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Kneeling at the alter of capitalism
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I just looked through the thread on RBS being the costliest bailout ever and thought back to this article on Freedom and Capitalism. I initially felt it was link bait (generating internet traffic for its own sake) but came away unable to counter the basic statements held there in. That abundance cancels capitalism, free markets don't truly exist and capitalism is an idea in concept only. Capitalism is supposed to thrive on healthy competition yet corporations tend towards monopoly destroying that competition and ending the capitalist idea. Can you guys rebuff the main points in the article and defend the prevailing economic system of our time?
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What we have now is a mixed market economy (very mixed as around 45% of UK spend is state), though for short hand people inaccurately call it shorthands.
As for dealing with his point about monopolies I struggle to think of many real world examples of monopolies, perhaps Windows (ignoring Mac and Linux) or google (ignoring Yahoo etc). Whilst companies may try and gobble up the competitors and raise the price of goods, that just attracts new competitors into the market and flabby beast just gets mown down, look at the British car industry.
Which brings me onto my second point what monopolies there are tend to be state - try raising your own private army and see where it gets you. Whilst state controlled BT was a monopoly, it was only with privatisation that other providers were allowed, same for the gas and electricity markets.
Few monopololies!
Where do you live?
A cup of coffee in a family cafe ...unlikely ...starbucks yes ...burgers ...say no more.
Want a bag of nails and a plank ...that'd be BnQ then.
Try setting up a butchers shop ...a hardware shop ...a shoe shop ...near impossible but perfectly normal ambitions when I was a kid.
wHAT CAN A BUDDING YOUNG BIZ MINDED PERSON SET UP THESE DAYS FOR HIS FUTURE ...FOR HIS CHILDREN TO TAKE ON LATER IN LIFE ...MORE OR LESS NOTHING.
yOU'VE BEEN HAD BY THE BULLSHIT MACHINE.
yOU'VE BEEN BOOGLARISED.
OoPs CaPs lOcK.
yOu aint free anymore ...your owned ...your even trained for being owned.
Welcome to the machine.
Have to say I agree with Flash on this but would recommend that people read "The Shock Doctrine" for an insight into what unregulated capitalism looks like.
I can find them to but ...they are dissapearing rapiudly.
Youn must see ...wherever you live ...the cloning of town centres.
To an extent, yes. I have seen significant change in my lifetime, just as you have.
This is only because people choose not to use their local shops, local providers and think that a big name means better service/value etc.
The fools
It's conveniance ...everything under one roof and easy parking.
Are humans risk adverse? I'd say the history of humanity would suggest the opposite.
And if true how does it account for people stopping shopping at corner shops to start with? if they were risk adverse they wouldn't have started shopping at tescos
Clearly... that and places like Greengrocers only offer local things cheap. When buying things like tins, pasta/rice and frozen stuff they charge through the roof.
Anyway where else can you get things like out of season Blueberries from Argentina?
People want nice stuff and don't want to pay the earth for it.
If you want all your fancy stuff from nice independent retailers staffed by an army of Mrs Gogginses, then be prepared to pay for it.
Have you read the article? Try to stay on topic, capitalism is in question hear and its ability to meet the needs of 'consumers' or human beings as mentioned in the article. If you intend to defend capitalism explain the effects of competition, government intervention and abundance on its pricing mechanism. Please read the article first.
All economic theory and evidence would suggest markets do not graviate towards monopoly. Most markets range from oligopoly to monopolistic. Real monopoly is rare/unhead of unless a government creates it through force.
Get up on the wrong side of bed did we? Or merely wanted to use what you learned in patronising school?