Re: Capitalism, libertarianism

[Guest guest]

wrote:

>...The private sector always does a better

>job of managing money than the bloated and bureaucratic government.

Yes, they " manage " it into the pockets of the rich

minority!

> If

>there was social pressure to donate to charity, rather than to pay one's

>taxes (which is, in part, a charity of sorts, as it stands now), the

>result would be much more donation than we see now.

Why do you think so? A matter of faith?

Re: the theory that capitalists would join to provide

roads for their customers: Yes, but.... In the part of

the city where I work, most of the stores and restaurants

have signs in the door saying " Restrooms for customers

only. " I suppose capitalist/private roads would be the

same. " Riff-raff [i.e., non-customers; people without

money] keep off. "

Jane

[Guest guest]

Ladybear wrote:

> Clay could u please explain to me about

> capitalism, as im unsure what it means.

Who, me? I'm Really not the one to expound on

economic theory, and if I tried, would cut

me to pieces! ;-) I'm afraid all I could do is

provide the dictionary definition, as it's much

too complicated for me to explain. In addition to

the books I already recommended, there's " Equality "

by Bellamy. A very old book, it provides a

viable alternative to capitalism.

Clay

> chaos bunny wrote:

> > I still don't understand why anyone feels they

> > have the right to try to stop that, though..

> I would recommend reading " The Jungle " or " King Coal " ,

> both by Upton Sinclair. They have a bit to say about

> capitalism, and how it affects the masses of people.

> Clay

[Guest guest]

Clay thanks tell u what , ill look it up on the web , and see if i can make

sense of it !

Clay wrote:Ladybear wrote:

> Clay could u please explain to me about

> capitalism, as im unsure what it means.

Who, me? I'm Really not the one to expound on

economic theory, and if I tried, would cut

me to pieces! ;-) I'm afraid all I could do is

provide the dictionary definition, as it's much

too complicated for me to explain. In addition to

the books I already recommended, there's " Equality "

by Bellamy. A very old book, it provides a

viable alternative to capitalism.

Clay

> chaos bunny wrote:

> > I still don't understand why anyone feels they

> > have the right to try to stop that, though..

> I would recommend reading " The Jungle " or " King Coal " ,

> both by Upton Sinclair. They have a bit to say about

> capitalism, and how it affects the masses of people.

> Clay

[Guest guest]

>Ladybear wrote:

>> Clay could u please explain to me about

>> capitalism, as im unsure what it means.

and Clay responded:

>Who, me? I'm Really not the one to expound on

>economic theory, and if I tried, would cut

>me to pieces! ;-)

I can't epound on economic theory, either, but today

(in the shower; ideas often come to me there) I thought

of one thing to say about " fairness. "

" Fairness " (or the illusion of fairness) is the price

rich people pay for their safety. It's cheaper than

paying for armor. In order for the mass of poor people

to remain content (at least to the point of accepting

the status quo), the rich acquiensce to a system that,

in theory, extends certain protections and " fairnesses "

to all.

The way the tax system has changed in the U.S. over the

last 30 years, the " middle " (and working) classes pay a

lot more (than the rich) for many social institutions from

which the rich benefit.

Another thing I thoght of (though not in the shower)

is not related to " fairness " directly. I was thinking

about the belief that rich people would step up and

create all the insitutions currently funded by public

money. In fact, something of the sort is happening to

the public post-secondary insitutions right now. The

states are under-funding them and forcing those who

used to spend time teaching and doing research to

devote a lot of time to fund-raising. Some of the

money comes from public sources (Dept. of Defense).

But increasingly, much of it is going to have to come

from the private sector. Is that a good thing? Do we

want all research and teaching dependent on the whims

and ideology of a small number of rich individuals?

Jane

[Guest guest]

The problem with many who implement economic theory is that their version is

always self-centred.

One of the ideas I liked from Milton Freedman is the concept of paying for

the damage caused to the environment.

Re: Capitalism, libertarianism

> Colin wrote:

> >Try reading a little Milton Freedman. He makes a whole lot of sense.

>

> Try reading reports from people around the world

> who have been subjected to economic theory exported

> from the U.S. via the World Bank and IMF.

>

> Oh, just realized I do know of a pro-capitalism book

> that is interesting enough to recommend. I don't

> remember the title, but the author's name is easy to

> remember (even for me): Hernando de Soto.

>

> He's from...Peru? And he wrote a book about expanding

> property ownership as a way to solve some of the most

> intractable poverty in the " developing " countries of

> the world. His theory is controversial. Because I lack

> background in the field, I asked a couple professors

> where I work what they thought of it. The one from

> the U.S. was very skeptical. The one from " the 3rd

> World " said skepticism was necessary but that so far

> nobldy else had come up with anything as practical

> (as practicable) that just might do some substantial

> good.

>

> Jane

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