4 ms·
Can you name one society with a higher standard of living than one based on a market economy? Hint: You can't.
by hjhgjtyhdf 11y ago
Can you name one society with a higher standard of living than one based on a market economy?
Hint: You can't.
- bhickey 11y agoHigher for who and compared to what? If a television is a requisite for a high standard of living, great, we're beating Ptolemy. It's disingenuous to pretend that you can do an apples-to-apples comparison across thousands of years and attribute it to market economics. Given the tremendous natural wealth in the United States, we'd probably have a higher standard of living most countries even if we adopted mercantilist economic policies. This isn't to claim that market economies aren't a great idea, just that I don't think your reasoning holds water.
- hjhgyhgd 11y agoSurely there are no advanced economies without rich natural resources. Oh wait. There's South Korea and Singapore who are some the most capitalist countries on Earth. I'm also questioning your belief that being protectionist wouldn't hurt our standard of living. Do you know the T-shirt you're wearing cost a lot more if it was made in the USA?
- bhickey 11y agoNo. I'm saying that the United States is so stupidly resource rich that we could get a lot of things wrong and still be fabulously wealthy. I don't think you're wrong by any stretch--market economics are a great idea--but you've got to present better reasoning for anyone to care.
- jqm 11y agoSure I can. Feudalism. Oh, you meant a higher standard of living for everyone? Well then, are you sure market economies are really the end all solution for that? Listen, you seem to think I'm arguing against market economies or trying to promote some kind of communism. I'm not. I'm just pointing out capitalism and communism are not the only choices. There have been other systems and some of them lasted a long time and were extremely "successful" (if by success you mean providing a sustainable livelihood for the members). But I don't disagree that market economies are effective in achieving certain ends. However humanity didn't come down out of the trees to a market economy and market economies likely won't be around when humanity finally ends. They are a phase in human history, that's all. It's not an ideological statement. Just observation and projection.