Capitalism Saved The Miners

[Norman]

capitalism didn't save the miners, society, human spirit and technology did.

Of the four, capitalism probably contributed the least.

Somebody is grasping at straws to redeem an ideology that crashed our economy.

Capitalism didn't crash it, but (bad) central planning.

And to say US ever was really capitalist country is kind of dumb. Central banks and over 50% real tax rate (that is if you take the inflation and promises to be paid and debt into account). Regulations at every corner. Government guarantees of (housing) debt subsidies etc. etc. etc. The crisis would not have been possible in capitalism, nor in WELL RUN socialistic system (problem is they are very very rarely well run).

I live in europe, it isn't any more socialistic here, we just are at least a bit more honest with the socialized money than US. Meaning at least more in % goes to poor. This creates the illusion as if we were more socialistic, as the money is mostly flowing to the education and healthcare. Financial freedom, and regulations are actually a bit better here than in the US.... US really is no capitalistic country at all.

 

[JBeukema]

The thin reed upon which Henninger rests his contention is “the Center Rock drill bit”, developed by a privately owned company in Pennsylvania, which was used to drill through the rock to the miners. The presumption is that only the profit motive could have yielded such technology.
The obvious question is, if capitalism is responsible for rescuing the Chilean miners, what economic system was responsible for leaving them trapped deep underground and initially given up for dead in the first place?
Or for that matter, what was the system that drove 31 Chilean miners to their deaths last year and produced more than 12,000 recorded mine fatalities worldwide?
...
While the Journal and the Post proclaim “free market capitalism” and “entrepreneurship” as the central elements in the rescue of the miners, both conveniently ignore that the operation was directed and largely financed by Chile’s state-owned copper mining enterprise, Codelco, created when the country’s Socialist Party President Salvador Allende nationalized privately held companies in 1971. And the key advice given in keeping the miners alive and healthy during their long ordeal came from the US government space agency, NASA.
Even more important in the survival of the miners was the behavior of the miners themselves, which was characterized by a powerful solidarity and collectivism that stands in stark contrast and opposition to the dog-eat-dog individualism of the capitalist free market.
The equal distribution of starvation rations that kept them alive during the 17 days before the first drill reached them was not merely forced upon them. Since their rescue, they have pledged to continue this method, sharing anything that they gain from books, etc., equally.
There is no mystery as to the role played by capitalism in the Chilean mine disaster as far as the miners themselves are concerned.
“People say that we’re heroes, and no, no were not heroes, we’re victims,” one of the miners, Franklin Lobos told the Chilean daily El Mercurio. “We fought for our lives, nothing more, because we have families. We are victims of the businessmen who don’t invest in safety…victims of the businessmen who earn millions and don’t think about the suffering of poor people.”
In the case of the San José mine, this assessment is indisputable. The facility, whose record is typical of Chile’s privatized medium-sized mining operations, has been plagued for years by a series of fatal and maiming accidents, with the government largely looking the other way as the owners reaped hefty profits from super-exploitation.
“San José is a nightmare,” another miner said to the media. “It is dangerous; I know it, everybody knows it. There is only one motto: productivity.”
In the immediate aftermath of the mine disaster last August, the miners attempted to escape through the ventilation shaft but discovered to their horror that the ladders required by government safety codes were missing.
Part of Chile’s embrace of “entrepreneurship” and “free market capitalism” has been its severe weakening of regulations on workplace safety. The government employs just 16 inspectors to supervise more than 4,000 mines scattered across the country. Chile is one of the few countries in the world that has refused to sign the International Labor Organization treaty on mine safety and health.

Capitalism and the Chilean miners

 

[JBeukema]

Deeply moved, nearly a billion of us looked on. A whole nation—managers and workers, rich and poor—united in a common effort to save 33 Chilean miners, with their President leading from the front. Emotion, suspense, ratings, huge advertising revenues. But what did this TV extravaganza conceal?
That the “saviours” were, in fact, the culprits. Three hours before the landslide, the San José miners had requested permission to leave after hearing suspect noises. Their bosses’ refusal imprisoned them under several tons of earth. Is this surprising? No. On the 30th July, a Ministry of Labour report had already flagged up important safety problems at the San José mine, but no action was taken, and the Ministry kept silent.
...
Of course, everyone was overjoyed at the happy ending. But the rescue show masked the extent of the problem: four hundred Chilean miners have died in the last decade. And more importantly, it masked the causes. “Poor investment and safety standards” said Marco-Enriquez-Ominami, Sebastián Piñera’s opponent in the last presidential elections. In fact, in 2009 alone, 191,000 work accidents were recorded in Chile, in which 443 workers died. And the Chilean government is directly responsible, as it has refused for the last twelve years to ratify the International Labour Organisation Convention C176 on health and safety in mines. Business enjoys unrestricted freedom, while the workers have no rights.

Chilean Miners: What Was the TV Show Hiding? | Dissident Voice

Capitalism did what, now?