I'm so sick of capitalism?

Question

lets start something new and i mean new any ideas ?
thats what it starts with one idea ?
capalism good idea on paper but,
its like any other form of control comunisim/dictatorship ect
fine at first but after a wile people get greedy.
thay always get greedy so whats the differance.
its all ways good at first and we will be dead before it ,
turns to **** any way like it has now .
so come on hit me with ideas ?
COME ON !!!

you are all a bunch of star buck big mac munchers and prob americans i paid £40 pound for this pc and i will change and chalange the world
with it hope you are happy with yore "educations" mugs !

Answer 1

Thank god there are still people like you around who can think for themselves.
We are not free we live in a big brother society where we happily let what few civil liberties we have be destroyed all in the name of the so called "War on terror" do people not realise we will soon be in as worse a police state as any of those dictatorships.
The only idea I have is to destroy all central government and live in small anarco-communes where everyone has a say and all things are bartered for, whether it is between people or between communes with some specialising in agriculture while others do heavy industry or medicine etc. It would wipe out greed as there would be no money and encourage co-operation and sharing as a community instead of all this me me culture we see today.
Yeah I know sounds good on paper but not practical but I can dream of a better world and if enough other people do then things will slowly change. Or we could sit back watch TV and all become slaves of the system.

Answer 2

Actually, quite the contrary. In a true capitalistic government without much governmental interference people's greed is controlled by the free economy. In order to make money, a business needs to adapt to the consumer's needs so that the consumer will come back to that business. If a business behaves greedily, then the consumer will go to an alternative source in the free market. If you look at the U.S economy, which is a mixture of a free and command economy, you might see some corruption, particularly in corporations. Why? I believe it's in large part due to the corporations cozy relationships with the federal government. The government interferes with the free market economy by favoring the corporation. Then the corporation is more likely to act greedily because they have less competition. However, it's even worse in a communist country. In true communism, the government provides all the resources its people need. Thus, there is no competition causing the government to be careless with its people. They are absolutely terrible providers. The Soviet Union was mainly a command economy. Look at how that turned out.

P.S. When I say greedy I refer to overpricing. I'm not refering to a subjective notion of a corporation. Yes, some may say McDonalds is greedy, and I am in no way a fan of McDonald's, however, they provide cheap goods consumers want. People know it's bad for them. If people wanted something else, they'd leave McDonalds. But they enjoy it, so they stay. That's the free market. You can judge businesses all you want, but the consumer gets the final vote. The consumer decides with his wallet what is good and what is evil.

Answer 3

Socialism is obviously the alternative. And you're right about capitalism. As for greed, it certainly is not, as the Right love to argue, an intrinsic part of human nature. Greed and selfishness are however promoted and nurtured by the madness of competetive free market economics, and the ability of a tiny group to hoard the world's wealth. (365 individuals own over 40% of this). To say that socialism 'rewards people for doing nothing' is incredibly narrow minded, the mass people work to create this wealth, yet have no control over how it's used. Everyone in society would be immensely better of under socialism, except of course the minority who hoard without any purpose but collecting zeros on their bank balances.

To address the comment about consumers moving away from a greedy business - of course, thats why no one buys Microsoft anymore, eats at McDonald's, drinks Coke, banks at HSBC, fills up at Esso, in fact has any contact with big business. Surely private business is by it's very nature greedy?

Answer 4

Well no offense, but it seems you do not know much about capitalism. It is actually one of those ideas that are bad on paper. As marx says capitalism, on paper, will bring about its own destruction. It is rooted in taking advantage of a working class to maintain the wealth of an elite. The elite then in turn controls the government and under proponent arguments of capitalism protects the working class in such a way that only they can.

One can say that the only reason capitalism even survives is the extensive appeasements that capitalist elites give to their working class. Such as "civil rights" and "you can get rich too notions." Throstein Veblen writes that conspicuous consumption reinforces notions that being poor is bad, that consumption is good. The rich use their monetary wealth and power and change it into a psychological power. Soon everyone wants a new car.
Veblen also writes about how it is natural for economics to change, but the elites are stopping the change, because quite obviously they would lose their position if it were to change. So they reinforce these notions that conservatism is decorous and innovation vulgar.
By stopping individuals from solving the problems of the working class the elites maintain capitalism. If you don't believe you can look at the history of the united states.
In fact I think we can argue that economics in capitalism is a prisoner's dilemma and the reason that the elites keep the working class in their position is because th working class cannot work together.


I see some answers would like to believe in a free economy. But it seems contradictory in nature to capitalism.

For capitalism to exist you NEED government. There are no if ands or buts about it. As Sumner writes governments need to protect contracts. Without that protection capitalism in a completely free government falls apart. I would suggest reading more political and economic theorists before making suggestions on "free markets." The term free market is a paradox used as a form of appeasement.

Answer 5

Churchill said, about 'Democracy' or 'Capitalism', I am not sure which, although they are both related and interdependent, that, " they are the worst of all systems, except for all the others". Communism and Socialism have been shown to fail, but that doesn't stop the bearded mafia in our Universities, The Guardian and our TV media, from continuing to promulgate there virtues. They know that they don't work, but they hate Capitalism so much (because they are not successful at it), that they use their left wing ideaology like a demolition experts iron wrecking ball. Good at knocking things down but don't give a damn what replaces it. You sound like somebody who isn't being very successful, so you want to wreck the system and replace it with something that doesn't work, so that, at least, we will all be failures.

Answer 6

Other ideas should be given air time but as usual, Uncle Sam moves in first with his brainwashed minions and warships to oppress it before people get wind of the fact that they are slaves in a rich mans world where idiots like Paris Hilton (a complete waste of oxygen) moves among the poor like a colossus.

Answer 7

I understand your frustration but look at it from a world view. In a capitalist society even "poor" people are usually better off than most people in a communist society.Until we get to a place where there is no need,hunger,want,war and the rest of it,capitalism is the best system anyone has come up with. At least you have a chance. A good one if you take advantage of what is offered.

Answer 8

The great thing about being in the answers forum is that we occasionally get a question that makes us think a bit.

I applaud your question in that at least someone had the guts to try and think outside the box, and challenge the views of a comfortable majority.

Answer 9

Greed is at least as old as the 10 Commandments. It's not the end result of capitalism.

Greed is part of human nature. It is why capitalism is the best form of economics. Humans can exploit it, and it works even better that way.

The opposite of greed is laziness, btw.

Answer 10

You are free to pack your bags and move. Might I suggest France, cause they change their minds with the direction of the winds. Or how about Germany, the Fatherland, they cant make their minds up either.

Either way, you are more than welcome to leave this great nation, even with all its faults, it is the Greatest Nation on Earth. Where else are people fighting and dying to enter a country to become a citizen???