Is capitalism a failed system?

Question

Leading democratic candidates claim America needs to take a step into socialism, state control of wealth. They say capitalism, private control of wealth, doesn't serve the common good.
I wonder how a failed system, as they claim, could have ever given rise to the most powerful and prosperous nation on the planet.
China and the former USSR exceeded the USA in land area, population, and natural resources. Yet under socialism, the combined GDP of these countries couldn't even have funded the USA's federal budget.
What say you? Is capitalism a failed system, or a system that just needs tweaking?

Apparently there are a number of Democrats here not listening to the leading candidate. Here's an interesting link:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=clinton_something_has_to_be_taken_away_from_some_people&ns=AmandaCarpenter&dt=06/04/2007&page=full&comments=true

Answer 1

If the democrats have not come right out and said it, They might as well. I fully believe that they are trying to take over as much as they possibly can. They have a record of the most tax increases and their policies they put forth are obviously socialistic. They promise to be good masters, kind and loving masters, but they do mean to be the MASTERS. And NO capitalism has not failed. GREED IS THE PROBLEM.

Answer 2

Failed, hardly.

It works well, in the last 60 years encroachment by congress has slowed it down a bit with onerous regulations, excessive support of unions which has sent manufacturing to other shores and excessive social spending, but the economy keeps churning along.

We are currently experience the finest economic situation in the history of the country. Can you imagine what it would be like if we had a congress that cared about our countries economic health?

The income gap is closing at a faster rate than ever before, all due to a thriving economy.

More families have been able to purchase their own homes as a percent of the population than ever before in history, the AMerican dream is being attained by more than ever before, all as the result of a rising economic tide.

So the only tweaking I see a need for is to remove socialists in Congress and replace them with citizen legislators, and then imagine what we can do.

AMerica, what a great place, where a common man can reach great heights, all on the basis of their individual efforts.

Answer 3

No, a few Dem leaders who want to socialize some programs seem to be giving that impression to those who do not look at the details or the big picture.
Being Liberal does not mean being a socialist.
Modern American liberals are democratic capitalists. That is, they believe that private capitalist individuals should own and control the means of production, as long as they operate within the democratic law. By contrast, socialists believe that everyone should own and control the means of production. Socialism has been proposed in many forms. Perhaps the most popular form is social democracy, in which workers vote for their supervisors, company policy, and industry representatives to regional or national congresses. Another form of socialism is anarcho-socialism, in which employee-owned firms would compete or cooperate on the free market, absent any centralized government at all. As you can see, a central planning committee is not a necessary feature of socialism; only worker ownership of production is. Dictatorships can never be socialist, because workers do not own or control anything when a ruling elite is telling them what to do. For this reason, socialists reject the claim (made by the Soviet Union itself) that the Soviet Union was a socialist country. It was instead a brutal dictatorship over workers.

Answer 4

"Deves estar doido." lmao
Not alone either. Wasn't there a song about "making amends, with a mercedes benz"?

Seriously capitalism allows the human spirit to excel.
On the other hand a safety net is needed. What is failing is the work ethic. People feeling that for what ever reason they are entitled to what ever, without working for it.
Let me explain. If one has to work for that first car, then one learns what one needs so as to be better off. Whether it's more education, a better mouse trap, more effort. The point is it allows the expansion of the spirit. Too often that is not taught. Instead we get reliance on institutions, long term.
On the other hand health and unfair and corruption issues need organized solutions.

Answer 5

Capitalism needs reform, not just tweaking.
The measure of the health of an economy is the quality of life of its least fortunate citizens.
Capitalism is the only economic paradigm that supports individual freedom, as is guaranteed by the Constitution. It provides a uncapped incentive to create, invent, improve, develop, and pursue a better quality of life for each and for all citizens.
The steady increase in the redistribution of wealth via the Earned Income Credit tax program indicates that a reform of the perennially failed federal entitlements programs will balance and stabilize the Capitalistic economy on a long-term basis.
Milton Friedman suggested a Negative Income Tax or Guaranteed National Income based on individual need. The incentive provided by the potential to earn much more money by working or entrepreneurship will insure enough productivity to support the system as evidenced by the eagerness of the rest of the world to take whatever work that is transferred to them now.
You never know until you try. Lets let Capitalism be all it can be for the people, the nation, and the world.

Answer 6

Democracy is nothing more than a beautiful concept that everyone in the world should be entitled to. However, it has one major flaw: It is the only door to capitalism.

Capitalism, and the human greed it fosters, is the terminal cancer that eventually consumes and destroys true democracy. People eventually become enraged at being raped by the rich and privileged, and rise up and revolt, and dictatorial government is the result.

The prime example of this simple fact is the wanton destruction of personal freedoms; the rape, murder, pillaging and occupation of other nations for their natural resources. This is the United States of America.

The real tragedy of all this is that despots like George W. Bush claim they are doing this to preserve democracy in the U.S. The fact is Americans lost their democracy the day he became president. There is a way to preserve personal freedoms and
democracy; it is called social democracy. Social democracy allows everyone to benefit, not just the wealthy. Social democracy is not communism.

Answer 7

Capitalism is the only way to go. Sure it's needs a bit of tweaking and more open minded people. Things have changed. Outsourcing is here and will remain here, and it's trade-off for many more things. Foreign companies are building more and more plants here, and people need to realize that the labor market has and will continue to change. Technology is taking over and education is the key to advancement!

It's a sign of the times and a new and different type of prosperity that can and will work, without the need for socialism.

It amazes me to read that we, the conservatives are accused of fearing change and it's the liberals who look 'ahead'. Yet, they're the very ones who truly fear the change and instead of looking ahead, getting educated to meet the needs of the new world that greets us, they are looking towards government dependency and security. Meanwhile, dragging everyone else down with them.

How sad and short-sighted.

Answer 8

I don't think so. "Capitalist economic practices became institutionalized in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries, although some features of capitalist organization existed in the ancient world.[8] Capitalism has emerged as the Western world's dominant economic system since the decline of feudalism."

Answer 9

WHO says "capitalism, private control of wealth, doesn't serve the public good"?

I *defy* you to substantiate that. What a ludicrous assertion you make.

[added] As expected, you couldn't substantiate it. Your source, Townhall.com, is a conservative editorial service - note the presence of Michael Medved's name and image above the masthead banner.

When Clinton says, "The free market has failed" in the context indicated, she's saying that the free market has not yielded a solution to the problem of 47 million Americans without health coverage, nor has the free market made us less dependent on foreign energy even while virtually everyone agrees that that should be a national priority. It wasn't a blanket absolutist statement that the free market has failed, period.

Go ahead, read the TownHall commentary again.

That comes to you courtesy of a little intellectual capability I like to call CRITICAL THINKING. You should try it sometime.

Answer 10

OK - so where did you hear this statement that Dems want to end capitalism? Can we see a link? Thought not.
If you can't debate real topics - try reading and learning something. But don't just do this BS of outrageously misrepresenting the other side and then thinking you look smart by countering with a facetious rhetorical question.