What is your view on Capatalism?

Question

A mixed economy is one in which the benefits of capitalism are combined with an attempt to create a fair and equitable distribution of resources. All mixed economies rely on a state provided health care system in the belief that health care must be primarily owned, or at least tightly controlled by the government, if it is to operate in the public interest.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this conclusion?

Answer 1

It's good. Strongest are rewarded, and thus use their strength to advance the society they are in. In socialists situations, nobody wants to do anything because the rewards are negligible.

Answer 2

Capitalism works best when the society using it has mostly financially educated people. I think the problem in this country is that we have taken our wealth for granted for so long that no one really sees a need to understand where we came from, what we could degenerate too.

The bottom line to any debate must point to what works. Communism died with the Berlin Wall, Socialism is a smorgasboard that jerks along in most countries that practice it. Capitalism works well in all countries practicing it.

What is needed in this country is a major change in our 'groupthink', the old mentality of study hard in school, get a college degree, find a good job and be set for life is no longer valid. Companies have no loyalty anymore, not out of some evil compunction but because in order to survive in the global community the U.S. must minimize it's tremendous labor costs.
No longer can our people depend on being an employee as being a 'safe' existence. It's gone, it doesn't work in today's world, and we are not being taught differently.

Another belief that must go is that of entitlement. We all want to believe we are entitled to a retirement funded by our government in terms of income and health care. The truth is that once 80 million baby boomers reach retirement age, the cost of supplying income and health care to these people is going to be astronomical. Consider if the average cost of a retiree in both pension and health care amounts to $1,000 a month. (certainly not enough to live on now let alone in 10 to 20 years). This will amount to a monthly cost to the government of $75 billion dollars; equal to what was spent on the Katrina catastrophe... EVERY MONTH!

We as citizens owe it to ourselves and our children, grandchildren, etc to take personal responsibility for our financial future. To create income rather than working for a paycheck.

Answer 3

Free Markets work with appreciate mechanism in place to ensure people are not straving to death, and have basic health care. Yet, we should allow the markets to work. Distribution of wealth is always on unequal because some people work harder, cheat, steal, use their brain. In the end, all people benefit from freemarkets get cheaper goods and services. Free Markets benefits everybody more than does a economy with tons of state intervention. All countries in the world have a mixed economy because the government is used to stimulate industries that otherwise would not exist today. For example, the Internet was the result of government research dollars bringing to the marketplace, or space research brought about engineering for lighter weight more durable materials to be used in coats, and sporting equipment. People think pure capitalism is ideal. Wrong, never gonna be such thing as pure Capitalism because of the fact rules are needed in place to maximize competition, and ensure working people are not killed on the job.

Answer 4

Capitalism has met with strong opposition throughout its history, largely from the left, but also from the right; and from religious elements. Many 19th century conservatives were among the most strident critics of capitalism, seeing market exchange and commodity production as threats to cultural and religious traditions.

Prominent leftist critics have included socialists and anarchists, such as Karl Marx, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin, Franz Fanon, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Peter Kropotkin, Max Mack-Hardiman, Mao Zedong, Noam Chomsky, and others. Movements like the Luddites, Narodniks, Shakers, Utopian Socialists and others have opposed capitalism for various reasons. Marxism has influenced the creation of social democratic and labour parties, which seek change through existing democratic channels instead of revolution. These parties believe that capitalism should be heavily regulated instead of abolished. Many aspects of capitalism have come under attack from the relatively recent anti-globalization movement.

Some religions criticize or outright oppose specific elements of capitalism. Some traditions of Christianity, and Islam forbid lending money at interest, although methods of Islamic banking have been developed. Christianity has been the source of many criticisms of capitalism, particularly its materialist aspects.[27] The first socialists drew many of their principles from Christian values (see Christian socialism), against the "bourgeois" values of profiteering, greed, selfishness and hoarding. Many Christians do not oppose capitalism entirely, but support a mixed economy in order to ensure adequate labour standards and relations, as well as economic justice. There are many Protestant denominations (particularly in the United States) who have reconciled with — or are ardently in favour of — capitalism, particularly in opposition to secular socialism.

Some problems claimed to be associated with capitalism include: unfair and inefficient distribution of wealth and power; a tendency toward market monopoly or oligopoly (and government by oligarchy); imperialism, various forms of economic exploitation; and phenomena such as social alienation, inequality, unemployment, and economic instability. Near the start of the 20th century, Vladimir Lenin claimed that state use of military power to defend capitalist interests abroad was an inevitable corollary of monopoly capitalism.[28] Some environmentalists claim that capitalism requires continual economic growth, and will inevitably deplete the finite natural resources of the earth, and other resources utilized broadly. Some environmentalists, such as Murray Bookchin, have argued that capitalist production passes on environmental costs to all of society, and is unable to consider its impact upon ecosystems and the biosphere at large

Answer 5

Capitalism is a pyramid scheme where those at the top win. When reagan implemented it, he called it trickled down economics where money would rise to the top and be filtered back through development and expenditures, Well money went to the top (corporations) and instead of sending it back, they stuck it in their pockets and sent pennies "from heaven" back.
George the 1st was suppose to use it to create a "new world order". Basically, what capitalism has done to the American way of life is taken money out of the public sector and put it into the private sector stealing funds away from schools, hospitals and public works. It puts money before people in all aspects of American life. There is just too much to say about the effects of capitalism. But I would like to see a study of capitalism and its effects on the American way of life....

Answer 6

My view is that all forms of government and economic systems are scary because people eventually find ways to monopolize and take advantage of the system to the detriment of most everyone else.

But all things considered, Capitalism is the least of all evils.