4 ms·

> As is often said, capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others. I've only heard it said that "democracy is the worst form of Government

by ben_w 1y ago

> As is often said, capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others. I've only heard it said that "democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time", not capitalism and economics: https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/the-worst-form-of-government/ https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/the-worst-form...

simondotau 1y ago
The Churchill line is about democracy, but the adapted version is a common variation. It works as a standalone maxim without need of attribution to some famous person.
- squigz 1y ago
  It works insofar as quotes that sound wise but have no kind of evidence backing it up often do.
  - simondotau 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - ben_w 1y ago
      I don't know if you've noticed, but internet discussions collectively can't seem to avoid "no true Scotsman"-ing what counts as capitalism, likewise its alternatives. I've seen some people on HN criticise the "socialist" healthcare of the nordic countries on the basis of what Stalin was like, and others saying that China as is today is each of communist and capitalist depending on the point the poster wants to make.
    - squigz 1y ago
      No, because I'm not going to get into a debate about whether capitalism is good or not on a memorial post. Even if I were so inclined, I'm not the one making grand claims about every economic system in the world. You're the one who has to prove your claim.
      - simondotau 1y ago
        [flagged]
        DonHopkins 1y ago
        [flagged]
  - latentsea 1y ago
    Such quotes are the worst form of quotes, except for all the other kinds.
- philipwhiuk 1y ago
  > the adapted version is a common variation Got any evidence for that?
  - endgame 1y ago
    NYT (opinion), 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/dont-quote-them-on-it.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/dont-quote-them-o... Forbes, 2019: https://www.forbes.com/sites/yuwahedrickwong/2019/04/19/economics-matters-market-capitalism-is-under-attack-heres-what-we-can-do/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/yuwahedrickwong/2019/04/19/econ... NPR, 2009: https://www.npr.org/2009/10/26/114163098/a-spoonful-of-socialism-makes-capitalism-work https://www.npr.org/2009/10/26/114163098/a-spoonful-of-socia... LSE Economics Society essay question, 2018: https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/blog/lse-economics-society-essay-competition-2018 https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/blog/lse-economics-society... I also clicked through ten pages of Google search results for "capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others", each of which showed the literal quotes in the preview excerpts, at which point I became too bored to continue.

by ben_w 1y ago

simondotau 1y ago

The Churchill line is about democracy, but the adapted version is a common variation. It works as a standalone maxim without need of attribution to some famous person.

squigz 1y ago
It works insofar as quotes that sound wise but have no kind of evidence backing it up often do.
- simondotau 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - ben_w 1y ago
    I don't know if you've noticed, but internet discussions collectively can't seem to avoid "no true Scotsman"-ing what counts as capitalism, likewise its alternatives. I've seen some people on HN criticise the "socialist" healthcare of the nordic countries on the basis of what Stalin was like, and others saying that China as is today is each of communist and capitalist depending on the point the poster wants to make.
  - squigz 1y ago
    No, because I'm not going to get into a debate about whether capitalism is good or not on a memorial post. Even if I were so inclined, I'm not the one making grand claims about every economic system in the world. You're the one who has to prove your claim.
    - simondotau 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - DonHopkins 1y ago
        [flagged]
- latentsea 1y ago
  Such quotes are the worst form of quotes, except for all the other kinds.
philipwhiuk 1y ago
> the adapted version is a common variation Got any evidence for that?
- endgame 1y ago
  NYT (opinion), 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/dont-quote-them-on-it.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/dont-quote-them-o... Forbes, 2019: https://www.forbes.com/sites/yuwahedrickwong/2019/04/19/economics-matters-market-capitalism-is-under-attack-heres-what-we-can-do/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/yuwahedrickwong/2019/04/19/econ... NPR, 2009: https://www.npr.org/2009/10/26/114163098/a-spoonful-of-socialism-makes-capitalism-work https://www.npr.org/2009/10/26/114163098/a-spoonful-of-socia... LSE Economics Society essay question, 2018: https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/blog/lse-economics-society-essay-competition-2018 https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/blog/lse-economics-society... I also clicked through ten pages of Google search results for "capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others", each of which showed the literal quotes in the preview excerpts, at which point I became too bored to continue.