Why is capitalism considered so great?

Question

Let's face it - the top 3% own most of the wealth and are supposedly creating work for the rest. Does this make any sense? I'm not advocating socialism - just wondering what people REALLY think of capitalism.

that does not answer the question.

Answer 1

Let me put it to you this way.

The rich peoples slice of the pie grew, and the poor people's shrank, but the pie grew by 500%. In the end, everyone actually ended up with more pie.

That's the beauty of capitalism! It is a completely voluntary system, where people become wealthy by providing valuable goods and services to their fellow man. It creates wealth for all. There are abuses of course, but as a rule, people do not become wealthy by taking from others, only by serving them.

I've linked to an income table of american households, divided into quintiles. You'll notice over the last 20 years, ALL groups are wealthier than before. The 2nd table compensates for inflation and shows real gains.

So why complain about whether someone got more than you?

Besides, if you look at the rest of the non-capitalist world, they are in far worse shape.

Answer 2

fyi...America is capitalistic and NO ONE here is poor. Sure, you may see bums once in a while on the street, but when you see dictatorships and countries with all government-controlled industries, you will realize that the average homeless person in America is better off than the average man in most of those kinds of countries.

Answer 3

Because it works.