality, the US is already set up so that if Wisconsin wanted to implement communism, they could, if we didn't have a Federal government. This is what makes most of these discussions ridiculous. We are debating illusions that are handed to us to like bread, and we are taking them like we are unable to make our own.

The only reason we are "united" in the United States is because individual states accept the same constitution. That is what is uniting us. Otherwise, we already supposed to be able to have independence in our local areas.

San Francisco actually has a city health insurance program called Healthy San Francisco that is not connected to Obamacare or Medicaid programs. It is an interesting thing to consider especially when every politician and their spouse are spewing this nonsense about what they are going to get the Federal government to change if they become elected. This is bandwagon doublespeak and unfortunately, many people don't seem to know how our government system is supposed to work, so they are jumping on.

"California is in a unique and historic position to make universal health access a realityand become a model for the rest of the nation,” Newsom said in an email. “And I know from firsthand experience that it can be done.”
Healthy San Francisco, the brainchild of then-San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, is available to all city residents, ages 18 and older, who earn up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level — $60,300 for a single person — and who have no other health coverage option. Undocumented residents are also eligible."

In the US, we have a state property tax already on all of our homes. The rate varies by state because individual states are able to set their own tax rate.

Here is alink to a chart that shows how much each state is taxed throughout the country. If San Francisco is able to implement a local health insurance plan in a city with a lower state property tax rate than Texas and New York, both states should be capable of doing the same. What people should be doing to accomplish things regarding healthcare and education, is making their complaint at the state level. The problem with this is that our tax laws support the Federal government more than the state government and essentially make the Federal government more powerful than the individual state.

So comparing capitalism with communism and debating which one is going to create utopia is somewhat ridiculous. Our government system should already be able to do more if people could spend more time understanding the system we have instead of complaining about this or that and thinking their idea for the future is the most brilliant and everything anyone else says makes them greedy, stupid, selfish, or whatever.

 

[justjess]

You must be a young person. Because you don’t understand anything about Capitalism. Capitalism is not slavery, yes there are dickbag corporations, but with capitalism you CAN move up. My grandpa (Opa) started poor and through Capitalism, managed to become a scientist (studied fungi).

Your GRANDPA went to college at a time that college was highly subsidized by the state/feds and unions were strong so wages were higher. Capitalism isnt to thank for that.

 

[enderpotato00]

Your GRANDPA went to college at a time that college was highly subsidized by the state/feds and unions were strong so wages were higher. Capitalism isnt to thank for that.

Unions were already there during the late 1800s

 

[justjess]

and? not in tgevsame form as post labor movement and im sure you knew tgat

 

[enderpotato00]

and? not in tgevsame form as post labor movement and im sure you knew tgat

But what do you think helped with that too? Oh I don't know CAPITALISM!

 

[justjess]

the labor movement - and unions as a byproduct - were a response to the unfairness of capitalism by people trying to improve their situation in a flawed system they thought they could change from the inside, ie making the most of the hand they were dealt.

It worked. Briefly. It is no longer working, that is clear as day.

 

[Damien50]

the labor movement - and unions as a byproduct - were a response to the unfairness of capitalism by people trying to improve their situation in a flawed system they thought they could change from the inside, ie making the most of the hand they were dealt.

It worked. Briefly. It is no longer working, that is clear as day.

I thought unions were created to be an intermediary between employee and employer so that someone would always have the working man's back.

 

[enderpotato00]

I thought unions were created to be an intermediary between employee and employer so that someone would always have the working man's back.

No unions were created to provide better working conditions for 19th-century Capitalism. But yes Worker's rights.

 

[justjess]

I thought unions were created to be an intermediary between employee and employer so that someone would always have the working man's back.

Both.. basically the same thing just worded different