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Lots of things in the US are subsidized too. We still have taxes that pay for “free” things like using public roads. I am just describing the structure of the

Lots of things in the US are subsidized too. We still have taxes that pay for “free” things like using public roads. I am just describing the structure of the Cuban economy where market forces are less involved in how many of something gets produced for consumption. I don’t think it’s great either because it leads to food shortages. Just pointing out (having been to Cuba myself) they aren’t in abject poverty and in some ways punch above their weight for their economic reality (and what someone might think knowing how often they have goods shortages) due to some activites being prioritized over others.

germandiago 5y ago
The market is the will of people. Any alternative thing is going to be more incorrectly adapted to the demand from people.
- int_19h 5y ago
  The market is one-dollar-one-vote. If you start with an equitable distribution of wealth, then sure, it's the will of the people. But if you start with wealth being disproportionally skewed towards a very small class - as is the case in every real-world developed economy today - the result is oligarchy, not democracy. The problem with mainstream economic right is that it ignores that, or assumes that markets will eventually equalize naturally somehow. The problem with mainstream economic left is that it wants to strangle the market instead of freeing it from oligarchy.
  - DarylZero 5y ago
    There is no mainstream economic left.
    - int_19h 5y ago
      "Left" and "right" are relative terms, not absolute. Mainstream economic left is whatever the majority of people who are left of center hold to.
      - DarylZero 5y ago
        The economic left isn't allowed into the mainstream of politics.
        int_19h 5y ago
        "Left" is not a synonym for "socialism". Socialism is a word that can be defined in absolute terms. But left/right is defined relative to society as a whole. Whoever is left of center in political mainstream is the economic left, by definition.
        DarylZero 5y ago
        Seems like you're trying to define words in a way that makes the actual state of affairs in the USA impossible to describe. No matter if all leftists are removed from society, leftism must still be said to be half of what remains. Nothing in mainstream USA politics should be described as "economic left."
  - germandiago 5y ago
    An oligarchy serves itself from the regulators to keep its power. In a free market they would not be able to abuse that power to get privileges. So the problem you see there is mostly a regulation problem, not a wealth inequality problem.

germandiago 5y ago

The market is the will of people. Any alternative thing is going to be more incorrectly adapted to the demand from people.

int_19h 5y ago
The market is one-dollar-one-vote. If you start with an equitable distribution of wealth, then sure, it's the will of the people. But if you start with wealth being disproportionally skewed towards a very small class - as is the case in every real-world developed economy today - the result is oligarchy, not democracy. The problem with mainstream economic right is that it ignores that, or assumes that markets will eventually equalize naturally somehow. The problem with mainstream economic left is that it wants to strangle the market instead of freeing it from oligarchy.
- DarylZero 5y ago
  There is no mainstream economic left.
  - int_19h 5y ago
    "Left" and "right" are relative terms, not absolute. Mainstream economic left is whatever the majority of people who are left of center hold to.
    - DarylZero 5y ago
      The economic left isn't allowed into the mainstream of politics.
      - int_19h 5y ago
        "Left" is not a synonym for "socialism". Socialism is a word that can be defined in absolute terms. But left/right is defined relative to society as a whole. Whoever is left of center in political mainstream is the economic left, by definition.
        DarylZero 5y ago
        Seems like you're trying to define words in a way that makes the actual state of affairs in the USA impossible to describe. No matter if all leftists are removed from society, leftism must still be said to be half of what remains. Nothing in mainstream USA politics should be described as "economic left."
- germandiago 5y ago
  An oligarchy serves itself from the regulators to keep its power. In a free market they would not be able to abuse that power to get privileges. So the problem you see there is mostly a regulation problem, not a wealth inequality problem.