Ten Myths About Capitalism

The last time there was true, unabridged Capitalism on Planet Earth, it was called the Industrial Revolution.

It really didn't work out very well for anyone other than the robber barons. The poor huddled masses were poorer than they'd ever been, wealth was concentrated in the hands of a very few robber barons and these people were phenominally rich compared to the industrial barons of today in terms of pure spending power.

The working classes did 12 hour shifts or longer, 6 days a week, safety standards were non existent, they could be fired at any time at the whim of their foreman (there were no foreWOMEN then of course), middle management positions on up were only obtained through family ties to the owners of the organization and only available generally to the children of the upper classes.

When any industry collapsed, there was also no Government bailout, if companies went under, whole towns were put out of work and the working class people were forced to move from village to village looking for whatever work they could find because there was absolutely no welfare state.

I also don't understand why libertarians and right wingers love globalization so much when it's pretty much the opposite of patriotism.

Ah the communist/socialist scum have redefined their socialist nightmare as capitalism and a growing number of feeble minds have bought the BS... Sigh!

We haven't had capitalism and free markets since 1913. While It has been implemented incrementally since then so some elements of the free market remained for another 50 years and until now but as the last glimmers of anything resembling a free market are snuffed out and overbearing government has chased business and entrepreneurship off shore and all but stifled creativity we find ourselves at this juncture with idiots blaming it on capitalism.

We have a managed economy not capitalism. Managed by a socialist/ fascist/communist oligarchy that has led to all the problems we see to today and has us teetering on the edge of disaster. What better way to hide their treason then to blame it on capitalism by trying to redefine the term when the real culprit is socialism/theft in all its forms...

And the solution from feeble minds? Oh we need more government oversight/regulation/management (theft)... Sigh! Completely ignoring the fact that is what has led us to where we are...

Originally posted by babybunnies
The last time there was true, unabridged Capitalism on Planet Earth, it was called the Industrial Revolution.

It really didn't work out very well for anyone other than the robber barons. The poor huddled masses were poorer than they'd ever been, wealth was concentrated in the hands of a very few robber barons and these people were phenominally rich compared to the industrial barons of today in terms of pure spending power.

The working classes did 12 hour shifts or longer, 6 days a week, safety standards were non existent, they could be fired at any time at the whim of their foreman (there were no foreWOMEN then of course), middle management positions on up were only obtained through family ties to the owners of the organization and only available generally to the children of the upper classes.

When any industry collapsed, there was also no Government bailout, if companies went under, whole towns were put out of work and the working class people were forced to move from village to village looking for whatever work they could find because there was absolutely no welfare state.

edit on 4-2-2013 by babybunnies because: (no reason given)

Ah the myth of the robber barons... Sigh. I wish people would actually study history instead of repeating propaganda... Less the 10% of people worked in factories. While some were exploited and there were some robber barons in those situations it was far from the norm. People did not come to this country in droves at that time to be exploited and then tell their relatives to come and be exploited with them. They started businesses and farms and spread across the country and created the most prosperous nation in history and steadily increased the standard of living to this day where it is finally declining under the weight of socialism/theft. Even today 70% is the backbone of the economy which is small business. The Big corps have political control that is how they stay alive and crush small businesses.

Originally posted by lampsalot
This pretty much described all the reasons I think capitalism is unfair, and doesn't live up to its promises. If you think the elite are 'socialist' or 'communist' and not the direct end-result of the free market you are sorely mistaken.

edit on 4-2-2013 by lampsalot because: (no reason given)

Not to sound like a downer, but I don't think life is fair. All systems are flawed, because human beings are flawed.
IMHO, the mainstay of any financial system should be "make good on your word." If someone lies, cheats or steals, then something should be done about it by the government. Otherwise, hands off private property.
That's why I don't think most people live in a really capitalist state, because (as Myth #4 points out) the market is manipulated ("too big to fail," for instance.)

Here we go... Another socialist pity party thread...

Great thread. I can't find much I disagree with in the OP either. Kudos!

Ahhh i love the smell of Facism in the morning! wake up and listen to hawkiye... or at least try to rebut his concise argument? ignorance isn't bliss, its why the world is the way it is.

This thread is fail.

And some of you have lost your mind.

Like communism ?

Move to Cuba. Or China.

At least here I can do it my way.

Think you can't succeed?

You're right.

while the things said in the OP may ring true, it is critical to bear in mind that all the atrocities cited to capitalism are not, in fact, virtues of capitalism. They are virtues of humanity. We are corrupt. We seek to nestle power.

I have seen a few posters say, "Show me a better system". No one can. Because it has yet to exist. On paper and in books we might point to something and say, "See, this is a better system." But until humans have done their thing and subverted the system they are in, and done so for their own gain, then we cannot point to that system.

if anyone can cite a corruption proof system, they may well be the brightest mind to ever exist.

Originally posted by rbnhd76
This thread is fail.

And some of you have lost your mind.

Like communism ?

Move to Cuba. Or China.

At least here I can do it my way.

Think you can't succeed?

You're right.

It is true. Not everyone can succeed.

HOWEVER, something that you have to consider is that there is plenty of room for successful people (so long as we admit that not all can be successful in our system). The ones who aren't successful tend to be the least insightful.

Of course, there are individual examples of this not being true. But think about this: how many folks on welfare are there because they make spectacular decisions? How many minimum wage employees have a history of solid decision making skills?

The "downtrodden" generally become downtrodden through a series of poorly made decisions.

Originally posted by rbnhd76
This thread is fail.

And some of you have lost your mind.

Like communism ?

Move to Cuba. Or China.

At least here I can do it my way.

Think you can't succeed?

You're right.

sorry to burst your bubble there bub but china and cuba are both capitalist republics and have been for quite some time
maybe its you who would feel more at home in china or cuba (child labor smog so thick you could cut it with a knife and absolute power for the wealthy yay capitalism! and hey there are less regulations and lower taxes too! so you can.... you know.... "do it my way")

Originally posted by Openeye

In fact, it is obvious that two-party or multiparty parliamentary system is a one-party system.

Well no that's not a fact, you are are simply asserting that it is. In fact logic disagrees with you, as two does not equal one, and to assert that nations like Germany who have over 10 parties with varying different ideologies are truly one party is asinine.

This quote was indeed strange but a two party system truthfully is at best, only slightly better than a one party system.

I'll just note here that the Constitution guarantees "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." It doesn't make any promises to outcome. Likewise, Capitalism gives everyone about the same opportunity to make it and get rich. It by NO means promises that will happen. Hard work doesn't make it happen either. A ditch digger can work a lifetime to a broken back and still die penniless and physically ruined. I can think of few things with more hard work than that. (back when people actually dug them, anyway..lol)

However, the next time folks wonder if it can be done? Look at the .com'ers or people before that like Jobs and Gates. No big conspiracy there and if they'd taken the advice of companies at the start about the total absurdity and outright stupidity of their novel idea? Who knows how long until the Personal Computer would have come to life. People with an idea, a niche to run with it in and THEN the work ethic to make it happen. That is what has made more "new money" wealthy people than anything else......and no big secret outside being the one with the next great idea and handling the whole thing right.

Now...where did I put that idea generator? I'm drawing a blank. Hmpf.

Unrestrained capitalism = fascism

Unrestrained socialism = communism

When you cheer for less regulations on corporations and tax breaks for billionaires, you're being instrumental in perpetuating our current system; FASCISM.

I for one still believe in free market economics and sound money. The problem is we don't have a free market or sound money. We have paper fiat money controlled by central banks and those who control the wealth also control the businesses. Product diversity and business competition is dying off in many industries because these power brokers who control the financial landscape are merging and centralizing all their businesses for total market dominance. Just look at the history of oil companies, or media companies, or banking and financial companies. Slowly but surely the biggest players have merged into huge conglomerates. There's no damn competition left for these people, they own everything and they control everything. That is not capitalism friends, it's the same type of centralization seen in socialism, the only difference is that banks and corporations have all the power instead of the Government.

Of course the Government is in bed with these powerful corporations and the CEO's of these corporations are often politicians too, and they make the rules up as they go along. What we are left with is even worse than socialism, because it gives the illusion of freedom and hides the truly sinister nature of the system we now live in. In a true free market operating with sound money and less regulations, other players can have a fair chance in the market and the fraudsters are forced to face true business competition and it becomes almost impossible for them to maintain their unfair foothold on the market. We would then realize that continual centralization is not an inherent feature or property of capitalism, it's a feature of this corrupted system we have now; where they can charge us anything they like for their products and services. They can also pay their employees anything they like because the employees have no where else better to go.

The vast majority of the wealth generated by any business is funneled up to the shareholders and not to the employees of a business, because after all employees are merely human resources intended to be used at the cheapest cost possible. That is the single biggest problem in this capitalistic system we have. I wouldn't say that it's a flaw in capitalism, because it's not a property that must always be included in capitalism; for example some businesses are entirely owned by all the employees and they all receive a fair cut of the profits generated from the business. In fact I took this concept a step further and wrote a mathematical theory on how wages could be fairly distributed to employees according to several factors, including their work hours, the difficulty of their work, and how well they do their work: Contribution Factor Theory. Some times the problem is not the whole system but a part of the system, which we can change if we choose to.

Originally posted by Snoopy1978
Unrestrained capitalism = fascism

Unrestrained socialism = communism

When you cheer for less regulations on corporations and tax breaks for billionaires, you're being instrumental in perpetuating our current system; FASCISM.

Your missing the point. Politically connected big Corporations will never be more regulated they are government sanctioned entities they are the Fascism like the to bigs to fail. It is the little guy the regulations effect protecting markets for the big corps.. Corporations should be abolished completely no company should have governmental protection of any kind or limited liability. They and the people who create them should stand or fall on their own merits and answer for any harm they cause anyone period!

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I'll just note here that the Constitution guarantees "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." It doesn't make any promises to outcome. Likewise, Capitalism gives everyone about the same opportunity to make it and get rich.

Except that it doesn't. If you are born into wealth, you are much more likely to get rich since money (capital) makes money (capital).

This is why capitalism causes the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer. Global capitalism is the reason why the Bay Area and Vancouver are prohibitively expensive for newcomers. These metropolises are basically impossible to live in unless you're rich, your family has been there since at least the 1980s or you are okay with being homeless.

Capitalism also causes power differentials based on ethnic, sexual orientation, gender, language, disability, intelligence and so on to increase over time. The only possible end result of a free market is a tiny elite ruling over huddled masses and corporations and government fusing to become one.

In capitalism, the government is still technically a democracy but all the candidates can essentially buy their seats in office by funding their campaigns and using their funds to smear any potential opponents.

Usual rubbish by moaning socialists about evil capitalism ,lazy people who expect the Government to spoon feed and take care of them for the rest of their lives and cant grow out of the '' mummy and daddy is going to buy it for me'' childish mentality
If you work hard under Communism you might have enough to eat if your lucky ,its another BS system concocted by the jews to take everything from the dumb Goyim,just another brain washing episode and lie .Go and get a job and stop expecting other people to give you a Porsche and free house while you are at Uni