Has capitalism failed, if so why? : Philosophy Forums

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Has capitalism failed, if so why?

altrdperception
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Posted 10/14/09 - 06:26 PM:	#21
We haven't had true capitalism since 1913 when the Federal Reserve was created. A government controlled money supply destroys an integral part of capitalism. That is, the central bank can print money. This de-values the currency, plain and simple. Its the governments way of saying "you can work hard and create something other people want, but alas we have the right to strip away its value". The negative consequences of this are dire and have been observed countless times throughout history. So no, capitalism has not failed. It is the unchecked greed and corruption of politicians that has failed.

dimitri
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Posted 10/14/09 - 07:40 PM:	#22
It is the greed and foolishness of people who vote for social privileges.

mikelepore
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Posted 10/14/09 - 10:58 PM:	#23
altrdperception wrote: We haven't had true capitalism since 1913 when the Federal Reserve was created. A government controlled money supply destroys an integral part of capitalism. That is, the central bank can print money. This de-values the currency, plain and simple. Its the governments way of saying "you can work hard and create something other people want, but alas we have the right to strip away its value". The negative consequences of this are dire and have been observed countless times throughout history. So no, capitalism has not failed. It is the unchecked greed and corruption of politicians that has failed. Huh? The government has always printed the money. Who did you think printed the money before 1913 - a private company that owned a printing machine?

davidasearles
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Posted 10/17/09 - 01:55 AM:	#24
The question was, has capitalism failed. What's to fail? A human grows old and dies. I suppose you could say this his or her organs failed - but if they take you 100 years after the time you were born, most would say that was a success. I suppose one could speak of the faith and or reliance on a productive system based upon private capital. Sure, people can not have the faith their fathers and mothers had, and decide to abolish the form to which they are accustomed. If people decided to alter the form, would that be a failure? No more than the 100 year old heart that finally went to sleep with future generations living their lives according to the changed social environment that has come about. Edited by davidasearles on 10/20/09 - 11:23 AM

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Posted 10/21/09 - 07:13 PM:

#25

I think so...

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No god exists to save you from thy doom

wuliheron
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Posted 10/23/09 - 10:28 AM:	#26
mikelepore wrote: Huh? The government has always printed the money. Who did you think printed the money before 1913 - a private company that owned a printing machine? At one time certain banks could print their own notes and the US had about twenty different major currencies printed by twenty different banks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note If the US were an extreme laze fare capitalist state then anyone would be allowed to print their own money and the government's job would be to merely provide a judicial system to deal with any resulting disputes. However, even relatively modest attempts to allow a few dozen regulated banks to print their own money proved too unstable. "Pure" laze fare capitalism has never existed in the US even before the latest incarnation of the federal reserve in 1913. All these posts about the supposid failures of capitalism and socialism miss the obvious fact that both are alive and well today. Sure, extreme communism and capitalism are both all but extinct today, but the majority of the thriving democracies in the world today are socialist and the rest are capitalist. As with anything else in life, each has its own strengths and weaknesses and the idea that one size fits all is pure propoganda.

unrealist42
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Posted 10/24/09 - 04:57 PM:	#27
In March of 1807 The Farmers Exchange Bank of Gloucester, chartered in the state of Rhode Island collapsed. It has issued more than $1Million of paper mostly in faraway Connecticut. The auditors found only $45 in specie in the vaults. At its peak in the 1850s the US had over 10,000 entities issuing currency supposedly backed by specie (gold and silver). From contemporary accounts anywhere from %10-40 of the paper money in circulation in the US was counterfeit. Still, it fueled the enormous economic growth of the US during that time when gold and silver were hard to come by. If you want the history of non-government issued currency in the US you can read A Nation of Counterfeiters by Stephen Mihm

unrealist42
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Nesu
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Posted 10/29/09 - 01:56 PM:	#29
"The only good system is a sound system."

davidasearles
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Posted 10/29/09 - 02:27 PM:	#30
I had a really really nice sound system once. Problem was that it cost so much that my sense of criticism went crazy as well. I actually started listening to recordings with the intent of trying to hear, classify and quantify the distortions. How crazy is that? Luckily I lost the damned thing in a amicable domestic breakup. I got a little clock radio and after about 20 minutes I was more satisfied with that than the damned multi-thousand dollar sound system (back when multi-thousand meant something:-)

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