Scrap capitalism? *dives out of window*

[Darkness]

Exactly. He claims the problem is capitalism, yet he (the disembodied voice in the cartoon) either has no clue how money really works or he is being willfully obtuse. Marxism has never worked, and all he is doing is calling what happened the failure of 'capitalism' as a means to support his 'alternative', which is a bad joke.

(marxism itself is a bad joke)

I think what the guy is trying to say, if only he had the right understanding, is that FIAT CURRENCY is the problem. He is right in that labor produces wealth. He is wrong however to say that capital was the cause of the crisis. I think the real point is that it was not capital, it was fiat currency which the Fed can create out of nothing, and continues to do at an increasing rate, to serve the vast governmental machine, is what wrecked the economy and continues to keep it operating at a highly repressed rate.

Here's a basic tutorial on where money comes from. And why these crashes are guaranteed to continue as long as fiat currency is in use.

[youtube]vVkFb26u9g8[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Money As Debt (1 of 5)‬‎
[youtube]sanOXoWl0kc[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Money As Debt (2 of 5)‬‎
[youtube]kTv1fo6sKmo[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Money As Debt (3 of 5)‬‎
[youtube]3qicabStQkc[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Money As Debt (4 of 5)‬‎
[youtube]7kpSbkaD4tM[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Money As Debt (5 of 5)‬‎

Beware of the Voodoo! I need to see a credible source which states the banks have the power to create money. As I understand the system, a bank which has a fractional reserve requirement ratio set at 9:1 must keep 100 USD out of 1,000 USD at the Federal Reserve, and is allowed to lend out 900 USD. That is the money multiplier, that the 900 USD can be loaned out, yet functionally it is like it is still sitting in the bank's vaults so the money supply in our small closed system is valued at 1,900 USD.

 

[Requia]

I want to do a few more laps around the capitalist board and retire rich. What is wrong with that? I guess I have always been the problem. Back in the 80's I was involved in organised labor. When that dried up, I went back to school, got my MBA and became an evil capitalist.

In a nut shell, I have followed the money. I have worked hard and enriched myself.

Let's say for a moment that I decide to drink the kool-aid and become a socialist. I don't see any incentive to do anything but sit on my butt and eat my ration of food like cattle in a field.

I gotta tell you, I want more in life than a bare existence. I would find life very boring being reliant on the government for my next meal.

You contradict yourself, either you'd be happy with the bare minimum or you have an incentive.

Of course, some people would be happy with just the minimum, which is actually *good* for you, because that’s less people that you have to compete with, we don't actually need that labor after all (right now about 20% of working age American men don't have jobs, more from lack of jobs than being happy with welfare, but it demonstrates that actual labor needs are far below the number of people we have), so why should you have to take a lower wage just because people who don't want to work are forced into it by economics?

(I'm assuming of course, that you mean you 'made it' to upper middle class, and aren't one of the people who actually benefits from cheap labor).

 

[Reverend Rick]

so why should you have to take a lower wage just because people who don't want to work are forced into it by economics?

Economics should force everyone to work. Government hand outs only enforce a bad work ethic. It is a sad but true fact that some employees are not even worth minimum wage. Their lack of social skills and education make it almost impossible to be productive on any level.

 

[Alceste]

Economics should force everyone to work. Government hand outs only enforce a bad work ethic. It is a sad but true fact that some employees are not even worth minimum wage. Their lack of social skills and education make it almost impossible to be productive on any level.

Perhaps you might consider relocating to a country with no social safety net. Anywhere in the third world will do.

 

[Alceste]

Beware of the Voodoo! I need to see a credible source which states the banks have the power to create money. As I understand the system, a bank which has a fractional reserve requirement ratio set at 9:1 must keep 100 USD out of 1,000 USD at the Federal Reserve, and is allowed to lend out 900 USD. That is the money multiplier, that the 900 USD can be loaned out, yet functionally it is like it is still sitting in the bank's vaults so the money supply in our small closed system is valued at 1,900 USD.

It is the fact that they treat the loan as an asset that causes many critics to observe they are creating money from nothing.

 

[cynic2005]

Ooh, I love RSA! Those are fun. I think capitalism as a moral principle and ethical framework should be scrapped, certainly. Our society is completely deranged and degraded by our effort to find moral righteousness in the lust for material wealth. Capitalism (in the form of business ownership) as a simple method of attaining independence and covering the basic necessities of life is not a problem. Capitalism became a social illness when we elevated the market over all other concerns and began to worship it as a god, or at least when we elevated those who worship the infallibility of the market to positions of immense wealth and power.

Isn't that what capitalism will always lead to? Capitalism is a system that stratifies power and focuses it in the hands of a few individuals (individuals who may be responsible or irresponsible with their wealth and power). These people will have the capacity to buy our social institutions (i.e., media), infiltrate government and change policies in their favor, etc. Corruption is inevitable.

Even if we go back to a "sound" monetary system, it does not address the fact that capitalism requires an infinite amount of resources to keep it going.

Economics should force everyone to work. Government hand outs only enforce a bad work ethic. It is a sad but true fact that some employees are not even worth minimum wage. Their lack of social skills and education make it almost impossible to be productive on any level.

Interesting... You argue for capitalism because it gives an incentive, yet in our current system you acknowledge that "some employees are not worth minimum wage." Does this system fail to provide an incentive for these people? Why do these people have a lack of social skills and education? Are you assuming that everyone has a good social environment and equal access to a good education in this country?

 

[Reverend Rick]

Fantastic lecture.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Mine or the OP?

Yours of course.

 

[Crosis]

[youtube]u6XAPnuFjJc[/youtube]
YouTube - RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rAQeBx22cU

 

[Reverend Rick]

Both systems are affected by productivity. If you got paid the same amount each week with no regard to how many days or hours you worked each week, how often would you show up for work?

 

[Willamena]

Both systems are affected by productivity. If you got paid the same amount each week with no regard to how many days or hours you worked each week, how often would you show up for work?

What is the purpose of "work"?

If the purpose is to earn so much money for each hour spent in a particular place doing particular tasks, then yes, you might fail to show up under this other scenario.