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Right. That's why your on the, what, 5th Generation iPhone.
Amused....
Mircea
You cannot.
It's called "demand destruction."
Supply & Demand sets the price of everything, and it also regulates scarce resources.
If the price of ice cream gets too high, you don't have "peak ice cream" rather people just stop buying ice cream. If alternatives or substitutes are available, consumers will consume them. In the case of ice cream, people will switch to Tastee-Freeze, and Popsicles and them little ice cream sandwich things.
Peaking...
Mircea
And so is Socialism and Communism.
You can have a Totalitarian Government, that uses Capitalist Property Theory, and also uses the Free Market Economic System.
So what's your point?
Wondering...
Mircea
Capitalism is not an Economic System --- it is a Property Theory which states that Capital is best left in the hands of private owners.
I don't understand why people are having such an hard time with the concepts.
Uh, let's take dairy milk as an example.
Consumers -- individuals, households, groups, communities, schools, universities and restaurants --- demand dairy milk be free of antibiotics, chemical goo and things like fish butt genes.
Because you are using Capitalist Property Theory, and private parties control Capital, they immediately allocate Capital to the production of organic dairy milk to meet the demand of consumers.
Under Socialist Property Theory, the government or other Agent of Socialism would control the Capital -- 51% to as much as 100% of the Capital.
Accordingly, it is now up to the Agent of Socialism to decide if Capital should be allocated to the production of organic dairy milk to meet the demands of consumers, and if the Agent of Socialism decides not allocate Capital.....then you don't get no organic dairy milk.
Does everyone see how that works?
And now, let me show you how you are being played by the Media and by other people who would do you harm. You all think the Agent of Socialism in the example is the government, but that isn't necessarily true. It could be the American Federal of Dairy Farmers. And who is that? Is that Dan the Dairy Farmer and his friends in your local community?
Hell, no. That's Monsanto, Con-Agra, Cargill and others --- who are acting as the Agent of Socialism.
Go to the Federal Trade Commission web-site and see all of the actions involving dairy products, including price-fixing by the American Federation of Dairy Farms who is acting as both the Agent of Socialism and the Command Group (by fixing prices).
Now do you see how you people are getting played?
The American Hospital Association is another Agent of Socialism that controls Capital in the health care industry, and the also function as a Command Group, setting prices higher than what Supply & Demand would set in the Free Market System.
Unions are also Agents of Socialism, that control Capital -- in this instance Labor -- and then act as a Command Group and sets the price of labor far above Free Market rates.
Not being played...
Mircea
But there are no States that have used Communist Property Theory.
You benefit from people starving to death. As grotesque as it may be, the reality is that Darwinism (or Natural Selection if you prefer) is always at work. As I recall, thus far, every time Man has attempted to interfere with Nature, Man has lost. I would not be wise to interfere in the process of Natural Selection.
The beautiful thing about Capitalism is that is all-inclusive. Anyone can be a Capitalist. You just have to have the desire to do. There was a guy in Dayton, Ohio who took the last of his money and bought some type-writer supplies and cleaning equipment. He walked door-to-door to businesses offering to repair their type-writers; then offered to sell them supplies; then offered to clean their type-writers....for free (that's called "Top-Down" selling).
He built up loyal clients. Eventually, instead of operating out of the trunk of his car parked in a lot in the down-town area, he had an office down-town...and then he had employees...and then later he moved to Cincinnati and had several hundred employees...and then he sold his business to IKON for $Millions.
Anyone can do that. You just have to have the desire, and the common sense to ask people for help or guidance if you don't know what you're doing.
No one who sat on their ass drinking beer smoking dope watching banal sitcoms or reality TV or playing idiotic X-Box games ever got rich.
But no one ever has practiced Communism. The fact that [/color]US government propaganda and disinformation continually referred to Socialist States incorrectly as "Communists" does not alter the reality that Communism has never existed.
That is simply not true. The Command Economic System is often based on secrecy, but secrecy is not a requirement.
If there is secrecy, cronyism and forced exclusivity, then that represents a failure on your part, because those concepts are not inherent to the Free Market Economic System. Even in a Command Economic System, it would still be a failure on your part, not on the System itself.
Again, your premise is flawed. Those negative aspects are not inherent part of the Systems.
If there is cronyism in the US, it is because you have permitted it to exist, and because you refuse to take any action to end it. And no, voting is not taking action.
That is because you have failed or refused to do your duty.
It requires a Separation of Special Interest & State, which presently does not exist.
I guess when you get disgusted enough, you might actually be motivated to do something. However, by that time, it could very well be too late, so you might want to consider doing something now....while you still have the chance.
[color=black]
It doesn't work that way, and it doesn't matter, since that would also be true in a Socialist or Communist System.
You see, it would matter if it Capitalist was selling the car, or the government under Socialist Property Theory, or the people under Communist Property Theory.
Price is set by Supply & Demand....in the Free Market Economic System. In the Command Economic System, it would be the Command Group who set the price, like unions. That's what unions do....dictate prices instead of allowing the Free Market to set the price of wages.
Unions lost, and caused everyone to suffer.
[color=black]
That has nothing to do with Capitalism, and to the extent that such problems might exist, that once again represents a failure on your part.
Capitalistically...
Mircea
But there is an Invisible Hand.
If consumers require puppets and your 1 Million poorly crafted puppets are the only thing going, then a Black-Market will be created to meet the demands of consumers and provide them with puppets that are of a better quality than yours.
The Invisible Hand is always there. I used to drive through Soviet check-points with things lying in the front seat, like Levi's blue jeans, or cartons of cigarettes, Zippo lighters and other things.
Why? Because the Command Group that ran the Socialist States wouldn't allocate resources to manufacture such things, or refused to purchase them on the global market and import them.
Yet, Russkies like blue jeans, and Levi's were status symbols, as were Zippos, and Penthouse (but not Playboy or Hustler --- I never understood that). And lots of other things. Folger's coffee. Timex watches. And yes....even Skilcraft US Government issue ball-point pens (go figure). Uniforms. I traded a lot of hats. And they liked the old Korean-war era patrol caps (like Castro used to wear). Northern Ireland gloves. I got a couple of pair of those when I went to the Northern Ireland training center with the Green Jackets (who were based in Celle at the time). British army fatigue jackets. Corcoran jump boots.
Anyway, if there is sufficient demand, then the Invisible Hand will provide it, if not above-ground then in an under-ground market.
Marketing...
Mircea
And Socialists and Communists don't want money? Oh, yes, the do.
It matters not who controls the Capital, people want money, because people want things.
Communism has never existed.
List each State throughout history where the people controlled/owned the Capital and decided how to use it.
You can't. But you can list a few hundred thousand corporations. Those are Communist. Who owns the Capital in a publicly traded corporation?
The people.
Granted, "the people" are limited exclusively to share-holders, but then anyone can be a share-holder. Even someone in a minimum wage job can buy stocks and become a share-holder. Even a welfare queen in Ohio collecting $115/month in General Assistance can buy stocks.
Oooops.
What, exactly, are you seeing hen you look at GoogleEarth, because you act as though the US is the only country on Planet Earth.
You're in a Global Economy. You don't like it? Too bad, sucks to be you. You can do nothing to change it, and any attempt to interfere will only bring extreme sorrow on you and others. Your choice is either get with the program, or suffer.
Choose wisely.
Another fail.
Capitalism and Communism have nothing to do with that.
No doubt you've been brain-washed into believing that Communism provides for the needs of people.
It is not Communism, rather it is Command Economics. It is the Command Group that decides if people should have homes and bread. It is the Command Group who dictates the size of the houses that people have, and since providing homes for everyone requires lots of Capital -- there's that dirty word again -- the Command Group then decides to build really ugly bloc style high-rise apartment buildings....uh, that aren't necessarily up to code.
And then you have 6 people in a 1-bedroom apartment, because there's a waiting list of years for 2, 3, & 4 bedroom apartments.
And bread? They used to run out of bread all the time. Why? Why do you think? You cannot violate the Laws of Economics. The Command Group not only dictates the amount of resources that are allocated to making bread, but the dictates the price of bread, and if the price is below the Market Rate, then people hoard bread, so you have shortages and end up buying bread on the Black Market.
Never been outside the US have you? Nope.
You can have Capitalism with a Command Group.
Yes, you can.
What would change in the US? The Command Group -- the government -- would dictate the amount of resources allocated to, oh, let's say General Motors. The Command Group (the government) might allocate enough Capital -- there's that dirty word again -- to GM to produce 3 Million autos --- and that's it. When GM uses up all of the Capital that the Command Group allocated, there is no more work, and no more cars to be made that year.
The Command Group -- the government -- could allow the Market to set the price of those cars, or it could dictate the price of the cars.
But who owns the Capital? The stock-holders of General Motors. My guess is lots of people would sell their stocks, since they wouldn't be happy with this new arrangement and constant interference by the Command Group.
On the other hand, you could have Communism -- where the people own and control of the Capital (there's that dirty word again), but allow the Free Market to set the prices of goods and services.
In such an arrangement, if a McMansion or Starter-Castle costs $500,000 and you cannot afford it, then it sucks to be you.
Allocating...
Mircea
This is probably one of the best posts in C-D history.
Capitalism is immoral because it encourages the unnecessary use of resources there by making those resources unavailable to the other co inhabitants of earth. This artificial scarcity negatively impacts the quality of life of our co inhabitants which is immoral.
Capitalism is nothing more than an equal exchange of what you want for what someone else has.
If you have something that many people want, you will become wealthy.
Capitalism as an economic theory is amoral. It distributes capital according to price and availability in an open and free market.
Businessmen are immoral because they collude to reduce the openness and freedom of the marketplace to reduce or eliminate competition in order to assure continuous profit.
Our economy, although nominally capitalist, is actually controlled by a few that manipulate the access to the market to assure prices and profits. These businessmen buy political influence to protect their privilege and power. This corruption of Capitalism dominates the world economy.
Capitalism as an economic theory is amoral. It distributes capital according to price and availability in an open and free market.
Businessmen are immoral because they collude to reduce the openness and freedom of the marketplace to reduce or eliminate competition in order to assure continuous profit.
Our economy, although nominally capitalist, is actually controlled by a few that manipulate the access to the market to assure prices and profits. These businessmen buy political influence to protect their privilege and power. This corruption of Capitalism dominates the world economy.
They are controlled by the few because they have the supply.
Guess what, they earned it.
Capitalism as an economic theory is amoral. It distributes capital according to price and availability in an open and free market.
Businessmen are immoral because they collude to reduce the openness and freedom of the marketplace to reduce or eliminate competition in order to assure continuous profit.
Our economy, although nominally capitalist, is actually controlled by a few that manipulate the access to the market to assure prices and profits. These businessmen buy political influence to protect their privilege and power. This corruption of Capitalism dominates the world economy.
Perhaps you should invest in those few companies that run everything.
Capitalism is immoral because it encourages the unnecessary use of resources there by making those resources unavailable to the other co inhabitants of earth. This artificial scarcity negatively impacts the quality of life of our co inhabitants which is immoral.
Economic systems do not have morals- people do.
Usually when one posts something, as presented by the OP, they lack "resources" and want someone else's "resources", thus the angst. It is inserting a discussion of morality into emotions of greed and want.
Most of the people that control the US and the world economy did NOT earn anything. Mostly they inherited or stole it.
Of course there are some who did, but most haven't.
But if it makes you sleep better at night, go for it.
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Capitalism?
