ADSactly Education: On Capitalism
America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance -- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way.
Ayn Rand Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal 1966
Capitalism is, by definition, an economic system that puts ownership of all assets in private hands. How it does this and how well it does so is subject to much debate. I will try to explore some of this here.
History of Capitalism
Capitalism’s roots go back many centuries to the rise of the merchants in civilization. They had the products to sell and made the profit from them which led to hiring workers. Capitalism as a concept dates to the Renaissance when capital was available to the merchants before selling. Capital was used to finance ventures for the merchants and the ‘capital holders’ also shared in the rewards.
Capitalism really started to flourish with the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company. Little more than state owned capitalism, investors could buy shares of the companies and be rewarded with a percentage of the profits. Both examples relied on the state to expand the markets through colonial expansion. At the time, the prevailing economic theory held that the world’s capital was fixed and only new markets and producers could change the rate of return.
That would change with the Industrial Revolution. Capital funded the machines and raw materials needed, the state provided the roads and places to market, and the population provided a labor pool. Capitalism was born.
Capitalism rose to prominence in the 19th century with the vast expansion of the United States and Canada along with European Colonialism. Markets expanded rapidly, labor pools expanded rapidly and resources were exploited with ruthless precision. It could be argued that the American Civil War marked the watershed for emerging Capitalism. Both armies needed supplies at an astounding rate, American industry (North) and agriculture (South) were taxed beyond their capacities so Europe answered the call. Westward expansion continued in the US and Canada in the search for more resources and farm land. Colonization may have slowed, but the exploitation of the Colonies continued for over 100 years.
The 20th Century dawned with Capitalism in full bloom, and it became the primary economic force on the planet. Even the carnage of WWI served only to expand markets and resources. The first labor shortages due to the size and scope of the armies was mostly alleviated by the importation of workers from the colonies. Only one thing could slow the growth of Capitalism through the first half of the 20th century: The world wide depression of the ‘30s. WWII completely cured that impediment and Capitalism would utterly flourish in the second half of the 20th century. Even the might and depth of the Soviet system fell before the relentless march.
21st Century Capitalism
To date in the 21st Century Capitalism is the uncontested winner and still champion of the economic systems on earth.
There are three components necessary to Capitalism: Capital, Labor and Markets. Capital (money) is necessary to fund any business. A ready labor pool and dedicated workers to make the products or provide the services. A market with money to buy the goods and services.
The State Of Capital (Wealth)
Capital, measured as money, is thriving. Return on investment in the 21st Century is staggering. The money available for investment seems to be near unlimited. How can this be?
The answer is in the condensation of wealth. 5% of the Earth’s population controls 98% of the world’s money. The number of truly wealthy individuals is growing but no where near so fast as the population in general or the growth money. Truly, the rich get richer which leads to more capital to invest in ever more profitable ways.
Much of the truly wealthy Capitalist class of people has so much money to invest that they can diversify their risks and nearly assure growth of their net. They can afford to have losses on a percentage of investment as long as the rest turns a healthy profit.
There is an ever increasing subset of the Capitalist class, the Money people. These are individuals who have no direct input on any form of production, their only path to wealth production is through money manipulation. Some, but not all, Brokers, Traders and Speculators fall into this class. Derivatives traders and Fund Managers are often part of this.
Can Capitalism survive this class? The original definition as quoted at the start of this says that Capital is in control of production and as such provides one third of the requirements of Capitalism. Is Capital as manipulation of money still part of the paradigm? Only time can answer that question.
The State Of Labor
Labor is the second of three legs needed for Capitalism to stand. Depending on who you listen to the labor pool is in good shape or in bad shape. Which is it?
The face and scope of labor in the First World is changing drastically. Automation of manufacturing jobs, while good for the bottom line, costs workers in time, money and prestige. Labor Unions are a mere shadow of their former selves and have seen a drastic decline in membership and political clout. Politicians are much more concerned with monetary clout than having the support of Labor Unions.
Labor today is increasingly part of the service industry. Typically, hourly wage is much lower than manufacturing which leads to a lower standard of living and a higher number of hours worked per worker than before. Competition for the necessarily scare ‘good jobs’ is ferocious and most are forced to live at a lower standard than their parents. It is a vicious cycle developing.
Labor in the developing world is a free for all. There are always way more people in need of employment than there are jobs in the market. Typically that leads to very low wages, no benefits, no protection and no job security. Very good conditions for Capital, not so good for Labor.
Labor as a class of Capitalism is easier to manipulate by the Capitalist class today that it has ever been since the Industrial Revolution. Can Labor as we know it survive? Again, only time will tell.
The State Of The Markets
The third leg of Capitalism is the market for goods and services. By definition, in order for Capitalism to grow the Market needs to expand. That metric is also in flux in today’s world.
The first world is more intensely consumer driven than ever before. Everybody is bombarded with the message that they need more and newer stuff. All day, every day. That compulsive consumerism keeps the market clicking along. The actual number of people in the market might not expand much, but the need for more and better at higher prices at least keeps the capital in the markets expanding.
The developing nations are full of people that want to look and smell and eat like the first world nations. That market is huge and steadily expanding as more and more people have at least some money to spend. That market is fed by Capital in the form of jobs in manufacturing and resource procurement. The more they make, the more they spend. It is that easy.
The service industry provides a huge amount of the increasing markets necessary to Capitalism. Amazon alone takes in one billion dollars for it’s Prime membership without selling a single product. The fast food industry employs millions to go with the billions served. Throw in the delivery industry and Wal-Mart and you get an idea of the raw size and potential of this market.
This article has asked more questions than it provided answers. The next installment will deal with some specific causes and conditions.
What are your thoughts on the condition of Capitalism? Healthy? Robust? Struggling?
Words and ideas are mine. I used this Wikipedia Page for historical perspective and accuracy.
Authored by: @bigtom13
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Undoubtedly, the system of capitalism is the one that has worked perfectly. And by this I mean all the governments that practice it. The capitalist countries are the ones that have gone the furthest and belong to the first world.
This is the system par excellence. Although it may seem unfair because, although it seems normal, employees are slaves to big business. They work for a rich person, so that he or she becomes even richer... As long as the employees live up to the day.
This may seem unfair, but this is how the system works. Each employee's goal would be to work for that entrepreneur in his or her company alone while he or she is able to pursue a career or start his or her own business. That should be the case, but it is not appropriate. In fact, most people do not understand the system or are compliant.... They just don't think about starting their own business.
One system that has been implemented to make everything equal is socialism. But it's a complete farce. Governments that have tried to implement it have only used it for their own benefit, including corruption. In the end they end up turning that socialism into a communism. I tell you from my own experience since I live in Venezuela.
I personally want to be an entrepreneur and an investor. My ideal is to be my own boss and achieve economic independence. Start my own business and make it grow as much as I can.
As you can see I'm a 100% fan of capitalism hahaha.
Thank you for talking about capitalism and explaining it so well @bigtom13
Greetings to @adsactly and @bigtom13. I look forward to the next article :)
You've had a real good look at the differences between the two systems living in Venezuela, haven't you? Capitalism isn't perfect, by any means. But right now, it seems the most workable solution in the real world. Socialism always starts with such high ideals and almost always devolves into greed and corruption.
Thanks for the kind words and a marvelous comment.
Right buddy.... At least capitalism is the system that has worked best so far.
A greeting :)
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Hey there mate. What's up dude ?
Indeed, the post asks more questions than giving answers, however in general I think we can agree that the model of capitalism has unleashed a ton of innovation and energy that led to the high living standards that we know today. The awesome rewards from manufacturing and selling ever improving goods has been a very effective harness in giving entrepreneurs incentive for taking the risks needed to start up businesses. Up until now, we've mostly seen the positive impacts of capitalism and the extreme weaknesses of other systems.
However, I think we can also agree that most things are not black and white, and capitalism has its flaws. While some level of income inequality is needed for capitalism to work, at some point those who have become super wealthy may find that manipulation of politics and crushing potential competition provides greater returns than in trying to produce and sell ever improving products. I think that these greedier aspects of capitalism are its weakness and may come back to bite us and in some ways already has. Worldwide pollution is getting worse, extreme income inequality is rising and at some point we have to ask if these additional prices which lead to additional human suffering are worth paying. I guess so far that fishermen can't pay the right amount of money to clean up the oceans; even though healthy oceans help us all.
But what to do about it? Hard to say but to start with I think healthy conversations that don't degrade into name calling is a start, but in some places even that's hard to do... Or even agreement that these are problems worth addressing...
"extreme income inequality is rising " you are wrong. Money is causing inflation so even having more money is less powerful than it used to be. Since the cost of experiences are going down because the cost of production is going down and the cost of experiences are becoming cheaper. The world has never been a more fair place. Inequality will always rise with the rise of complexity in a society. This is nature and will always work that way. You are also wrong that greed provides greater return. Since it creates chaos and ruins long term growth. So it's bad business.
Really, really good comment. Thank you for it.
I know I asked way more questions than I provided answers. I fear that the inherent greed in the system might alter it significantly. The part I'm really worried about is the capital raised with out a product. Pure money manipulation and speculation. They provide no tangible product, and if a market really goes upside down (Housing in the US 7 years ago) the drain on the capitalized product is stupefying. It is where governance comes into play, and the reaction to it. It is really hard for me to perceive a solid answer to.
Thanks for a marvelous and thoughtful comment. I appreciate it!
Thank you for the compliment! Yes, that's also a worrisome part of capitalism - a lot of creative energy is being poured into manipulation of currency, and people get massively rewarded for it, even though there's no useful good or service provided by them... Maybe if it was somehow connected to say a universal basic income program, where people's cunning can reward themselves and the wider public, but I don't know how the math pans out on that and I imagine the type of person who pursues this kind of living wouldn't be interested
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Hello!
Very interesting and informative post!
I like reading history and learning something new ..
Thank you for sharing this information with us.
I'm glad you learned something new. Thank you for following along!
:)
I think capitalism is the best economic system we have up to date. Since it rewards work, yes it not flawless and people are abusing the system but I think that can be solved by laws preventing it. Like laws that protect the worker and gives their fair share.
Thanks for the educating post, I really enjoyed it
Winston Churchill had a quote that I'm going to butcher here "Capitalism is an awful system, just better than any other so far."
I know that I am glad that I've lived my entire life under the system.
An awful system that creates Yachts, iPhones and BMWs wow so horrible! 😑Capitalism is paradise.
As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!
Many blame the current woes of the world on capitalism. They say capitalism is the root cause of all that's wrong with the world.
Well, we can definitely trace some of the current woes to the excesses of some practitioners of capitalism- when greed, excessive desire for power, wealth and the fortunes of others swallow men, what you get is a system run down by a few men.
But truth be told, capitalism gave us the world as we know it today. A world where an individual by virtue of his skills can rise to the top, command huge salaries, decide his own fate, and move society forward.
Take for instance Henry Ford, Rockefeller and a host of others, how they turned nothing to something, how they built fortunes from nothing. Today, they built institutions that have stood the test of time.
The argument should then be for say socialism or Communism. Take a critical look at each one of those.- each has its inherent shortcomings. The best, in my opinion, is capitalism.
I agree absolutely. Is capitalism perfect? Not by a long shot. It is simply better than any of the options we have today.
Thanks for a very thoughtful comment.
Capitalism is today the best way for people to have a better life. The ones who understand it CAN make a difference for themself. The opossite to Capitalism is Socialism. It pleases Robin Hood. it is a lot better in my opotion the give the people a fishing rod then the fish. In the long run it gives much more better results.
I certainly agree. I'd have a couple of exceptions like the need for infrastructure and essential services, but I think letting the market decide is the right choice in most instances.
Thanks for a good comment.
As a history student, I have to agree with this post . Although capitalism has greatly changed and shaped the world . The re enter of capitalism had greatly cost a lot of chaos since the age of exploration. Capitalism was great for the first world country but a mere struggle for the developing countries.
Serious question. What system would you propose as better for developing countries? I can't think of a single one that would be significantly better for a developing country.
Thanks for a great comment.
The quest for more wealth is the driving force here. Capitalism is a double edge sword. Yes, it rewards those for work but at the same time, it creates a societal gap that is becoming irreparable. Resources diminish and the poor get poorer. It will be interesting moving forward when it comes to resources like water. Capitalism is already making an impact on water and how it is supplied. We already have bottled water being sold for more than a litre of gas. Wait until it becomes more scarce and the capitalism machine kicks into overdrive.
You are wrong. The poor is richer than they would have been in the past. Everyone has gotten richer.
I agree with you, of course. I think greed and manipulation has skewed the system toward the 'capitalist class'. I think it may be self correcting if we live long enough. When workers can't work because they don't have enough water somebody will come up with something that will re balance the equation. All three sides must be in balance for the equation to work, and it tends to be self correcting. Those corrections, however, can be incredibly painful when they occur.
Coming from a socialist democracy i'm quite an advocate for capitalism. It does get a bad rap as a system where greed is allowed to thrive, but so does socialism. People don't change their ways and perform actions in self interest regardless of what system they are in
While capitalism isn't a silver bullet that will solve all the worlds problems I do think it's a necessary evil and the benefits of capitalism are worth a lot more in the long term. Competition and innovation is allowed to thrive and intelligence is overly rewarded in this system
Capitalism also allows for less federal government intervention which is something im all for. As long as we're not generating monoploies and give people choice which is where regulations fail us in terms of aquistion and mergers, companies can quickly consolidate a market without consumers even knowing about it.
Captialists need to be less of a purist and adopt some regulations and idologies from socialism in order to improve the system
I agree with your assessment. There are several areas that could or should be more socialist in nature. Essential government services, for one, and I'm going to include basic health care in that mix.
If mergers can be allowed unchecked then we get into something that is no longer capitalist. Oligarchy maybe?
Thanks for a thought provoking comment.
Indeed the government is the price we pay for basic civil rights as a group! Roads, water, electricity, transport, health care etc in the ideal situation we pay a reasonable amount of tax for these services to be maintained they provide a platform for capitalism to thrive allowing barriers to be removed but also keeping them in check and avoiding like you mentioned oligarchy! We’ve yet to find a balance between the two because either one tries to dominate the other or the power of the one corrupts the other! Hopefully we eventually find a give and take balance that works for us
I do think though that systems like these will never work on large scales with millions and billions of people and that cities should have more autonomy to pick a system that works for its in habitants since they closer to the ground and know what will benefit people, creating sort of micro economies and governments with a bit of oversite on the federal level! This would help balance the spread and power of one system over the other as people who prefer one system could remain while others move creating a natural flow in and out of each system
This is why I enjoy steemit we can talk freely and discuss topics that on other mediums would be ignored or would turn into a screaming match!
I obviously do not know the answer, and consider myself lucky just to know some of the questions. I do believe that capitalism has a sort of 'self leveling' device built into it that will tend, over time, to moderate itself. For instance, right now, in the US I think that Capital has the upper hand over labor. I'm guessing (or maybe hoping) that will level out and labor will once again become 1/3 of the equation.
Thank you for the comments and the opportunity to trade opinions and ideas. I'm pretty fond of Steemit myself :)
I lived part of my life in socialism. Even now, socialism flourishes here. In the socialist society, we have always been taught that capitalism is evil. Constant propaganda is the main goal of which is to show that external forces are to blame for all the troubles. Western powers are always under the external forces-the capitalists. It worked before, but at the perfect time, thanks to the Internet, people "open their eyes." That is, people have become more sensible and have learned to see the truth. People see the difference between the standard of living.
Capitalism opens up opportunities for single-minded people. Capitalism allows the development of private property. Capitalism has good motivation - the more you work, the more you get. This creates competition and competition creates an accelerated growth of progress. Where there is no competition there is a monopoly, and monopoly is a regress. But there are disadvantages to capitalism. In particular, this is the division between the poor and the rich. In addition, the likelihood of crises and market volatility. That is, there is always a risk.
But there is no zero risk factor at all.
Therefore, capitalism can be perceived differently by different people. Someone thinks it's bad, but somebody's good. How many people there are - so many opinions. Personally, I see both advantages and disadvantages. Capitalism survives the strongest.
Thank you
Perception is everything in this sort of debate, and per normal, there isn't exactly a 'right or wrong' answer just degrees of separation.
Thanks for a very well thought comment.
The main problem of capitalism is that, like gravity, the effects of its principles and operation cannot be repealed, avoided or abrogated.
Capitalism, like gravity, is a naturally arising phenomenon. It manifests spontaneously and inexorably among human beings that are pursuing their rational self-interest absent any significant external coercion circumscribing their actions.
Just as every human physical activity on earth must account for and fully respect the ubiquitous operation of gravity, similarly every humanly created political and legal system must account for the inevitability of capitalism - and comport with its principles.
Its principles demand complete accountability for one’s actions or inactions. It quashes and destroys poorly conceived or executed economic and business plans. It doesn’t recognize nor reward irrationality – most especially the desire of something for nothing.
Therefore, its greatest weakness is that the conniving political class of world improvers cannot by their regulatory fiat alter these immutable principles to create a more fair and just economic system or society any more than they can repeal the laws of gravity so that pigs, in their current anatomical condition, can fly at will on their own volition.
Politicians or others ‘regulating’ capitalism in an attempt to improve or modify it is about as absurd as airplane builder Boeing replacing their entire aeronautical engineering department with lawyers and professors of linguistics - with Noam Chomsky in charge of the whole affair.
Thus, when the planes fall from the sky because of faulty engineering, the lawyers will blame gravity – not their lack of respect and understanding of its power and principles. They will claim that what is needed is more and better 'modification' and 'regulation' of gravity - don't you see.
Just as today when preposterous political schemes of economic engineering crash and burn – politicians and academicians blame capitalism - oblivious to their own ignorance and culpability.
Capitalism is not without weakness, but the driving theory is that the market will make the corrections all on it's own. I do not believe that is entirely correct, I do believe that oversight is necessary. Some oversight is necessary. Environmental issues come to mind. When there is no profit in making sure the next generation of consumers is alive to buy, the market tends to skimp (more profit) on the clean up and repair. It needs to be done for our grandchildren.
Thanks for an articulate and pointed comment. Made me think, I hope it inspires others.
Where is capitalism there is also probability of the great depression and great recession which certainly in the past were significant and painful crises for many people especially at that time in 20th century when we had major crises. I could say we already went through crises in 21st century as well (financial & mortgage crises) In the end it was at some point healthy for economy long therm. People learned from mistakes causing these kind of crises, OR DID THEY? There always must be some kind of bumps and that’s why capitalism still exists. Of course it is not, in my opinion, reason to believe that capitalism is stable. Everything exists until it doesn't. US is definately not heading the right direction even though US is all about capitalism. Look at the debt, look at the money printing, bonds...you name it. The only question remains, is really capitalism the right direction? It might be the only direction as of now. It’s definitely better then countries with socialism.
It seems to me that it takes one generation for the market to forget the lessons. The lessons from the great depression carried us to the recession of the early 80s. That carried us to the housing bubble. Is that enough lesson for the current generation? Time will tell.
You should examine both sides of history before drawing any conclusions.
This book The Jungle from 1906 by Upton Sinclair tells a very different story of crapitalism.
As does this one from 1915 by the same author Cry for Justice.
They both illustrate what life is like when you are a havenot in a world ruled by haves.
Perhaps you should explore alternatives to crapitalism before declaring it the savior of the poor when historical records show to clearly be anything but for the vast majority of the human race.
The ABC's of Anarchism.
https://listverse.com/2016/06/29/10-instances-of-anarchist-societies-that-actually-worked/
You realize, of course, that the world had a population of less than 2 billion when Sinclair wrote those and now is in excess of 7 billion? To me, those books are outdated badly.
I do not for a moment believe that anarchism scales to 8 billion. It might work in certain small groups, but has never withstood the tests of either scale or time. Not ever once.
You mean it hasnt withstood crapitalust repression, not once, ever.
Everytime folks get established they get crushed by armies.
Outdated, or just an inconvienient message?
Nothing has changed, you can find folks with those same problems, today.
You can embrace your slavery if you like, but im gonna try to free myself from mine.
I would submit to you that if a community can not provide for it's common defense then it is not a viable community at all.
Stanarchy has never, ever worked outside laboratory grade situations.
I actually prefer to work inside a system that functions to dreaming about one that doesn't.
So, rule by bully is acceptable to you?
https://listverse.com/2016/06/29/10-instances-of-anarchist-societies-that-actually-worked/
It is easier to embrace your slavery, especially if denial of it works for you.
Capitalism is the best system to live under, no question in my mind. But like every system it's prone to being distorted by the power hungry and the greedy. Greediness in Capitalism is worse than other systems. Yes, it should be cheered and we should be thankful to live under it. But almost every single capitalist company, dreams of becoming a monopoly, which is illegal for good reason.
In the Citizen United case where it was declared that corporations are citizens and have the same rights, I would say they certainly don't act like very good citizens, or neighbors - they sell us things that make us sick, and then want to get off just by making up an excuse. Our good friends in the auto industry knowingly and intentionally have built and continued to build cars they knew had defects that could, and did, kill people. Why were they let off without a trial or even a charge for murder?
Capitalism has become overly corrupt, though it's still the best to live under. If laws were upheld and were used to stop some of the things that are regularly exploited buy our good citizen neighbors, the "Big Corporations", and start making them be more responsible and considerate of more than just money and power, it would be a supreme system. But in capitalism that's never going to happen again, because the greediest always rise to the top.
I have a sincere hope that Capitalism is self regulating. The whole concept needs all three legs to stand on, and when one gets out of balance the theory is that the other two will eventually reel in the third. I would say that if it is not so, the world population (and indeed the world itself) are in for a rocky ride.
Greed is akin to the most dreadful cancers. Once it gets a foothold there is little that can stop it. Sure, it's as old as humanity itself, but our system seems to be losing all semblance of respectability, honesty and sincerity. It's almost like the once deplored snake oil salesmen have become the new model for success in many vocations and businesses.
Economic self regulation becomes overburdened and mostly ineffective when the 'self' doing the regulating is consumed by greed. Greed doesn't motivate or inspire people to do honorable things, it inspires them to do underhanded, sneaky, and corrupt things.
The General Motors case, which I alluded to, with the ignition problem leading executives covered up for the simple reason that it would hurt their bottom line, was cold-blooded, premeditated murder. Yet no one was charged as such. And why? Because of how greed has infiltrated every niche in government and the courts, as well as in business and banking. Our elected officials are totally consumed by it. How do people earning a couple hundred thousand a year, living in one of the most expensive cities on earth, end up with a net worth of 77 million dollars for example? We refuse to see it for what it is for some unexplainable reason. We ignore that it's a sure sign of corruption in Washington, yet we never dig in to do something about it. We know we're defeated, so we might as well accept it. And that attitude is what threatens us most, here in the undisputed world capital of capitalism.
Yeah. Just yes, I agree.
When Honda was found to have 'mislaid' the air bag problem a couple years ago there was some talk of indictments for certain execs in the Company. I think somebody realized that the statute of limitations hadn't run out on the GM execs, so nothing happened.
It stinks. And I do not know the answer.
This narrative needs to be echoed in countries like Venezuela, because the big problems they suffer in the wrong way blame precisely capitalism, they do not know the truth, because they apply an ideology like the socialist one as what is applied in Cuba ... the result ? the reverse of capitalism: poverty and misery!
Thanks for interesting story
Yes. Just yes. Conditions in pre 1960 Cuba were not all that good to the populace under a strong man form of government. But the result was not pretty in most metrics.
Thanks for a good comment. I wish nothing but the best for Venezuela, but suspect those people have not seen the worst, yet.
You're just brilliant man.Great writing your Capitalism post.
Lassez-faire, free-market capitalism, it could well be argued, is the only true state of capitalism. All other forms could (and IMHO, SHOULD) be understood as variations and betrayals of that state. The United States began losing our free-market economy with the rise of the oil barons and there willingness to bay-off (even buy outright) U.S. Congressmen in their haste to extend pipelines over private property, squelch competition, set up a central bank, and to engage, unfettered (despite what the law may have said) in every conceivable type of restraint of trade and outright monopolistic practice.
What we have today could be rightfully described as a form of gentle fascism directed by an oligopoly of wealth. Fascism is essentially the control of the government for private economic purpose, OR (and where have you heard this before?) "private-public partnerships." Even the former public education system is well on its way now to becoming a fascist operation owned by the corporations, and their board-less operations will be enforced by the state which will still collect real estate taxes at the point of a gun (but now with no local oversight.)
The United States has a faux "democracy" as well, to line up and serve as the pressure-relief valve for the totally managed economy. Were the people to realize they are no longer participants in the governing of their nation, they would rise up in revolt, and so the trappings of "democracy" are carefully guarded, and the illusion maintained by the controlled press.
No, there is no real capitalism anywhere in the developed world, as a result of the greed and anti-competitive nature of our super wealth elites.
John D. Rockefeller, Sr. once proudly said "competition is a sin," and he meant it. In 1908 (the last time the family's fortune was made public) he was worth $3,000,000,000--which made him the richest man in the world at that time, AND THIS WAS BEFORE THE ADVENT OF THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, LUBRICANTS, HEATING OIL, PLASTICS, PHARMACEUTICALS, ASPHALT, etc.,etc. In other words, he was already (five years before he and his compatriots forced through the Federal Reserve Act, the IRS, etc.) the richest man on the planet merely form the sale of kerosene to light oil lamps. Let that sink in for a minute and consider how much true (hidden) power the oilogopoly in America must have built up since that time!
After this, the family's (true influence over the U.S. government) wealth was never published again, and he hired former Baptist minister, Frederick T. Gates to oversea his bogus "philanthropy" operations to whitewash his crimes in the public's eye, and to give back 1/1000th of what he stole from the public via exorbitant monopolistic prices on his products, to socialist and leftist causes that he controlled. In other words, the Rockefellers also created the position of public relations director--and they needed to, as the word was getting out by 1910 that their power had become a serious threat to capitalism and the freedoms of Americans.
In 1911, their flagship "Standard Oil Company of New Jersey" was publicly "broken up" as a result of belated enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act. But, what really happened was that the oil empire was simply split up into the infamous "Seven Sisters" oil companies which were still controlled by the Rockefellers through interlocking Boards of Directors.
Since that time, several attempts have been made to delve into the monopoly's operations to try to restore capitalism, but Rockefeller agents in the Congress always found ways to squelch them and short-circuit these efforts. Perhaps the most famous attempt came during the 1950s with the Reece Commission hearings into the tax-exempt foundations (the foundation being another tool the elite set up to hide wealth and to move it, tax-exempt, to left-wing and globalist cause that they control) but this effort did not succeed in revising foundation law.
In short, capitalism died during the Gilded Age of the 1870s-1910s, and she was murdered by the robber barons. What we are left with are some thin trappings and a veneer of "capitalism," just as we are left with the thin veneer of a "democracy" to hide our Orwellian, fascist police/surveillance state.
I could argue with that some, but the truth is, we at least see the same 'trend line'. I will hopefully have a future article in this series that deals specifically with capitalism and democracy, causes and effects. I have extensive notes :)
Thanks for a straightforward and compelling comment.
You're welcome Tom. Thanks for yours as well.
I would refer you to anything written about the Rockefellers by Ida Tarbell (background on how they illegally monopolozied the oil trade) and by Dr. Emmanuel Josephson (on how they weaponized their money to seize the levers of power in the USA.)
Hello! Here talking about Capitalism if it is good if it is bad how beneficial it is; and I can say with a lot of Base that I prefer a thousand times that my country was Capitalist to that now we are that Socialism that does not serve but at all copying from whom? from Cuba? if they are still poor here in Venezuela they are not becoming marginal and so it is to want to lead a country that was Capitalist now be Socialist companies can never be managed by the government or can be public, because everything that all public entities They damage it like they are not theirs so that they take care of it right? On the other hand, capitalism takes care of its interests and takes care of its companies, and that is why it is still developing, as we are going to develop with a Socialism that is not starving and the Government says that it is not so that everything is blockade and blockade of the empire, by God and I say it with property THAT LIVES THE CAPITALISM I prefer to live like this and know that I will not go hungry or toil than to live in this misery
I could weep for Venezuela. At one point it was the diamond in all of South America. Hopefully, soon, it will extricate itself from a closed loop system.
Thanks for you meaningful comment.
Amen that this is so and who criticizes Capitalism has not lived in Revolucion, much less in a Socialism that Cuba is beautiful? Yes, if it is only the tourism part, have they been in the part where people really live? Venezuela has beautiful natural wonders and for tourism is excellent in a single country we have Desert as it is The Choir Medanos, want cold to the fullest? sunset we have The Sierra Nevada, Beaches? because we have the best beaches Mochima, Choroni, Tuja want Sabana? good go to the Apure State, we have the highest waterfall in the world The Angel Falls Disney was inspired by the UP film to make it, the Amazon State the only natural lung that is alive we have the Ray of Catatumbo have many things, what We have a good ruler who says that we are in Wonderland, I believe that madness seizes him and says that Socialism is the maximum, the maximum for those who do not die of hunger and have no shortage, So whoever criticizes the capitalist model does not know what he has until he loses it so we did not know we were happy until this government robbed us of happiness, so whoever reads me and says that capitalism is robbery and abuse restractese that the capitalism only cares for your interests and does not let your people go hungry if you want to emerge study and be good at your work and receive your benefits so what remains is to study hard and be someone in life to receive the achievements of that sacrifice, not like the socialism that wants that we are all equal the one that studies and does not study to receive the same crumbs