Capitalism can not eradicate poverty

Spade

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Cliffy

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Dixie Cup

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capitalism keeps more than some poor, and the entire point of socialism is to have every living person have a high standard of living. that may require no more billionaires sitting in their mansions that are the size of islands. huge loss i know.



And just where is the funding to support all those in the lifestyle which they figure they're entitled to without having to put any effort into improving their lot?


As for no more billionaires, hell even millionaires, who is going to invest in businesses; in innovation and research? The government? Oh yeah, they're SO trustworthy and economical when it comes to finances.


R U Kidding???
 

Tecumsehsbones

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And just where is the funding to support all those in the lifestyle which they figure they're entitled to without having to put any effort into improving their lot?


As for no more billionaires, hell even millionaires, who is going to invest in businesses; in innovation and research? The government? Oh yeah, they're SO trustworthy and economical when it comes to finances.


R U Kidding???
Distribution of wealth is a real and important question. But first you gotta have some wealth to distribute. Not sure gore has grasped that concept.
 

Dixie Cup

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I don't know what you mean when you refer to lowest common denominators or what your definition of success is. I assume you believe wealth accumulation is success, and it is in a capitalist society. In a capitalist society it's basically the only determinant of success. The problem is you can't have a excessive accumulation of wealth without the detriment to other people. No success in capitalism comes without the stomping down of other people basically.



Huh - who knew?


I am for capitalism. I am doing well as is most of Canada's middle class and what I do does no harm to anyone. I work hard to earn what I make and my employer rewards me accordingly.


I believe that capitalism isn't the problem - greed is. Capitalism in and of itself is not greedy - greed applies to individuals (i.e. people).


I think there's confusion there...


JMHO
 

Cliffy

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Everybody worked among my people, Cliffy. Are you saying that anybody that don't wanna work should just be handed money (or the things we use money to acquire)?
Working and jobs are two different things. One cannot live without working. When I lived in Montreal, I had jobs. I was a draftsman, drafting supervisor and an Engineer. I did not work. When I moved to the bush I had to work: cut firewood, build buildings and fences, mechanic my truck, gather and process food, etc. When I needed money, I hired my labour out to others but most of the time my labour had nothing to do with money because I didn't need it. Capitalism is slavery to bosses, governments and banks. I never collected a penny in welfare or employment insurance. I was completely independent and self sufficient. I had no need of governments or banks or any other authority to control my life, just like "your people".
 

gore0bsessed

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And just where is the funding to support all those in the lifestyle which they figure they're entitled to without having to put any effort into improving their lot?


As for no more billionaires, hell even millionaires, who is going to invest in businesses; in innovation and research? The government? Oh yeah, they're SO trustworthy and economical when it comes to finances.


R U Kidding???
what lifestyle are you talking about? a comfortable lifestyle without poverty?
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Working and jobs are two different things. One cannot live without working. When I lived in Montreal, I had jobs. I was a draftsman, drafting supervisor and an Engineer. I did not work. When I moved to the bush I had to work: cut firewood, build buildings and fences, mechanic my truck, gather and process food, etc. When I needed money, I hired my labour out to others but most of the time my labour had nothing to do with money because I didn't need it.
OK, I'm with you so far.

Capitalism is slavery to bosses, governments and banks.
Don't be silly. Dammit, you started so well!

Be sure that capitalism as currently practiced has plenty of problems, both theoretical and in application. But you are overgeneralizing to say "Capitalism is horrible!" The fact is that capitalism has produced more prosperity for all than any other system yet tried. So here's a wild idea. How bout we work on fixing the problems of capitalism, and don't throw it over until you've fully explained your alternative and answered questions and concerns about how it will affect people?


I never collected a penny in welfare of employment insurance. I was completely independent and self sufficient. I had no need of governments or banks or any other authority to control my life, just like "your people".
Bully for you. In all seriousness, I mean that. I'm glad that you've lived your life your way, and that you're reasonably happy with the way it's come out. But surely you realize that your way is not the right way for everybody, don't you? Can we maybe push for a system that allows maximum freedom while at the same time comes close to guaranteeing everybody at least the means to keep body and soul together whilst seeking their bliss?
 

gore0bsessed

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Distribution of wealth is a real and important question. But first you gotta have some wealth to distribute. Not sure gore has grasped that concept.

there is wealth, plenty of it. not enough for everyone to live lavish lifestyles that are unsustainable anyways, but enough to eradicate global poverty.

Huh - who knew?


I am for capitalism. I am doing well as is most of Canada's middle class and what I do does no harm to anyone. I work hard to earn what I make and my employer rewards me accordingly.


I believe that capitalism isn't the problem - greed is. Capitalism in and of itself is not greedy - greed applies to individuals (i.e. people).


I think there's confusion there...


JMHO
yes most people who do well have this same ideology of "got mine, the hell with the rest of you". of course until you become down on your luck yourself. i tend to look at it globally and realize there is far too much poverty which breeds violence and crime all over the world. something clearly isn't working.
 

Cliffy

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Seriously?
Remember back in the 50s when the media, governments and corporations said that modern technology would do away with the need for everybody to work 9 - 5, that machines would do all the labour giving everybody the time and freedom to pursue other, more creative or recreational persuits? What happened to that idea? We have all the machines, we have all kinds of money, but no time to pursue other activities. People in the 50s were not slaves to dept like they are today. Today, for most families, they have two have two jobs just to make ends meet and they are still slaves to the system. What changed? Where did all the money go that was supposed to free us?
 

Tecumsehsbones

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there is wealth, plenty of it. not enough for everyone to live lavish lifestyles that are unsustainable anyways, but enough to eradicate global poverty.
There is now. But you have yet to demonstrate that whatever system you propose will keep the wealth flowing.

Don't get me wrong. I am well aware that central-control socialism can be a powerful tool. It brought Russia (and the Soviet Union) from "the sick man of Europe" to the world's #2 superpower in 30 years from a standing start.

Ironically, during the time that American right-wingers revere as "our finest hour," i.e., World War II, the United States made its closest approach to capitalism. Central control, wages and prices fixed by the government, unprecedented government control over the economy, &c.

Still, on the evidence available, it seems that good ol' greed is the best system yet discovered for producing wealth. Note that I said "producing." Distribution is a whole 'nother problem.
 

gore0bsessed

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Be sure that capitalism as currently practiced has plenty of problems, both theoretical and in application. But you are overgeneralizing to say "Capitalism is horrible!" The fact is that capitalism has produced more prosperity for all than any other system yet tried. So here's a wild idea. How bout we work on fixing the problems of capitalism, and don't throw it over until you've fully explained your alternative and answered questions and concerns about how it will affect people?

what prosperity lol, most of the world still lives in poverty and it's not improving. try thinking outside your little reality for a moment and think of it globally.

There is now. But you have yet to demonstrate that whatever system you propose will keep the wealth flowing.

Don't get me wrong. I am well aware that central-control socialism can be a powerful tool. It brought Russia (and the Soviet Union) from "the sick man of Europe" to the world's #2 superpower in 30 years from a standing start.

Ironically, during the time that American right-wingers revere as "our finest hour," i.e., World War II, the United States made its closest approach to capitalism. Central control, wages and prices fixed by the government, unprecedented government control over the economy, &c.

Still, on the evidence available, it seems that good ol' greed is the best system yet discovered for producing wealth. Note that I said "producing." Distribution is a whole 'nother problem.

capitalism just breeds that greed, it's not inherent in us. it makes us compete with one another for promotions, for better positions of power, for better wages. the entire ideology of capitalism is rooted in pure greed.
the native americans were entirely socialist , they shared everything. greed was such a rarity when the first europeans landed the natives immediately trusted them and greeted them with open arms and shared things with them. thievery and greed were almost foreign concepts. that's why they never saw it coming when europeans used violent force to coerce the natives into mining gold for them . maybe you could say socialism made them soft, it made them too trustworthy and they were ill prepared for the slaughter they would face. maybe if capitalist greed never took root in the first place perhaps all of these negative traits would be much more rarer than they are today.

Everybody talks about capitalism -- but what is it? | Kajsa Ekis Ekman | TEDxAthens



 

taxslave

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"they house and feed you", yea slaves got the same treatment. chinese citizens on average don't have close to the purchasing power of people in the west. this is absurd that you would even argue this.

If it wasn't for credit card debt most people in the west wouldn't have much purchasing power either.

Everybody worked among my people, Cliffy. Are you saying that anybody that don't wanna work should just be handed money (or the things we use money to acquire)?

Of course that is what socialism is all about.

Distribution of wealth is a real and important question. But first you gotta have some wealth to distribute. Not sure gore has grasped that concept.

Sure he does. He just wants it to be other people's wealth that gets distributed. That is how socialism works.
 

coldstream

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The fact is that since Leo XIII released Rerum Novarum in 1891, EVERY Pope has condemned the greed besotted culture of radical Free Market Capitalism, absent any steering mechanism that establishes equitable sharing of wealth, and correspondence with responsibility for the community as a whole. So this is nothing new.

Only Calvinist zealots define the attribution of wealth or poverty as an individual 'gift' and 'grace', or lack thereof, that imposes on obligation to others. This forms the philosophical foundation... and excuse.. for unfettered Capitalism.
 
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gore0bsessed

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If it wasn't for credit card debt most people in the west wouldn't have much purchasing power either.



Of course that is what socialism is all about.



Sure he does. He just wants it to be other people's wealth that gets distributed. That is how socialism works.

Some of the brightest minds in the world advocate socialism, many who understand economics more than most people. Socialism isn't wealthy people giving more of their wealth away to poorer people, so that poor people can do nothing with it all day, as you seem to think. That whole premise is moronic, makes no sense and clearly wouldn't work in the real world. You need to understand what socialism actually is.