Is capitalism "the only system that works" because the capitalists have always destroyed any alternatives?

Question

economicly, politically, and militarily.

Apart from Cuba, and more recently Venezuela, Bolivia, and more and more of South America.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0706-32.htm

for "the threat of a good example"

http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/sam/sam-1-6.html

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-2604466457908048048:2086000:1205000&hl=en

Answer 1

Is “this” capitalism working? We have a trade deficit with China that is unbelievable, our jobs are being “outsourced”, inferior products being imported unchecked at unfair pricing to compete with American manufactures who must produce their products under strict guidelines that importers do not have to adhere to.

Our citizens are taxed with little or no representation, illegal immigrants are granted free healthcare - while citizens are billed at twice the rate of insurance companies, for the same services rendered.

Lending institutions have been encouraging over-spending to reap the rewords of inflated and ballooning interest rates, yet now exclaims, “Barrowers are not paying their bills” – looking for a handouts along with the tax loopholes that encourages them to let foreclosed houses sit idle, as apposed to re-selling them to recover their loses.

Is “this” capitalism working? I hardly think so.

Answer 2

If my earnings are not going up or down one red cent regardless of how hard I work -- or at all -- then why should I make any effort? Why should I work my *** off and get the same amount of money and goods as the person in the next cubicle who just paints her nails all day long? You call it GREED, I call it FAIRNESS. People MUST be given an incentive to produce; and since in communism, economic insentives don't exist, the insentive that is used most often in that system is threat of death, severe bodily harm, or imprisonment.

Oh, sure. The Soviet collective farms, slave labor, Gulags, purges, and mass extermination of peasants might have worked, if it weren't for those bloody capitalists competing with them. In Cambodia, ruthlessly murdering and working to death upwards of 1/4 of the population was also a viable alternative to capitalism, but the evil US ruined those glorious plans. In North Korea, if only the capitalist world would feed the slaves while they do what their deranged government wants them to, the communist system might just work. Being the site of the deadliest famine in recorded history was all right for the Chinese until the evil capitalists came along with their goods and services, more for some than for others. And the surest sign that the Cuban communist economy is working just fine is the constant stream of Cuban refugees, who risk their lives to get to the United States; as well as the infinitesimally small number of "capitalist" refugees immigrating to Cuba.

Why is it that the "alternatives" need the capitalist system to give them a chance in order to survive? How come the capitalist system does not need any other system's approval in order to thrive?

Gotta love armchair liberals. Asker -- and those who think like you -- you only say these things because you live in capitalist country. Why don't you move to a communist country for a while? Hmm? Don't *visit* -- move there. And surrender your Western passport for a few years, so there is no possibility of special treatment. Then we'll talk.

Answer 3

What makes you think Capitalist are against alternative energy? Free markets capitalism means the government doesn't pick the winners and losers by heavily taxing one type of energy while provide subsidies to another energy source. For example did you know battery operated cars are so inefficient they cause more CO2 production than regular gas guzzlers? you need to add in the CO2 to produce the battery and the CO2 to create the electricity. Most of our electricity comes from coil and not nuclear. Nobody would buy alternative energy if the Government didn't tax conventional energy sources at a higher rate and then use the tax money to subsidize the alternative energy. Do you see how stupid Liberalism Statism is?

Answer 4

As many have pointed out before, Capitalism does work. It worked in Greece and Rome even before there was a name for it.

But, what is currently being practiced in the US isn't anything like real Capitalism. It's Corporate Feudalism. There's no real Free Market in the US. Government has been an active partner in the suppression of Competition and the balancing force of organized labor, and most recently the ability to punish Corporate misdeeds in the Courts, while transferring the taxpayer's wealth into Corporate hands through subsidies, special tax breaks and no bid contracts.

Any system falls apart when the checks and balances are removed.

Answer 5

Capitalism in its purest form works because it offers a chance for the common man to work to achieve prosperity. The USA's founding fathers' slogan "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" about summed it up. Unfortunately, capitalism has been bastardized by the Bush administration to an alarming degree. Intelligent middle class Americans are putting their hopes in Hillary Clinton to restore capitalism to the point where all Americans can enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without having to worry about some greedy elitists stepping on them to go from a millionaire to a billionaire and abusing the bravery of our young men & women to make a buck.

Answer 6

In a manner of speaking, yes. Communism requires that everyone be a communist or the system doesn't work. If there was one person who decided to go capitalist, for instance, they would make more money than the others and the whole think would flop. This type of enforcement is tyranny, though. If you like it, fine, but forcing everyone else to participate is wrong (i.e. evil).

Answer 7

Even cave men used a system of economics to live by, unfortunately those who have the most make the rules.
A balanced and fair system is dependent on the resources of the country and culture of those people.
People at the helm of power tend to profit from it at the expense of the have nots no matter where they are on this earth.

Answer 8

Capitalism works simply because it is rooted in and "capitalizes" on one of humanities most profound drivers and that is GREED.

Greed of course is only the stepping stone / vehicle for humans to reach their ultimate destination and that is POWER .

If other alternatives are destroyed because of "capitalism" it is not the fault of "capitalism " perse but rather man's greed and thirst for power.

Socialism has and always will be fighting "up-hill" because it is in fact fighting against human's very nature .

Like most things in life ,it is BALANCE that is the most egalitarian position .Greed and power does in and of itself result on many occaisions to very positive "blessings" especially in fields like medicine ,engineering etc etc .

The great challenge for all societies is to find the right balance of all these drivers to ensure that society meets the needs OF ALL ITS MEMBERS not just those whose gravings for wealth and power has resulted too often in their having effectively and immorally stolen for themselves most of the wealth of all society.

What I really find ethically and morally offensive in the extreme is to listen to many wealthy elitists going on about how "money is not important" when, while this maybe ultimately true ,it is their wealth and the often immoral manner in which they secured said wealth that has enabled them to get what again is the ultimate goal and that is POWER .

Socialism of course is the greatest fear of capitalists because it would curb greatly their ability to rip off the rest of societies wealth .Further it is the same capitalists that own and control the media and their anti-socialist propaganda is never ending and omni-present.

The internet is beginning to at last be the alternative to these capitalists for they cannot comtrol the message although they are trying like hell to do so.

Answer 9

Yes, the bad guys always have better weapons and are willing to kill with no regrets,,,

This is true with less than noble business practices also.
If a capitalist can force employees to work for them for less than a living wage, they do.

People that are willing to cheat seem to have an advantage over good people.

Answer 10

Communism and Socialism only work on paper.

They are based on 'everyone having the same' regardless of what you do - the problem is, in reality - people are greedy, and you end up with a few people with everything, and the rest with nothing.

Capitalism works because it doesn't pretend to care about anything other than money. (Which is why religion and capitalism go hand in hand).