who makes up this crap?
Hm. I didn’t see the words “warmonger” or “imperialist” in there, so this cannot be a real article from a Chinese government controlled newspaper...:)
“where corporations and market forces effectively neutralize input from American middle class, the bulwark of American democracy.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.......
if you consider the primary season, open borders, nafta cafta and the opening of trucking from mexico the major loss of manufacturing here, loss of free speech via Mccain/finegold -the most vile loss of property rights via SCOTUS ruling-
Restricting News to small number of big corps-and and the left (socialists) perhaps we should not be too quick to say hogwash.
Sound like a typical Obama “populist” speech.
However the United States didn't have the technical knowhow to build atomic bombs during the Civil War and had to burn Atlanta the old fashioned way.
There is only one form of capitalism.
Capitalism seeks to provide a necessary product or service where none exist, at a value greater than the cost to provide it.
Capitalism is a facet of freedom & liberty.
Where capitalism breaks down, like any other market ideology, is when immoral people attempt to achieve continued power (money) by exploiting people and circumstances.
Morality must self-restrain any business person.
Shouldn’t that be “running dog capitalism”?
That is a good thing, Dr. Reich.
For instance, he advocates the elimination of the corporate income tax, which he calls ineffective and inequitable. He also says government should never treat corporations like people (only people deserve rights) and hence would strip them of both corporate criminal liability and constitutional rights.
Very good, Dr. Reich.
The purpose of capitalism is to create wealth, and judged against this standard, according to Reich, US capitalism has been remarkably successful.
Capitalism hasn't a purpose in the sense of being imposed like socialism, Dr. Reich or whomever.
The rest of the Reichisms are the usual pablum.
Classic Chinese scholar Qian Mu,...screw you.
“The first urge is self-evident given capitalists’ natural voracity, for wealth is always a relative concept and enriching oneself must always come at the expense of others.”
Classical false assumption: wealth is a zero sum game. He does not realize that capitalists create wealth, whereas government does not.
“The second urge stems from the fact that, in Qian’s words, “the first purpose of the greenback is to fabricate atomic weapons.” Of course, today a host of other more lethal forms of weapons are being developed.”
The greenback (paper dollar) was invented in the mid 19th century—the atomic bomb in the mid 20th. Why the 100 year delay? Some comments are so stupid, they’re hard to refute.
“Just as Wal-Mart can dictate the products and costs of the commodities from suppliers, corporate forces can today shape the ideal citizen-consumers through a myriad of influences they can exert.”
This must be why Ford and IBM used their dominance at the top of the auto and computer industries to stay there forever. Oh. Wait. Scratch that. What about the most dominant retailer, Sears? They stayed there for about 80 years—and then fell. How about dominant transportation, like railroads? They fell too. Everywhere I look for perpetuation of monopoly dominance I see competition overcoming the monopoly.
“Ben & Jerry’s efforts to protect the rainforest may appear socially responsible, but is it responsible to sell sugary, high-fat desserts to a population already suffering from obesity and associated diseases?”
Were B&J socially conscious before they started their ice cream store? Yes. Do they force people to buy their ice cream? No. Should the government take away people’s freedom to buy whatever they wish? No, since governments only have the power that people give them, and people inherently have the power to choose, as a God-given ability.
The author quotes Robert Reich extensively to support his points and also criticizes him for being too conservative.
Overall, a humorous read of an economic ignoramus.
I think the problem here is confusing “self-interest” with capitalism. Self-interest is why capitalism works. When capitalism starts having problems, it is often because people set aside their own self-interest for bizarre fantasies.
For example, look at Al Gore. He has the skills to be a fine capitalist, which is how he wants his life to be. But at the same time, his mind is so twisted that he cannot imagine other people wanting to live that way as well. He feels he cannot enjoy his wealth and luxury if others enjoy wealth and luxury as well. He truly believes that life is a lottery, and that “luck” determines wealth or poverty. And he has said so.
This is what I call the “Old Europe and South America disease”. The inability to enjoy anything if others also enjoy the same thing.
It is a common enough sickness that desperately wants for their only to be the rich and the poor. It feels deeply threatened by the very idea of a middle class, or that others enjoy their lives. To a great extent it is because their wealth has not given them happiness, or even satisfaction, which points out that they are failures, no matter their wealth. And they are bitterly resentful.
So how does this effect capitalism?
A self-interested capitalist is more than willing for others to profit, as long as he does. Someone like Bill Gates has created hundreds or even thousands of millionaires, directly and indirectly, and enriched far more than that.
Compare that with Carlos Slim of Mexico. Also super-rich, but determined to not elevate his workers “beyond their station”. With the exception of his small group of peers, his interests, like those of the few other ultra-wealthy ruling families of Mexico, are to *prevent* the rise of a Mexican middle class.
The flip side of this coin is seen in Venezuela, where their wealthy have the same twisted view that life is only enjoyable if they are surrounded by starving peasants. This causes the very poor to become violently socialist, like Chavez. This pattern is repeated endlessly in the places with the disease. Ironically, once Chavez ascends the throne, he will be more than willing for the peasants to starve while he enriches himself.
The disease has made inroads in the US as well. Often what is though of as “conspiracies” like the Trilateral Commission and the Bilderberg Group, are in reality just pathetic groups of unhappy rich people who want to fantasize that they are royalty. And if they could just keep the peasants down, they will enjoy themselves.
Kinda funny coming from China about the excesses of “supercapitalism”. Communism is the planet’s worst enemy contributing more pollution, starvation, death and misery than any politcal/economic system ever devised.
“Classic Chinese scholar Qian Mu, in characterizing US capitalism, said Western capitalism centers on two dominant urges: the urge to make others poor; and the urge to kill others.”
We say the Chinese focus on several things themselves. One is cleansing all who are not Chinese and the societies of those who are not Chinese, a practice which they have engaged in for thousands of years and still continue. Western societies, by contrast, have been more accepting of other races than those in the majority unlike any other societies in history on a comparitive scale. It was the British who ended slavery whereas the Chinese communists still practice it in party “reeducation” camps.
Another of their foci is upon starving people in the millions and now creating roving gangs of unemployed of enormous size in the countryside. The gaps between the wealthy and the poor are far larger than here. They have not focused on this, instead they are in denial about it.
Capitalism is a tool that can be used or abused. Scottish philosopher Adam Smith’s treatise “Wealth of Nations” criticized monopolism yet praised the marketplace economics that brought economic balance to consumers and producers. “Consumption is the purpose of production...”