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Adam Smith, the man who literally wrote the book on Capitalism, warned of the danger of monopoly power and urged State regulation to prevent it.

by seneca 6y ago

kmonsen 6y ago
Both you and your parent can be true, just because Adam Smith wrote the book on capitalism doesn't mean he was 100% for it in all forms. I guess the real answer is what is capitalism, and the first answer I could find is: "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state." This ruling would not bring any trade or industry in state control so in that way I cannot see how the parent is correct. Edit: Wikipedia says this though: "Capitalism is an economic system. In it the government plays a secondary role. People and companies make most of the decisions, and own most of the property. Goods are usually made by companies and sold for profit. The means of production are largely or entirely privately owned (by individuals or companies) and operated for profit.[1][2] Most property, for example, is owned by people or companies, not by the government or by the workers. Capitalism has a more or less free market economy, which means that prices move up or down according to the availability of the products. People buy and sell things according to their own judgment. In most countries there is some regulation (trade laws) and some planning done by the government. They are sometimes called "mixed economies" to indicate this. Some people disagree on whether capitalism is a good idea, or how much of capitalism is a good idea." According to this I guess it is fair to say that this is anti-capitalistic. In a true capitalistic society government should not be involved in transactions or take important decisions about this. I don't think such a society would work but people can have different opinions on this.
- jtuente 6y ago
  > In a true capitalistic society government should not be involved in transactions or take important decisions about this. Even under a purely capitalist system, if there is a suspicion of malfeasance in such a transaction, it is reasonable for the government or others to ask for more clarity. Blackmail, bribery, embezzlement, or other bad faith agreements can introduce legal proceedings, none of those things are permissible under capitalism.
- stale2002 6y ago
  > This ruling would not bring any trade or industry in state control There is a well established history, within capitalism, of taking actions to prevent monopolies from engaging in anti-competitive actions. The most famous example, being when the railroads got broken up. Markets can both exist, and anti-competitive behavior can be prevented. This has been established for a long time.

Adam Smith, the man who literally wrote the book on Capitalism, warned of the danger of monopoly power and urged State regulation to prevent it.

by seneca 6y ago

Adam Smith, the man who literally wrote the book on Capitalism, warned of the danger of monopoly power and urged State regulation to prevent it.

kmonsen 6y ago

Both you and your parent can be true, just because Adam Smith wrote the book on capitalism doesn't mean he was 100% for it in all forms. I guess the real answer is what is capitalism, and the first answer I could find is: "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state." This ruling would not bring any trade or industry in state control so in that way I cannot see how the parent is correct. Edit: Wikipedia says this though: "Capitalism is an economic system. In it the government plays a secondary role. People and companies make most of the decisions, and own most of the property. Goods are usually made by companies and sold for profit. The means of production are largely or entirely privately owned (by individuals or companies) and operated for profit.[1][2] Most property, for example, is owned by people or companies, not by the government or by the workers. Capitalism has a more or less free market economy, which means that prices move up or down according to the availability of the products. People buy and sell things according to their own judgment. In most countries there is some regulation (trade laws) and some planning done by the government. They are sometimes called "mixed economies" to indicate this. Some people disagree on whether capitalism is a good idea, or how much of capitalism is a good idea." According to this I guess it is fair to say that this is anti-capitalistic. In a true capitalistic society government should not be involved in transactions or take important decisions about this. I don't think such a society would work but people can have different opinions on this.

jtuente 6y ago
> In a true capitalistic society government should not be involved in transactions or take important decisions about this. Even under a purely capitalist system, if there is a suspicion of malfeasance in such a transaction, it is reasonable for the government or others to ask for more clarity. Blackmail, bribery, embezzlement, or other bad faith agreements can introduce legal proceedings, none of those things are permissible under capitalism.
stale2002 6y ago
> This ruling would not bring any trade or industry in state control There is a well established history, within capitalism, of taking actions to prevent monopolies from engaging in anti-competitive actions. The most famous example, being when the railroads got broken up. Markets can both exist, and anti-competitive behavior can be prevented. This has been established for a long time.