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Free markets free people. Controlled economies do not.
He's as short sighted as those who argue the opposite position. The QE programs were nothing but an attempt to control the economy from the top down and I doubt very seriously this author was against those programs.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, otherwise known as the Obamacare enrollment deadline, it seems fitting to ask why those who support and defend the free markets seem so afraid to embrace the moral foundation of their arguments.
It has been a tough year for capitalists and business owners.
That's incongruous.
Just another idiot who doesn't understand Economics.
There's no relationship between Capitalism and Free Markets, meaning the existence of Capitalism does not imply Free Markets anymore than Free Markets imply the existence of Capitalism.
Put another way, Capitalism and Command Economies are not mutually exclusive.
You can have private ownership of Capital (Capitalism) while simultaneously permitting one or more Command Groups to establish and control the economy by setting quotas and prices on market products and services. You've done it in the past....you're continuing to do it right now.
Your healthcare system is a fantastic example.
All Capital is privately controlled --hence it is Capitalist, but a Command Group, namely the American Hospital Association, sets quotas and prices on all hospital services via its system of member-hospitals grouped as cartels that engage in monopolistic practices and set the prices of health care services well above the rates a Free Market would permit.
So, it hasn't been a tough year for all Capitalists, just some, while other Capitalists --like the American Hospital Association --- have and will continue to profit handsomely using Soviet-style Command Economics and controlling the health care system.
Just another idiot who doesn't understand Economics.
There's no relationship between Capitalism and Free Markets, meaning the existence of Capitalism does not imply Free Markets anymore than Free Markets imply the existence of Capitalism.
Put another way, Capitalism and Command Economies are not mutually exclusive.
Mircea
Well, it reminds me of what Milton Friedman said about capitalism. He said...
"I never said that wherever you had capitalism you had freedom. I made the opposite statement. Wherever you had freedom, you had capitalism. Capitalism is not a sufficient condition for freedom, but it is a necessary condition for freedom."
Point is, we need capitalism, so there is no reason to attack the premise of the article. But yes, capitalism by itself is not sufficient.
In my opinion, what we really need. Is free markets, free trade, and free immigration. Which can only be accomplished if you effectively had something akin to a libertarian government. Which was perpetually limited and decentralized.
There's got to be a middle ground though. On one hand, one day the government might be controlling the ingredients that can be put into sodapop. Next they could be regulating what kind of sodapop can be sold or even imported. But corporations with too much power can get out of hand just like the government can.
Free market Capitalism has never been allowed to exist and the owners of the capital do not want to take any risk so they eliminate the "free" part of the market by controlling the flow of money and access to the marketplace. The international petroleum industry is the most egregious example. Money center banking and security marketing systems are another.
All money based economic systems are completely amoral as the only goal is to acquire more wealth in the control of fewer and fewer people. The fate of the people that, through their work, create the wealth is irrelevant. Only the investors are considered.
That's an accurate descriptive word. It doesn't have the impact of the unvarnished truth which is "stupid beyond all comprehension", though.
Quote:
You can have private ownership of Capital (Capitalism) while simultaneously permitting one or more Command Groups to establish and control the economy by setting quotas and prices on market products and services. You've done it in the past....you're continuing to do it right now.
The most famous example of such was Italy, under Mussolini.
The best example of Controlled Capitalism combined with Selective Socialism is the United States under the Wall Street financiers and the corporate lobbyists. Our economy is completely controlled by these financial and cultural elites for their profit and protection at our expense.
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