Capitalism Doesn't Work... So What Would?

I tend to agree with this one. Let's get back to this thread in 6 months or 12...

 

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Rule: Don't argue with Read-Only when it isn't about philosophy or religion.

 

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I'm sorry for offending you Read-Only. I apologize for the comment about your screen name, and about your lack of caring. I was a jerk and a half.

I read your last post very carefully and your words really hit home with me this time. I actually took it upon myself to look up "capitalism" on Wikipedia. Now I get it. Capitalism is actually a really good system. All it really needs is a little tweaking.

Thanks for putting up with my naive ideas. I realize that you really mean business and it's time for me to face facts. I don't think I can compete with you intellectually. So I respectfully bow out of this discussion while I still have a bit of dignity left.

Wish me luck on my journey of self-discovery....

 

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Well.

That was different.

Good luck matthew809.

 

Well, that's much, MUCH better - and wiser!

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You certainly did cross the line but your apology is graciously accepted.

And since we're back on level ground again, I'll even explain my screen name. It's due to the fact that when I first arrived here I did nothing for many weeks (almost three months) but only read posts and learn. So when I finally decided to participate, the name "Read-Only" was well-justified.

I'm also glad that you've come to understand what capitalism really is and how it's the ONLY system that can survive without eventually failing. Yes, it certainly DOES need several tweaks! But overall it's not really all that bad.

Good luck to you!

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Capitalism is evil. It DOESN'T WORK & it's time to try something else.

 

Ah, I "lurked" for a year or so.

Suggest to us what could possibly work better

 

Wouldn't it be nice if any American/business could borrow money(within calculated reason) directly from the government without having to pay back interest? This idea actually ties in with the ideas I brought up earlier in this thread. It seems to me that this no-interest borrowing would actually benefit the economy more. If America was restructured to actually run efficiently and fairly, no-interest borrowing would be just one example of the benefits this new national prosperity could bring.

 

Use of someone else's money (or more general terms, you consuming instead of them some goods) without expecting to pay for it is no more reasonable than expecting them to provide you instead of them selves with a car or new suit of clothes.

That said, the form of your compensating them need not be interest - in simple economy you could agree to marry their ugly daughter, work x weeks in the field, etc, but money as a medium of exchange is more practical than barter of services or goods (hard to pay half a cow for two pigs etc.)

Interest is against Islamic law, but when a good Moslem lends you money he does get paid, but with a share of the profits you will make on the investment you make with his money.* I do not know how it works if the loan is just for consumption (e.g to take a trip to Mecka etc.) Can anyone tell me than?
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*I forget the proper name for these loans, but in English they are called "Islamic bonds." - No interest charges, just a "piece of the action" - sort of a "silent partner" we westerners might say. There is a lot, IMHO, to say in their favor. Certainly, the lender is more careful to examine the economic viability of the project. - That is where his repayment will come from, not the "hide of the borrower" (his wealth) if it fails. There would never have been the sub-prime loan based mess the US system made.

 

Market will not correct itself, as long as interest rates are meddled with by fed.
The correction that could solve the problem, would be elemination of fed. Will they support it?

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eS

 

pure capitalism doesn't work. pure socialism doesn't work. combine the two and you get something that works.

 

before combining, should not you purify the components?

 

Capitalism CAN work well, but like ANY other political, religious, or economic entity, there's good and bad apples....

 

It's not a matter of whether it works or not, it's a matter of how well it works compared to other systems. You have to compare it with other systems and learn from your mistakes to create a better one. Regardless, any system created would have a private and a public component.

 

You're thinking in terms of the current American system, in which I would basically agree with your statement. But in my proposed system, the government(for lack of a better word) is the only establishment able to decide "worth", and therefore the only one able to give credit. In this new system, individuals are not paid according to their standing within a certain company with limited assets, but rather in respect to the country as a whole. In this system, it is understood that any one man(or business)- no matter how knowledgeable, skilled, ambitious, or hard-working- is nothing without the system, and all the people in it. While some people certainly deserve higher compensation compared to others, it is this careful relative consideration of monetary disbursement which enables all to equally benefit from a country's economic prosperity(ie. surplus wealth). This sort of collective reasoning can not be accomplished in a free-market system, where surplus wealth is kept from the workers and snatched up by the owners.

With all that said...back to my idea of interest-free borrowing. If a man wanted to borrow credit from "the government" for a car, it need not be too much more complicated than using an ATM to make a withdraw (in many situations). The credit borrowed would be taken from the nation's surplus wealth(which belongs to everybody), and would most likely be paid back in automatic increments. Obviously there would be limits on how much could be borrowed, and for how long, depending on the economy and such.

Unlike today's monetary system, where money is printed out of thin air at whim and is backed up by basically nothing, the new money will actually be backed up by the only thing it should be backed up by... the most valuable thing in the world...(no, not gold or silver)... actual worth.

 

I'll say this, the best solution to this problem is a sort of modern-refined socialism.

 

To all you pessimists out there(and optimists too), I sincerely recommend that you check out this video which I just came across today:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912&hl=en

 

I agree.

Coming up with a better system will take a lot of planning and design, but actually finding a non-violent, socially acceptable transition to gradually phase in this new system will be the real engineering feat.