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Economics & Capitalism
Is capitalism a flawed system? I have been reading some anti-capitalist literature on the internet, but I am questioning the authenticity of what it says. What do you think? Or, what would be better alternatives to capitalism if they'd be better systems? I recall slightly seeing some appreciation for the works of Marx here on NewBuddhist.
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Regulated capitalism (where greed isn't allowed to run amok) combined with some socialist features (Social Security, welfare, Medicare, etc.) with an equitable tax structure, like the US had in the Post-WWII period up to Reagan, works fairly well. Still, it's based on the need to constantly expand its market. The planet is finite, so you can see that eventually, the system will run out of new people to sell washing machines and widgets to, not to mention the environmental disaster that results when you have to sell energy-consuming machines to the entire planet.
Socialism in theory sounds pretty good, but it hasn't worked in practice. For one thing, it requires a huge bureaucracy to manage it, and that bureaucracy is expensive to maintain. Socialism doesn't have any better environmental record than capitalism.
So it's up to younger generations to figure out a new system that takes into account protection of the environment as well as worker's rights, fair wages, etc. But even if some creative geniuses did figure out a workable, sustainable economic system, they'd first have to slay the dragons of Corporatocracy before they could put their plan into place.
Good luck with all that.
They also tend to argue that capitalism is ultimately an exploitative system dominated by an expropriator class that expropriates massive amounts of wealth in the form of uncompensated labour from working-class people, who themselves are forced to sell their labour for a wage.
Personally, I think there's merit to many of these argument, and Marx's Captial is a great place to start if you're interested in learning more about critiques of capitalism and critical economic theory in general.. If you don't have the time or motivation to read Marx's Captial, however, I highly recommend listening to David Harvey's lecture series on Capital.
In addition, I think that the exploitation, alienation, and commodity fetishism of the present system can be gradually eliminated via a more socialized mode of production. And while I'm not sure how such a system could be successfully implemented, I like David Schweickart's ideas on what he calls 'economic democracy' (e.g., see "Economic Democracy: A Worthy Socialism That Would Really Work").
Utopian aspirations are nice (read communism here) but in all the countries where it has been tried, it has resulted in tremendous deprivation and death. I know true communism hasn't actually been actualized anywhere and maybe there is a reason for that; I believe the reason is that at it's heart it ignores human motivation and the human condition. Most human beings aren't enlightened beings that want to see their fellow man do well. In fact the reverse is true. It also ignores the inevitible human hiearchies that will result in any power structure, someone is going to rise to the top. Strong ideology in the hands of a Pol Pot, Joe Stalin, or the good Chairman Mao can be quite deadly. Fascism was really only seen in Germany, Italy and Spain, so that political structure never really had the opportunity of years that the communist experiment had in multiple countries. Would I give fascism another shot? Hell no! It's inherently flawed and the end result is dictatorship and murder. In fact both extremes of the political poles,either right or left, are remarkably the same. Their flags and slogans are just different. Can anyone show me any difference between Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler? Capitalism run amok is nothing I want, but can capitalism be even closely compared to the brutality that has been seen in other forms of governance?
How about that "Middleway"
Socialism while pleasant sounding is financially impossible to sustain for more than a generation of two. (see Greece,Spain, etc). Communism was the most atrocious system of government ever established, killing more than the Fascist regimes did. Fascism and Communism were both similar, being statist and totalitarian at heart.
It's people that are flawed.
How is capitalism great when in the United States that middle class incomes only raised about 3% while the Mega rich's income only raised nearly 100% since Reagan?
http://stateofworkingamerica.org/who-gains/#/?start=1918&end=2008
Sounds like Capitalism is a economy that only benifts the people who know how to abuse it.
An honest question for you...do you think it is better for everyone to have a generally equitable income, albeit low across the board, or for there to be large numbers of rich and poor, where some succeed fantastically and others don't?
I am very ambitious in the work I do, and something of a workaholic. At my first full time job, I was an entry-level house painter along with a few others of the same age. At the end of the summer, my boss felt that I was the hardest worker of them, so I was promoted and made over double an entry level painter by my second and third years. All pay was based on commission, so there was an incentive to be a better worker than others, because you'd make more money.
The whole company was a microcosm of capitalism. A worker would sell their labor for a mutually agreed amount based on the level of their skill and effort they put in. There was by necessity inequality, because the best painters and managers made 2 or 3 times as much as the entry painters or those who did not apply themselves.
Is there anything wrong with that?
At least, the ones that I have encountered.
I've worked for a few others. At Sam's Club, my gripe was that there was no incentive or commission pay. I made the same pay as the lazy guy I had to work with, even though my productivity was much better than his. So I left and found work elsewhere.
You really have to be ambitious, especially in this market. Show up looking well-dressed, speak clearly, and be polite. Goes a long way.
Also during my time at Rent-A-Center we had a payday loan side. Our customers will get a payday loan to pay bills. Guess what? They will use their payday loan to pay off OUR rent-to-own side! What a complete circle of pure profit! Rent-A-Center is a capitalist dream! Also our work environmental is an example of Capitalist's social Darwinism. You either have to suck up to the boss or even have affairs with your boss or district managers to work your way up the ranks. Also lying to place blame onto lower rank employees. My boss once said, "You do know you are nothing? We pay you a good wage. There are 20 other people just waiting to replace you.!"
I also work for retail now. I love my job and I work my ass off, but it is still not fair. Companies will purposely prevent you from working 40 hours a week to prevent you from getting even health befits or even vacation hours. You need to work 35 hours a week to get .5 hours of vacation time. They push for health savings accounts than actual insurance.
We all work hard for our jobs, but in reality. As we work hard. Upper management will get the credit of your work and profit i much more important than your life.
Welcome to the realities capitalism my friend.
BTW did you know majority of retail employees who work nearly 35-40 hours a week are on FOOD STAMPS!!
As for your job, there are other jobs. I know the economy is bad, but you should look for another job as you keep the current one in the meantime.
No, not everyone does do that, as much as it is sensical. At Sam's Club, there were lots of people who would come dressed in all sorts of bizarre clothes for an interview, and if hired, just wouldn't even show up for work.
As for the Boeing Engineer, if he can't find a job, then he SHOULD work for McDonald's. As bad as it is, it's better than nothing.
And frankly, there are too many people on food stamps. If you have a full-time job, it's outrageous that you should be on food stamps.
Heck my neighbor has been unemployed for 99 weeks. Why? None of the jobs out there have insurance to help pay for his 3,000 dollars worth of medical bills.
BTW let me start with student loans. US government doesn't care if you are homeless, poor, or staving. You gotta pay the 400 bucks a month of student loans.
"Get a job or starve! Food stamps just continues evil welfare state!"
What decisions were made about those loans? Could you or someone else have gone to a more affordable school? Or passed up on going to college? When you sign an agreement saying you will pay off the debt, then that is what you are contractually bound to.
And still, you have not provided any concrete solutions to this.
After local and federal taxes, many business owners already pay upwards of 50% of their income to the government or higher. Give me an actual number that is a "fair share." 60? 70? 90?
Although it is a mixed economy.
Also even though Scandinavia isn't a perfect example of Socialism, but it's a better economic model than America.
@B5C: "In a society where we give Trillions of dollars to banks and trillions of dollars in wars"
That's wrong too and it must stop, but more increases in the size and power of government is not the answer.
So that is what I should expect from a goverment? That is how you define their role?
How do you uncorrupt government? A large govenment with little or no accounatability, doesn't contribute to this problem?
So you don't get me wrong, I view both parties as essentially the same. Their both about big government, big spending (war and social programs), corporatism, neither are fiscally responsible, they both like and continue wars and our empire building and neither has sufficient regard for the constitution- Bush's Patriot Act and Obama's NDAA. I honestly think its irrelevant whether you vote repub or dem-two sides of the same coin.
I don't think the government should just give everyone the same amount of points (aka communism) but I think it should help all the players to learn how to play the game and prevent cheating.
That is what the current American government suppose to be, but the problem is that the 1% has control of government and turned off the watchdog or turned it into a puppy.
Most Americans who want to run for office to fix the system can't because they are not RICH to be in government.
The alternative to Capitalism isn't socialism. Socialism doesn't work either, I already posted on that. The alternative is to invent a new system that takes into account environmental costs of extracting and using fossil fuels, etc. etc. (see first post). I think it's do-able. Humans are capable of coming up with a workable system. But first the corporations need to be de-fanged. That seems to be the hard part.
Ok, cw, while what you describe isn't socialism per se, it is a bit like Progressivism.
The bigger the government is, the less th e individual matters. Once the government takes responsibility for all the things historically depending on individual effort, what point is there to life other than to live as livestock?