Victims of Communism Day

Albedo said:

Can we agree that equitable distribution of wealth and high social mobility have to date been best achieved in the social democracies of Scandinavia, not the world's less-regulated capitalist economies? If Norway's the extent of tyranny we have to endure to prevent capital becoming predatory, I'm totally for it.

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I agree with rob. A mostly homogenous population, benefiting from natural resources, treated relatively lightly by modern history, and with few defense or foreign obligations, can be generous to its citizenry. It's not really a practical model for the entire world (or even the US) to follow.

Amadan said:

I still do not quite understand what you are arguing here. I perceive rob and Don to be claiming that capitalism isn't a planned system the government sets up and says "We will now run things according to the capitalist model," whereas you pretty much have to do that with socialism or communism. Are you saying that capitalism does require that sort of deliberate construction?

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Ah. I didn't mean to imply that the capitalist system has been consciously and deliberately put in place by a specific government (which is not to say that hasn't happened - the transformation of the command economies of the old USSR for example). But that's not what I understood Rob to be saying (and indeed, as you can see from my posts, I'm still not quite clear what he is saying when it comes to capitalism being a process).

Amadan said:

In a pragmatic sense, sure, but then no economic system is free of political elements and vice versa.

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Indeed.

Diana Hignutt said:

Tobacco? Dude, my lungs are shot because of car exhaust, jet exhaust, and coal burning, and industrial air pollution, not second-hand smoke...and in the US all of those things are the products of capitalism. And monarchies do not preclude capitalism.

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The point does not change. Great Britain was heavily into industry before the USA became a manufacturing superpower. Well before, if I recall correctly.

The point is that capitalism is hardly the sole source of the above.

Amadan said:

I agree with rob. A mostly homogenous population, benefiting from natural resources, treated relatively lightly by modern history, and with few defense or foreign obligations, can be generous to its citizenry. It's not really a practical model for the entire world (or even the US) to follow.

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lol. You talking about the USA?

Sounds like it.

StuToYou said:

lol. You talking about the USA?

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No.

Amadan said:

I agree with rob. A mostly homogenous population, benefiting from natural resources, treated relatively lightly by modern history, and with few defense or foreign obligations, can be generous to its citizenry. It's not really a practical model for the entire world (or even the US) to follow.

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Amadan said:

No.

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Ok.

A mostly homogenous population, 'check'


benefiting from natural resources, 'check'

treated relatively lightly by modern history, 'check x 100'


and with few defense or foreign obligations, well....guess that depends on the understanding of 'obligation'...

Evidently we disagree on the meanings of those words, then, since the only one I would check is natural resources.

Amadan said:

Evidently we disagree on the meanings of those words, then, since the only one I would check is natural resources.

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Evidently.

Amadan said:

Evidently we disagree on the meanings of those words, then, since the only one I would check is natural resources.

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+1

robjvargas said:

The point does not change. Great Britain was heavily into industry before the USA became a manufacturing superpower. Well before, if I recall correctly.

The point is that capitalism is hardly the sole source of the above.

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It was capitalism that brought forth industrialism. Capitalism existed long before industry was born, and long before corporatism...but they are its children.

How soon we've forgotten Bhopal.