4 ms·

When did free-market capitalism stop being something to aspire to though?

• krapp 3mo ago
  No capitalist actually wants free and fair competition. A pure free market isn't the most efficient and productive means of making a profit, and they're in business to make as much money as possible. What gets aspired to under the guise of "free market capitalism" is deregulation of the market in the ways which allow businesses to exploit consumers without consequences, such as lowering of environmental regulations or safety standards, but regulation when it hinders their competitors and lets them entrench their market position. Free market capitalism fails because of simple human nature - greed doesn't optimize for ethics, so neither do markets. Any ideal system that simply expects people to act rationally and ethically en masse is doomed to fail, which is why capitalism only works when regulated and in the context of a society with strong social cohesion and a safety net because certain things like education and healthcare shouldn't be subject to free market dynamics.
  • reverius42 3mo ago
    There's definitely a non-libertarian approach to "free market capitalism" that does not eschew regulation and does embrace ethics.
    • krapp 3mo ago
      Maybe but at that point we're arguing the definition of a free market.
      • reverius42 3mo ago
        I thought we were doing that all along.
• inigyou 3mo ago
  Free-market capitalism is an oxymoron, so, maybe when we discovered it's an oxymoron?