Koldo
Outstanding Member
I note you didn´t answer the questions, they weren´t rhetorical.
But they weren't pertinent either.
I am defending neither capitalism nor socialism.
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I note you didn´t answer the questions, they weren´t rhetorical.
If it's a bad argument, then don't buy the argument.One can always find a reason to justify the conclusion they held before thinking things through.
It's a downside of capitalism, but it would not have been possible without capitalism.
This is nonsense. Theft is theft regardless of the system.
Some systems have stronger disincentives and harsher punishments, though.
This is all just victim-blaming in defense of greed. But I doubt your bias will ever allow you to recognize that.Nope. People have responsibilities, your car seller was responsible for determining the worth of his car. He failed that simple requirement.
The buyer is responsible for getting what he wants to buy at the lowest possible price. This isn´t greed, this is the simple market principle at work.
I collect watches, and the first one I bought on ebay I think almost twenty years ago, was faulty. Was the seller at fault ? Nope I was. I didn´t take the time to learn what questions to ask. The seller never said it kept good time, and I never asked. I sure have on the thirty watches I have bought on ebay since then.
What you call greed can be called the reasonable act of conserving resources.
Greed does exist, I don recall the billionaire , but on his deathbed he was asked if he had accumulated enough money, he said no, when asked what more could he want, and he replied, one dollar more.
A true market economy would weed out those who sell less for more, they would die on the vine if sufficient market competition existed.
You are correct, materialism is running rampant, I believe there is a direct correlation between secularism and materialism.
The secular society inherently believes that you only go around once, that there is nothing after our pitifully short life, and that the accumulation of stuff is the only way to be happy, just a Mercedes instead of a Ford, a pool to replace the portable spa, a 5 bedroom home in a better neighborhood to replace the 3 bedroom one, yet happiness will only be found with just one more cool thing, maybe a Harley.
Make no mistake, many marginal believers get caught up in the same thing, they will have it both ways, lotsa stuff now and an after life as well.
I believe institutions reflect the society from which they come.
Greed that you decry exists in every economic system man has devised that functions on a scale larger than person to person barter, from monarchies, to socialism and communism, to national socialism.
I personally believe our system, with all its ugly warts, is better than any of these.
It ain´t the system that the problem, it is all the people, most likely including you and I
You really didn't read the post, to understand it, did you. You just looked for the easiest counterpoint you could come up with and threw it at the wall.Sooo...are you saying that I can only sell my services and/or goods at an arbitrary price determined by someone like you?
Cheating is possible in any economic system.It's a downside of capitalism, but it would not have been possible without capitalism.
Capitalism does not have a legal code. You are misplacing blame again. That is the failure of government, laws and justice system, which can be a democracy, republic or dictatorship depending on nation-state.
Cheating is possible in any economic system.
We can observe this in the real world.
What matters is which economic system serves
us best under which system of government.
The latter places controls upon the former.
Theorizing about economic systems leads most
astray. This is because inherent biases lead us to
see the best in what we want, & the worst in others.
But we have experiments running around the globe
throughout time. Which offer the best results?
I think it goes up and down the spectrum.
But that would be "whataboutism," wouldn't it?
"Undemonstrated"? The article in the OP was only a single example, although I could come up with many more. In fact, every time I come across a story about capitalists behaving badly, I'll post it in this thread.
FDR established the Office of Price Administration to settle such matters.
Office of Price Administration - Wikipedia
So, we've had it before, under the existing Constitution and our capitalist system. It's not unprecedented in the US system.
And the socialists' position is better?That's what makes the capitalists' position so mystifying. After all, most informed, educated individuals should at least have some awareness of history. They should be aware that there are causes and effects of history. They should be aware of what has triggered revolutions in other countries, along with the history of labor unrest in this country.
This is all just victim-blaming in defense of greed. But I doubt your bias will ever allow you to recognize that.
Well, I may be wrong, but it looks like China is better off now than they were during the time of the Boxer Rebellion up until the rule of Chiang Kai-Shek. The first half of the 20th century was an absolute disaster for China, but the second half of the 20th century showed marked improvement.
It's way worse than you know.
I was watching a TV show the other day about a guy
.
Capitalism does not reward hard work, it protects the rich and rewards the rich.
Whatabout? Quite so. But rightly, as you
appear to be picking "capitalists" out as uniquely
inclined to base and ignoble behaviour, capitalism
as specially likely to induce or enable such.
Such, I say, is not the case. Nor is it
demonstrated by selective outrage, as you
indicate you intend to pursue.
Obviously you're hoping for someone to take the bait. This agency was set up to control the prices of commodities because of the war. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we are discussing. Plus you might want to look at the acquittal of Madman Muntz.
Believe what you will; I'm just calling it as I see it.
What I'm not clear on is why there's so much denial coming from the capitalist camp. They believe that capitalists can do no wrong, while believing that socialism is some horrible, ultimate evil that just pops up out of thin air to prey upon weak, helpless, innocent capitalists.
I'm just not sure if they take this approach for propaganda reasons, as a way of playing the victim card and playing on people's emotions. Or if they really do believe such malarkey.