Is Capitalism Making Life Better?

This Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFxYyXGMfZM

-Seems to debunk the myth that a rising standard of living provides adequate justification for a particular political/economic system. As, (to make an analogy), the rising standards of living in Stalinist Russia were astronomical; in a period of 10 years, Russia was transformed from a largely agrarian peasant-based society to an industrial economy. However, this was done through the use of: coercion, terror, slave labor, murder, secret police, and state-propaganda.

(See the video for additional examples)

If a rising standards of living are the necessary and sufficient conditions for justifying one's economic system, then capitalism AND Stalinism are justified.

I doubt very much that any rational person would consider both economic systems to be justified.

Thoughts anyone?

 

F the video. Use your brain.

More important than the economic system are the people behind it.

Pre-Columbian Native American capitalism could of been a great thing. Capitalism led by Greedy self-centered capitalists will never turn out well. Capitalism run by a community of caring loving folks will always turn out great.

 

Capitalism run by capitalists? Heaven forbid!

 

Too bad compassion seems to have gone out of style as of late. I don't understand people.

 

It's hard when the system puts us in survival mode. High prices and low paychecks = economic starvation.

 

Free markets, competition, and industry are great things in themselves but the "trickle down effect" is simply false. American capitalism is a failure because it fails to take social responsibility into account. An economic system is about a lot more than production and profit. The no-holds-bared mad rush to acquire as much material shit as possible isnt whats best for a nation.

 

Chomsky is the man!

ZW

 

If we can't see that cutting down trees to make something that will end up in a landfill years later as detrimental to the earth then I feel we deserve what we get. I just feel sorry for the people who care for the Earth and don't seem able to get the ones who think outsourcing waste to places like Nigeria to see the light.

 

and lets not forget Trotsky

 

Capitalism and industrialization is a prison which locks us out from the experiences us as humans desire in life and find meaning through. Not only that, but it is a system that will waste goods before they are given away for free, thus leading to starvation and waste issues impacting the environment.

 

Make things better for who? Makes things better for us in places like the USA since corporations like wal-mart are able to exploit weaker economies for cheap goods, sell it to people for cheap which still equates to big profits for them, and pay their employees crap wages so the economics only trickle upward as opposed to what high school economics taught us.
So yeah I'm able to get goods for a decent price, which improves the quality of my life. However people in places like china live in extreme poverty, with massive industrial pollution to make it all possible.

 

I don't think Capitalism is necessary an evil thing. What makes it evil is some people become so enamored in making an extra dollar no matter what the cost. Whether it be screwing over the environment or screwing over people.

If I had the choice to live in a Capitalist society versus a Communist one, I'll gladly take the capitalist one.

 

:rofl:
when i lived in "socialist" norway i could do all that there too.
my relatives in norway are in the middle or, upper middle class. the standred of living in norway is on the same level as the u.s.a.
as a matter of fact. i have been to all the scandinavia countries (dennmark, iceland, norway and, sweden) including finland.
everyone of those nations have as great standred of living as the u.s.a. and, just as many civil liberties as the u.s.a. as well.

i did visted several eastern european countries when the communist were still in power and, i did also vistited fascist spain before franco's death.
all of those nations were shitholes back then that, there was not way i would ever go back there again!
i would visted them all again today though.

if it were in my power to do so, i would turn the u.s.a. into a social democracy like canada and western europe.

why in the fuck, do we here in the u.s.a. let our shit-eating capitalist masters, deprive us of the good things these other people's of the western world enjoy?

FUCK CAPITALISM! uke: