Capitalism is so broken it can’t be fixed

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,894
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
2-23-2013

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/capitalism-is-so-broken-it-cant-be-fixed-2013-02-23?siteid=yhoof2

Capitalism is so broken it can’t be fixed



Saving capitalism will not save America



Washington’s endless political drama has already been transformed by capitalism. So has Wall Street, Corporate America, Big Oil and the entire economy been transformed into a bizarre circus Adam Smith would never recognize. Capitalism is now an out-of-control Frankenstein monster that changed everything. Now it’s “too powerful to change.”

Republicans wrong in thinking the rich create jobs. Democrats wrong because “growth won’t happen if they distribute the wealth of the wealthy to everyone else.” Old ideological rhetoric.

“One of the disturbing facts of history is that so many civilizations collapse. Few people, however, least of all our politicians, realize that” so “many of those civilizations share a sharp curve of decline,” often “a decade or two after it reaches its peak population, wealth and power.”

So why do leaders fail us?

History keeps repeating its lessons over and over through many millennia. But we never learn.

Hopefully after a new black swan shocks us, we’ll all wake up, wise up and do something truly innovative ... like reinstate Glass-Steagall.
 

Smoblikat

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2011
5,184
107
106
2-23-2013

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/capitalism-is-so-broken-it-cant-be-fixed-2013-02-23?siteid=yhoof2

Capitalism is so broken it can’t be fixed



Saving capitalism will not save America



Washington’s endless political drama has already been transformed by capitalism. So has Wall Street, Corporate America, Big Oil and the entire economy been transformed into a bizarre circus Adam Smith would never recognize. Capitalism is now an out-of-control Frankenstein monster that changed everything. Now it’s “too powerful to change.”

Republicans wrong in thinking the rich create jobs. Democrats wrong because “growth won’t happen if they distribute the wealth of the wealthy to everyone else.” Old ideological rhetoric.

“One of the disturbing facts of history is that so many civilizations collapse. Few people, however, least of all our politicians, realize that” so “many of those civilizations share a sharp curve of decline,” often “a decade or two after it reaches its peak population, wealth and power.”

So why do leaders fail us?

History keeps repeating its lessons over and over through many millennia. But we never learn.

Hopefully after a new black swan shocks us, we’ll all wake up, wise up and do something truly innovative ... like reinstate Glass-Steagall.

So your idea to a government with too much power is to give it MORE power? Typical liberal.
 

Agent11

Diamond Member
Jan 22, 2006
3,535
1
0
Sort of ironic that trading with a communist government in hopes of making them capitalist is what ruined our economy eh?
 

postmortemIA

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2006
7,721
40
91
So your idea to a government with too much power is to give it MORE power? Typical liberal.
gov't might have a lot of power over its subjects - citizens, but surely it doesn't have much power over multinational corporations.
 

FaaR

Golden Member
Dec 28, 2007
1,056
412
136
Sort of ironic that trading with a communist government in hopes of making them capitalist is what ruined our economy eh?
That's funny in a sort-of anecdotal way, as China has never actually been communist other than in name, and hasn't even tried to appear to be since the 1980s when the free market reforms that have powered their nation's rise started...

Current capitalist economic system is clearly hella broken for sure, and like with a termite-infested old house, I'm pretty certain there'll be no fixing it without tearing it all down first. That's going to be very painful, but since there's too many cogs and gears in the machinery who are only interested in keeping the current works running - shakily as it is - for as long as possible there's no other alternative.

Assuming human civilization somehow manages to survive the next couple decades, we're still going to need some sort of capitalist economic system. Planned economy is possibly the only thing that's frankly even more effed up than what we've already got. Competition and for-profit ventures are an excellent driving force for innovation and technological progress. The problems start when one or a few companies' market share is allowed to grow too big, legislation (or lack of thereof as case often may be) lets companies block competition and stifle innovation to preserve their own marketshare and bottom line, when profits above all else get to become the main focus, and the upper management starts thinking that they deserve the greatest cut of the riches.

Couple this with a stock market that is no longer a means to invest in companies so they can grow, but rather a short-term means to line your own pockets, rampant speculation in stocks, goods and commodities, a savings-and-loans market where savings are virtually nonexistent and loans spinning out of control, and you got quite a mess on your hands.
 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
33,383
7,446
136
  • Ideologically, capitalism shouldn't need fixing.
  • Logically, we've reached a !@#$ hole and capitalism, alone, won't be able to get us out.
  • Realistically, there will be a revolution to sort out our future and redefine the nation.
The country is broken and needs to change direction.

Real change will occur in one of three ways. Third party gains a majority, states secede, or we descend into mad max. Change _may_ also occur if our government somehow maintains control - that is if you still believe we're a Constitutional Republic bound by our founding laws. I for one think we've already passed that bridge and our government maintaining control is merely a continuation of our current plight and path in CLEAR violation of our Constitution.

As the Chinese would say, we live in interesting times. It doesn't get any easier from here.
 

TheSlamma

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
7,625
5
81
Another person that says capitalism is a failure but yet doesn't offer up an alternative form of gov. Especially since the USSR, Cuba, China and North Korea have all proven that Communism is the worst thing that can ever happen to free will human beings.

so what form of gov you got for us Dave? Nothing? yep that's new
 

PingviN

Golden Member
Nov 3, 2009
1,848
13
81
Didn't Karl Marx say the exact same thing over a hundred years ago? Capitalism is still here, it's constantly reforming to social change and it's not going anywhere. Capitalism is still the best option out there.
 

blankslate

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2008
8,581
472
126
Enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust act when it comes to banks (big enough such that its failure kills the economy? well then it's to fucking big not to be broken up)... and jail the assholes who caused the 2008 crash... simple idea but the execution of it by politicians bought and paid for by those banks and assholes isn't so simple.
 

DucatiMonster696

Diamond Member
Aug 13, 2009
4,269
1
71
Capitalism becomes dysfunctional when failure is prohibited and the actions of government have created so many unintended effects in the economy that it believes it cannot allow failure to occur.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,894
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Another person that says capitalism is a failure but yet doesn't offer up an alternative form of gov. Especially since the USSR, Cuba, China and North Korea have all proven that Communism is the worst thing that can ever happen to free will human beings.

so what form of gov you got for us Dave? Nothing? yep that's new

Regulation Regulation Regulation

This free nilly willy is only working for the 1%
 

Veliko

Diamond Member
Feb 16, 2011
3,597
127
106
Another person that says capitalism is a failure but yet doesn't offer up an alternative form of gov. Especially since the USSR, Cuba, China and North Korea have all proven that Communism is the worst thing that can ever happen to free will human beings.

so what form of gov you got for us Dave? Nothing? yep that's new

Capitalism isn't a form of government.

The USSR, Cuba, China, and North Korea weren't/aren't Communist.

Criticising Capitalism doesn't mean you endorse every single aspect of Communism.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
15,669
8
0
Enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust act when it comes to banks (big enough such that its failure kills the economy? well then it's to fucking big not to be broken up)... and jail the assholes who caused the 2008 crash... simple idea but the execution of it by politicians bought and paid for by those banks and assholes isn't so simple.

So you believe that have 100 interconnected banks that will all probably fail at the same time is better than having 10 interconnected banks that will all probably fail at the same time why?

Sort of ironic that trading with a communist government in hopes of making them capitalist is what ruined our economy eh?

This is closer to the truth. Capitalism is nothing more than an efficient way of distributing resources. Capitalism is working exactly as you would expect when trading with countries with much lower costs of labor and lack of environmental regulations, it just that distributing resources over to China is not exactly beneficial to us.

In short. Capitalism works well so long as it operates as a closed system, or you are on the side in which resources are flowing(ie China), but doesn't work so well if resources are flowing away from you(US).
 

Matt1970

Lifer
Mar 19, 2007
12,320
3
0
Another person that says capitalism is a failure but yet doesn't offer up an alternative form of gov. Especially since the USSR, Cuba, China and North Korea have all proven that Communism is the worst thing that can ever happen to free will human beings.

so what form of gov you got for us Dave? Nothing? yep that's new

Yep. Some of these people will be happier in oppression just as long as it's equal to all.
 
Oct 30, 2004
11,442
32
91
Another person that says capitalism is a failure but yet doesn't offer up an alternative form of gov. Especially since the USSR, Cuba, China and North Korea have all proven that Communism is the worst thing that can ever happen to free will human beings.

Are you open to the possibility that the choice is not merely a choice between laissez-faire capitalism and pure communism, but that a great many mixtures of free market elements and government regulation might be located between those two extremes?
 
Oct 30, 2004
11,442
32
91
Criticising Capitalism doesn't mean you endorse every single aspect of Communism.

Be gentle. That concept is far too difficult for many people to understand, especially the Tea Party 'Tards, the Joe-the-Plumber type morons, and the Christian Taliban.
 
Oct 30, 2004
11,442
32
91
Sort of ironic that trading with a communist government in hopes of making them capitalist is what ruined our economy eh?

It is. Consequently, the Chinese think we are retarded for giving away our economic prosperity, our knowledge of how to produce manufactured goods, and our trade secrets, and hold us in contempt. I can't say that I blame them.
 

Matt1970

Lifer
Mar 19, 2007
12,320
3
0
Are you open to the possibility that the choice is not merely a choice between laissez-faire capitalism and pure communism, but that a great many mixtures of free market elements and government regulation might be located between those two extremes?

We already have a mixture of free market elements and government regulation, but anyone who doesn't agree with total government regulation and equal distribution of wealth other people have earned get labeled "Tea Party 'Tards, the Joe-the-Plumber type morons, and the Christian Taliban".
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,894
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally Posted by Veliko
Criticising Capitalism doesn't mean you endorse every single aspect of Communism.


Be gentle. That concept is far too difficult for many people to understand, especially the Tea Party 'Tards, the Joe-the-Plumber type morons, and the Christian Taliban.

Hey hey hey

You just insulted 49% of the country and nearly everyone in here.
 

Pohemi

Diamond Member
Oct 2, 2004
8,613
10,881
146
Capitalism isn't a form of government.

The USSR, Cuba, China, and North Korea weren't/aren't Communist.

Criticising Capitalism doesn't mean you endorse every single aspect of Communism.

It's simply one of the strongest pieces of rhetoric that the right cling to: if you're not for free-market capitalism, then you must be communist/socialist/Marxist. Hanging onto cold-war era finger pointing, like it has any meaning in present day.