Capitalism is amazing - but it's also imperfect, amirite?

corrupt AND greedy people enter capitalism like it's theirs and theirs only to take. I mean yeah it is theirs to take. That's why people don't like capitalism, particularly the completely "free" and unregulated kind. If it's not heavily regulated with laws that enforce some kind of equality or common (one might even say "social") good, the system is a psychopath's wet dream. A few rotten apples do not represent the whole system. Period. It's a system that's disproportionate benefits and is controlled by a very very small minority who hold the vast majority of power (i.e. money & resources) and is designed to increase that wealth gap because having capital lets you accumulate even more capital at an exponentially faster rate than those with fewer or without, so in a way, yes a few rotten apples do represent most of the system if not the whole system.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Not to forget that it rewards ruthlessness, exploitation, manipulation, collusion, unless rules are sensible and toughly enforced.

by Suspicious-Major6603 2 days ago

While it is the worst of all possible economic systems except for all the others, to work for the majority of people it needs to be highly regulated by disinterested technocrats to form a redistributive system that still rewards risk takers and entrepreneurs. Its nature means that it by definition goes to excess, and it is the excess that needs regulating.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I agree. Alas we have never seen actual capitalism where the consumer is informed so that they can make informed purchases and regulate the market. What we have instead is a sort of "bandit rule" where villains exploit the system for their own personal gains. No problem with capitalism but we have never had capitalism as anything other than an idea. In reality our economic system is nothing but thievery.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Capitalism allows the greedy and corrupt to accrue money and power like no other economic system. If you're not convinced, just look at who the most wealthy and powerful people are. It's just what capitalism does. The argument that it's "amazing" because of the "progress" it promotes is rote. There would be progress without it, and it would be more adapted to needs and less hurtful to society as a whole. We don't need or want mass-surveillance technology, but the elites do, so it's getting developed.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

I do believe that a heavy regulated system that gives everyone a hand up when they need it can work under capitalism. Which is why I'm a Democratic Socialist.

by hayliekling 2 days ago

You're a social democrat, not a democratic socialist. If your opinion is that capitalism is fine and just needs some safety nets, you're not a socialist. If you're not against the private ownership of the means of production, you're not a socialist.

by FewConsideration5252 2 days ago

I think the metric system of measurement is the best system invented. But that's just my view that making knowledge generating math easier is better than any financial system.

by Wanda32 2 days ago

Capitalism doesn't make people corrupt and greedy, but it does reward people who are corrupt and greedy. It might drag some people out of poverty, but also condemns people to lifetimes of poverty. It can lift up economies and it can also knock them right back down.

by Scary_Culture_2162 2 days ago

The system you're looking for is Science. Capitalism didn't give us antibiotics, it just gave us private property rights. Markets have existed since Humans began trading, capitalism is just another market system.

by Kindly_Elevator 2 days ago

It's not that corrupt greedy people ruin capitalism, it's that capitalism rewards people for being corrupt and greedy. All states that makes capitalism seem good has some kind of combination of capitalism and socialism. Pure capitalistic states have all devolved into a dictatorship.

by romaguerajaylan 2 days ago

Pure capitalism is a pyramid scheme. It's impossible to have billionaires if Walmart aren't selling $2 T-Shirts made for 10c by children working 16 hour shifts in Vietnam. It's impossible for everyone to be rich. The few live in luxury off the labour of the many. That is capitalism. Just don't fool yourself into thinking the exact opposite, communism, is any better. Everyone can get to be equally poor. (Apart from those in charge, obviously). Capitalism is a necessary evil. You do need a way to value productivity and transfer that value. Money greases the wheels of the economy because constant bartering is a chore. The real fight is not about capitalism itself. It's socialism vs libertarianism. Or big government vs small government. How much a person should rise and fall entirely of their own merit, and how much the state should interject, provide safety buffers, offset the worst excesses of capitalism. That's social democracy.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Okay, so it's a system in which the more money you have, the more power. And, the more power you have the easier it is to make money. But hey, greed is just a small flaw, not an inherent and necessary characteristic of such a system.

by FewConsideration5252 2 days ago

Everyone had to work, every systems needs workers

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Capitalism exploits workers.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Because you need money to survive. That's the idiotic illusion of choice capitalism offers: you're free to choose between exploitation and starvation.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Every system needs someone to do the labour. That's not the same as workers. Workers are those who receive a wage to labour for someone else. Labour can get done with no need to separate us between owners and workers.

by FewConsideration5252 2 days ago

This doesn't address anything I said and I won't be replying to it.

by Felipa86 2 days ago

Even in it's best manifestations, the inequality is staggering.

by Gene54 2 days ago

The inequality is not about what you see, which is their wealth. It's about what you don't know, their knowledge. They spent years 'learning' things the 99% didn't. Knowledge is free. They grabbed it, put it into action, and now they're reaping its rewards.

by Specific_Reception 2 days ago

"I have very little understanding of anything I read and that's why nobody wants to converse with me about anything."

by Felipa86 2 days ago

Lack of a good healthcare system isn't due to capitalism. If it was, Canada wouldn't have a healthcare system like it does.

by Low-Signature-1573 2 days ago

Canada's air defense is provided by its southern neighbor. Canada doesn't produce its own fighter planes. Canada doesn't design tanks. That's why Canada has a healthcare system.

by Felipa86 2 days ago

Also, your healthcare system stinks and every Canadian I've ever met gripes about the timing of getting tests and/or surgeries done.

by Felipa86 2 days ago

What do you mean by capitalism? Free trade? Or actual capitalism? And how free is anything in a system where it can be illegal to collect rainwater or to own ideas?

by Round_Advertising 2 days ago

Capitalism as in having 'freedom to privately own the means of production of goods/services, make profits from it, and expand operations.' But not dictating trade.

by Specific_Reception 2 days ago

Communism is the best system invented. It lifts up economies, it drags people out of poverty, it may feel like it's monopolized, but it's open for everybody. However... like any other ideology (or economic system), it's not PERFECT. To my anti-communist friends out there or anyone who criticizes communism, it may piss you off, but trust me, communism does not corrupt people or make them greedy. Instead, corrupt AND greedy people enter communism like it's theirs and theirs only to take, and they try to rig the entire system for their own benefits to an "unhealthy extent." A few rotten apples do not represent the whole system. Period.

by Merleupton 2 days ago

"I may not agree with what you say, bit I will defend to my death your right to say it." — Voltaire

by Specific_Reception 2 days ago

That's loser talk! Winners throw loosers into the Gulag!

by Merleupton 2 days ago

this isnt unpopular

by Zacheryhermann 2 days ago

It definitely is.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

No, it absolutely is not. This is the status quo, this is the most popular opinion. Basically everyone (wrongfully) thinks that capitalism is imperfect but still the best we can do. If you think this is an unpopular opinion you definitely live in an echo chamber.

by FewConsideration5252 2 days ago

Unfortunately, it's extremely popular.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Capitalism creates poverty. The more desperate the situation of the poor, the more they can be exploited.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Capitalism was the great reduction in poverty world wide by far

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Then why is the middle class disappearing in capitalist America while it is growing in socialist China?

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Because everyone in China is poor as hell where everyone in America is rich as hell. Yes if you make 10 bucks an hour you're making more than vast majority of people in the world

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Most Americans are poorer than their parents.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Cool it with the anti semitism

by Anonymous 1 day ago