Is Capitalism Doomed?

[georgephillip]

Leave it to Dr. Doom to ask the only question that matters.

"NEW YORK – The massive volatility and sharp equity-price correction now hitting global financial markets signal that most advanced economies are on the brink of a double-dip recession.

"A financial and economic crisis caused by too much private-sector debt and leverage led to a massive re-leveraging of the public sector in order to prevent Great Depression 2.0. But the subsequent recovery has been anemic and sub-par in most advanced economies given painful deleveraging.

"Now a combination of high oil and commodity prices, turmoil in the Middle East, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, eurozone debt crises, and America’s fiscal problems (and now its rating downgrade) have led to a massive increase in risk aversion.

"Economically, the United States, the eurozone, the United Kingdom, and Japan are all idling.

"Even fast-growing emerging markets (China, emerging Asia, and Latin America), and export-oriented economies that rely on these markets (Germany and resource-rich Australia), are experiencing sharp slowdowns."

Is Capitalism Doomed? - Nouriel Roubini - Project Syndicate

Obviously, the solution is to cut taxes on billionaires and corporations while laying off teachers, firefighters and cops and voting Republican OR Democrat in 2012.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

It's only doomed if all these countries, including ours, don't learn from the failed nanny state policies.

 

[Oddball]

If anything is doomed it's centrally planned economies.

For the premise that capitalism is doomed to hold any water, it would have to be descriptive of the current state of the economy...But it isn't, so it doesn't.

 

[Wacky Quacky]

No more than Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and every other -ism is. But at least with Capitalism I have a chance to make it big.

 

[BoycottTheday]

If capitalism is doomed why is the underground economy doing so well?

 

[M.D. Rawlings]

Well, lefty's doing everything he can to destroy it, that's for sure.

 

[georgephillip]

It's only doomed if all these countries, including ours, don't learn from the failed nanny state policies.

Codes that tax billionaires at a lower rate than their secretaries?
Oil depletion allowances?
Do you mean those failed nanny state policies?

 

[midcan5]

Capitalism like all isms works only if watered and feed correctly, it can work anywhere, anyplace, any amount of time, or none at all, you may not like it, you may like, you may love it, depends on which end of the stick you find yourself on.

"Moreover, if we give the matter a moment's thought, we can see that the 20th century morality tale of 'socialism vs. freedom' or 'communism vs. capitalism' is misleading. Capitalism is not a political system; it is a form of economic life, compatible in practice with right wing dictatorships (Chile under Pinochet), left-wing dictatorships (contemporary China), social-democratic monarchies (Sweden), and plutocratic republics (the United States), whether capitalist economies thrive best under conditions of freedom is perhaps more of an open question than we like to think." Tony Judt 'Ill fares the Land'


"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." John Kenneth Galbraith

 

[Wacky Quacky]

It's only doomed if all these countries, including ours, don't learn from the failed nanny state policies.

Codes that tax billionaires at a lower rate than their secretaries?
Oil depletion allowances?
Do you mean those failed nanny state policies?

Those are bullshit policies. But that's not capitalism, that's a corrupt government being paid off by corporations, that's corporatism.

 

[Wacky Quacky]

"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." John Kenneth Galbraith

I've never heard that quote before, but it's brilliant.

 

[percysunshine]

Obama must be some what conflicted...having a fascist economic policy and a communist social policy all at the same time.

The guy probably never sleeps.

 

[georgephillip]

If anything is doomed it's centrally planned economies.

For the premise that capitalism is doomed to hold any water, it would have to be descriptive of the current state of the economy...But it isn't, so it doesn't.

Which economy?
Wall Street or Main Street?

"The crisis of capitalism that erupted in mid-2007 now enters its fifth year.

"It grew out of excessive debts of US households and enterprises (especially financial enterprises) that their underlying incomes and wealth could not sustain.

"Key to the crisis was real wage stagnation since the mid-1970s.

"As the cost of the American Dream kept rising while real wages did not, households borrowed (mortgages, credit cards, student and car loans). Debts accumulated on the basis of stagnant real wages. That unsustainable credit bubble blew in 2007. Nothing since has significantly relieved or alleviated that basic contradiction.

"With high unemployment, total wage incomes have fallen and little extra credit will flow to already over-indebted workers. The crisis deepens as US demand remains hobbled."

Deficits, Debts and Deepening Crisis | Truthout

 

[ScienceRocks]

If Capitalism is doomed then we're doomed. Capitalism in one form or another has been around since human being traded barter. Nothing else can really replace it as it plays into human nature that demands a reward for work.

Who's going to build your house,
pave your street
or farm the food

without something in return? Most of humanity won't do it for nothing and we all know that for a fact. This is why marxism failed so hard and went violent as the believers(leaders) gone nuts trying to force people to do things and to share everything with everyone.

 

[Patrick2]

Leftwingers laying the blame for their failed policies on capitalism is the oldest gamut they have, and it's been amazingly successful for them, most recently when the lib media got their boy obama elected by ascribing the blame for the financial collapse, a consequence of government meddling in the housing market, on "capitalism".

 

[BoycottTheday]

Tell ya what,

the sunni want the world to return to the 14th century

The libs are guaranteeing it.

 

[Patrick2]

Tell ya what,

the sunni want the world to return to the 14th century

The libs are guaranteeing it.

Yeah, but it's not humorous to note that they are rapidly taking the U.S. back into a dark past - people who have children should think about what's happening and how their children may pay all their lives for the damage the leftwingers are doing now.

 

[georgephillip]

No more than Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and every other -ism is. But at least with Capitalism I have a chance to make it big.

Your odds are better in Vegas.

"The US Federal Reserve will likely start a third round of quantitative easing (QE3), but it will be too little too late.

"Last year’s $600 billion QE2 and $1 trillion in tax cuts and transfers delivered growth of barely 3% for one quarter.

"Then growth slumped to below 1% in the first half of 2011. QE3 will be much smaller, and will do much less to reflate asset prices and restore growth."

Is Capitalism Doomed? - Nouriel Roubini - Project Syndicate

Why would you want to "make it big" from force or fraud?

 

[georgephillip]

If capitalism is doomed why is the underground economy doing so well?

Because of the basic contradiction of real wage stagnation since the '70s and debts accumulated on the basis of those stagnant wages. In mid 2007 that credit bubble blew and nothing since then has relieved or alleviated the consequences for 90% of US workers and others except the underground economy.

 

[georgephillip]

Well, lefty's doing everything he can to destroy it, that's for sure.

Lefty?

FDR?
Huey Long?
Huey Newton?

If the name you have in mind is Obama, why hasn't his Justice Dept. prosecuted a single "savvy businessman" from Wall Street for accounting control fraud?

 

[georgephillip]

Capitalism like all isms works only if watered and feed correctly, it can work anywhere, anyplace, any amount of time, or none at all, you may not like it, you may like, you may love it, depends on which end of the stick you find yourself on.

"Moreover, if we give the matter a moment's thought, we can see that the 20th century morality tale of 'socialism vs. freedom' or 'communism vs. capitalism' is misleading. Capitalism is not a political system; it is a form of economic life, compatible in practice with right wing dictatorships (Chile under Pinochet), left-wing dictatorships (contemporary China), social-democratic monarchies (Sweden), and plutocratic republics (the United States), whether capitalist economies thrive best under conditions of freedom is perhaps more of an open question than we like to think." Tony Judt 'Ill fares the Land'


"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." John Kenneth Galbraith

It seems to me that workers in a capitalist system are required to check their democracy at the factory door. Virtually every decision affecting most of those workers is made by a small group of people for their own benefit, and, of course, the benefit of the shareholders.

There Are Alternatives...Mondragon Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia