The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America

[bripat9643]

So has America ever had a pure capitalistic system or a pure democratic system?

What difference does it make if the country was only 98% pure rather than 100% pure?

Well then before FDR was America's economic system mixed?

Before Wilson, there was very little socialism. No government regulation. No Social Security. No Medicare. No Medicaid. No DEA. No FBI. No BATF. None of the alphabet regulatory bureaucracies we have now. No welfare.

 

[regent]

What difference does it make if the country was only 98% pure rather than 100% pure?

Well then before FDR was America's economic system mixed?

Before Wilson, there was very little socialism. No government regulation. No Social Security. No Medicare. No Medicaid. No DEA. No FBI. No BATF. None of the alphabet regulatory bureaucracies we have now. No welfare.

Government regulation began with the Constitution, and welfare began before the Constitution. The sad thing is that so few posters can even define socialism and few would agree on a definition, but if you come up with a definition I might give you a few examples of early socialism. America had only 13 states when it began and about five million people, and governing was somewhat simpler than 50 states with 300 million.

 

[bripat9643]

Well then before FDR was America's economic system mixed?

Before Wilson, there was very little socialism. No government regulation. No Social Security. No Medicare. No Medicaid. No DEA. No FBI. No BATF. None of the alphabet regulatory bureaucracies we have now. No welfare.

Government regulation began with the Constitution, and welfare began before the Constitution.

Wrong, not by the federal government.

The sad thing is that so few posters can even define socialism and few would agree on a definition, but if you come up with a definition I might give you a few examples of early socialism. America had only 13 states when it began and about five million people, and governing was somewhat simpler than 50 states with 300 million.

The argument that bigness requires more regulations doesn't make any sense. It's used because you can't think of any other reason for more regulations.

I've defined socialism 1000 times in this forum, but the socialists never agree, so what's the point?

Socialism is government control of the economy. It's as simple as that. Any other definition is propaganda.

 

[regent]

Before Wilson, there was very little socialism. No government regulation. No Social Security. No Medicare. No Medicaid. No DEA. No FBI. No BATF. None of the alphabet regulatory bureaucracies we have now. No welfare.

Government regulation began with the Constitution, and welfare began before the Constitution.

Wrong, not by the federal government.

The sad thing is that so few posters can even define socialism and few would agree on a definition, but if you come up with a definition I might give you a few examples of early socialism. America had only 13 states when it began and about five million people, and governing was somewhat simpler than 50 states with 300 million.

The argument that bigness requires more regulations doesn't make any sense. It's used because you can't think of any other reason for more regulations.

I've defined socialism 1000 times in this forum, but the socialists never agree, so what's the point?

Socialism is government control of the economy. It's as simple as that. Any other definition is propaganda.

Hard to understand why others don't accept your definition of socialism, whatever it is. How about economists do they agree on your definition?

 

[Steven_R]

What difference does it make if the country was only 98% pure rather than 100% pure?

Well then before FDR was America's economic system mixed?

Before Wilson, there was very little socialism. No government regulation. No Social Security. No Medicare. No Medicaid. No DEA. No FBI. No BATF. None of the alphabet regulatory bureaucracies we have now. No welfare.

There was also nothing like OSHA or the USDA or NTSB or the FDIC. Bunch of miners killed because of no safety equipment? Tough shit. Rancid food sold and consumed? Well, caveat emptor. Unsafe cars on the roads? Big deal, the families of those killed in crashes can take their chances with the courts. Lost your life savings (again) during the latest bank crash? Good luck with that.

I'm not a fan of federal overcontrol or bureaucratic micromanaging, but there were a lot of problems that the free market just didn't care about and people were dying. It shouldn't be a shock that normal everyday Americans said "if the banks and businesses won't do it on their own, we'll make them do it" and pressured government to get involved.

 

[Flopper]

Well then before FDR was America's economic system mixed?

Before Wilson, there was very little socialism. No government regulation. No Social Security. No Medicare. No Medicaid. No DEA. No FBI. No BATF. None of the alphabet regulatory bureaucracies we have now. No welfare.

There was also nothing like OSHA or the USDA or NTSB or the FDIC. Bunch of miners killed because of no safety equipment? Tough shit. Rancid food sold and consumed? Well, caveat emptor. Unsafe cars on the roads? Big deal, the families of those killed in crashes can take their chances with the courts. Lost your life savings (again) during the latest bank crash? Good luck with that.

I'm not a fan of federal overcontrol or bureaucratic micromanaging, but there were a lot of problems that the free market just didn't care about and people were dying. It shouldn't be a shock that normal everyday Americans said "if the banks and businesses won't do it on their own, we'll make them do it" and pressured government to get involved.

Too much capitalism benefits only the strongest in society at the expense of the weakest. Too much socialism destroys the incentive to produce. The secret to success is balance.