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Capitalism describes Capitalism doesn't prescribe We should praise Capitalism for describing humanity better than other *ism

by ericls 5y ago

manuelabeledo 5y ago
> We should praise Capitalism for describing humanity better than other *ism There are plenty of examples of non capitalist societies thorough history. What does "capitalism" describe about humanity, exactly?
lanevorockz 5y ago
Capitalism is the ultimate democracy, everyone votes with their labour and their purchases. The more regulation, the less power the individual has. Of course, some regulation is necessary to avoid abuses. Discussions should be on the level of what rules allow society to reach a better result, not just try to artificially fix problems because it leads to even bigger problems.
- manuelabeledo 5y ago
  > Capitalism is the ultimate democracy, everyone votes with their labour and their purchases. So only those who can perform jobs and buy things are able to vote? That sounds dystopian to me.
- shove 5y ago
  Are you trolling? a) One dollar one vote? That's "ultimate democracy"? Really? b) how much labour would you say the average ceo does compared to the average low level worker? The ceo works 200-500 times as hard? Really?
- bccdee 5y ago
  Everyone votes with their purchases, except the people with the most money get the most votes, and if you don't participate in the "elections" you starve? Sounds very democratic. Regulations typically limit the power of the most powerful in society, whose power in turn restricts the rest of us. Thus, regulation frequently increases the freedom of most citizens. Consider a business owner who treats his workers poorly. The workers could find new employers, but odds are they'd be treated just as poorly there, because these labour conditions are not atypical. Then a bill is passed which forces employers to improve labour conditions. Less power for elites means workers' freedom from having power exerted upon them increases.
deleted 5y ago
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bccdee 5y ago
That's like saying that the rules of chess describe instead of prescribing. Perhaps it doesn't say anywhere that you should play chess. But neither does it suggest that the rules of chess "describe human play better than the rules of any other game." Capitalism describes a system where ownership over all capital is marketized. A society can adhere to that system or not. Under Feudalism, for example, land ownership is instead attached to hereditary titles. You can argue that Capitalism is the best economic system for a society, but it is hardly the only one. In fact, compared to the millenia for which Feudalism lasted, Capitalism is very, very recent.

Capitalism describes Capitalism doesn't prescribe We should praise Capitalism for describing humanity better than other *ism

by ericls 5y ago

Capitalism describes Capitalism doesn't prescribe We should praise Capitalism for describing humanity better than other *ism

manuelabeledo 5y ago

> We should praise Capitalism for describing humanity better than other *ism There are plenty of examples of non capitalist societies thorough history. What does "capitalism" describe about humanity, exactly?

lanevorockz 5y ago

Capitalism is the ultimate democracy, everyone votes with their labour and their purchases. The more regulation, the less power the individual has. Of course, some regulation is necessary to avoid abuses. Discussions should be on the level of what rules allow society to reach a better result, not just try to artificially fix problems because it leads to even bigger problems.

manuelabeledo 5y ago
> Capitalism is the ultimate democracy, everyone votes with their labour and their purchases. So only those who can perform jobs and buy things are able to vote? That sounds dystopian to me.
shove 5y ago
Are you trolling? a) One dollar one vote? That's "ultimate democracy"? Really? b) how much labour would you say the average ceo does compared to the average low level worker? The ceo works 200-500 times as hard? Really?
bccdee 5y ago
Everyone votes with their purchases, except the people with the most money get the most votes, and if you don't participate in the "elections" you starve? Sounds very democratic. Regulations typically limit the power of the most powerful in society, whose power in turn restricts the rest of us. Thus, regulation frequently increases the freedom of most citizens. Consider a business owner who treats his workers poorly. The workers could find new employers, but odds are they'd be treated just as poorly there, because these labour conditions are not atypical. Then a bill is passed which forces employers to improve labour conditions. Less power for elites means workers' freedom from having power exerted upon them increases.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

bccdee 5y ago

That's like saying that the rules of chess describe instead of prescribing. Perhaps it doesn't say anywhere that you should play chess. But neither does it suggest that the rules of chess "describe human play better than the rules of any other game." Capitalism describes a system where ownership over all capital is marketized. A society can adhere to that system or not. Under Feudalism, for example, land ownership is instead attached to hereditary titles. You can argue that Capitalism is the best economic system for a society, but it is hardly the only one. In fact, compared to the millenia for which Feudalism lasted, Capitalism is very, very recent.