The Future of Capitalism?

[Laika]

Given the amount of economic and political turmoil, I wanted to ask people here what you think the future of Capitalism will be? Will it continue to deliver massive economic advances as it has done over the past two hundred years? or Will it fall into crisis or become stagnant and be replaced by another "post-capitalist" economic system? Are there good reasons to be optimistic about the future?

**This is the Capitalist Only Sub-forum**
Please Respect the Money

 

[BSM1]

Capitalism is alive and well, thank you very much. Many young folks worldwide are seeing that despite what any governmental body promises the private sector can and is delivering goods and services in a very satisfactory manner.

 

[DavidFirth]

I think it's here to stay at least until somebody else can come up with a better idea, which doesn't look likely to happen any time soon.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Given the amount of economic and political turmoil, I wanted to ask people here what you think the future of Capitalism will be? Will it continue to deliver massive economic advances as it has done over the past two hundred years? or Will it fall into crisis or become stagnant and be replaced by another "post-capitalist" economic system? Are there good reasons to be optimistic about the future?

**This is the Capitalist Only Sub-forum**
Please Respect the Money

As long as capitalism remains responsible and conservative, there is a bright future I think.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I think it's the entitlement mentality that people have that is damaging capitalism to a point where it forces people to be spending more than it can afford, and in the process, hurting everybody in the end.

If people keep pushing this route, then the future for capitalism probably, and even likely, isn't going to be all that well.

 

[YmirGF]

I think it's here to stay at least until somebody else can come up with a better idea, which doesn't look likely to happen any time soon.

That is pretty much my feeling. I think everyone with a brain realizes that Capitalism isn't perfect but other models are simply ineffective. There is something to the idea that you can improve your lot with a clever idea and the impetus to carrying it through to fruition against a world that doesn't care.

For example, it wasn't so long ago that the emergence of the Internet caught Microsoft by surprise (in 1995). Very few saw it coming, but many people were quick to capitalize on it and then the whole thing exploded into being what it is today. The same can be said of the emergence of social media. The current giants saw a niche, poured themselves into in and became fabulously wealthy as a result. Ditto Bezos at Amazon for another niche. Visionary capitalism is perhaps the greatest thing since sliced bread and fire. Will it cure all the world's problems? Not likely, but it does give smart kids hope for a better future.

 

[icehorse]

I'd recommend "Who Owns the Future", by Jaron Lanier(sp?)

A key idea from this book is that capitalism is a complex, man-made machine. Like all complex machines, it needs monitoring, and tweaking and adjusting.

In addition to the entitlement concerns mentioned above, I'd like to add that I think the "Oligarchy" (super-rich individuals and corps.), need to be reined in. That's an urgent adjustment. The oligarchy IS using and abusing "the commons", and they need to pay their fair share of taxes. They do not create jobs on their own.

 

[DavidFirth]

That is pretty much my feeling. I think everyone with a brain realizes that Capitalism isn't perfect but other models are simply ineffective. There is something to the idea that you can improve your lot with a clever idea and the impetus to carrying it through to fruition against a world that doesn't care.

For example, it wasn't so long ago that the emergence of the Internet caught Microsoft by surprise (in 1995). Very few saw it coming, but many people were quick to capitalize on it and then the whole thing exploded into being what it is today. The same can be said of the emergence of social media. The current giants saw a niche, poured themselves into in and became fabulously wealthy as a result. Ditto Bezos at Amazon for another niche. Visionary capitalism is perhaps the greatest thing since sliced bread and fire. Will it cure all the world's problems? Not likely, but it does give smart kids hope for a better future.

It is perhaps the only financial ideal in which a person can literally rise from the bottom to the top in a short period of time.

Of course there is always the problem of those who cannot rise from the bottom due to disability, illness, defect, etc. We need an effective way to ensure that these people are taken care of, too, in my opinion. Raw capitalism does not provide for them.

Every system has its own set of problems, though, and Capitalism probably has fewer than all the others.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I'd recommend "Who Owns the Future", by Jaron Lanier(sp?)

A key idea from this book is that capitalism is a complex, man-made machine. Like all complex machines, it needs monitoring, and tweaking and adjusting.

In addition to the entitlement concerns mentioned above, I'd like to add that I think the "Oligarchy" (super-rich individuals and corps.), need to be reined in. That's an urgent adjustment. The oligarchy IS using and abusing "the commons", and they need to pay their fair share of taxes. They do not create jobs on their own.

I agree with you. I don't know if it's just me, but a person with billions of dollars won't even be able to spend that for himself in a lifetime. I mean things go beyond reason as to what can hold a person and his loved ones for life in a comfortable way, and a degree of excess to a point that it's completely disgusting and repugnant.

 

[Akivah]

With Capitalism, at least some people are rich. With any other system, almost everyone is poor.

 

[proudpagan]

Billionaires control the vast majority of the world’s wealth, around 70 billionaires already own half the world’s assets; by 2100 we’ll have many trillionaires, while American worker income has stagnated for a generation. But for the vast majority of the world, capitalism is a failure. Over a billion live on less than two dollars a day. The inequality gap is toxic, As global population explodes from 7 billion to 10 billion by 2050, food production will deteriorate.1% of the American population owned 35% of the country's total wealth, and the next 19% owned 51%. Thus, the top 20% of Americans owned 85% of the country's wealth and the bottom 80% of the population owned 15%. Income disparity undermines economy to a massive extent and will eventually **** everybody else good .

This income disparity will give rise to communism / far left / leftist policies as an alternative but it will be equally dangerous and harmful .

 

[Akivah]

Billionaires control the vast majority of the world’s wealth, around 70 billionaires already own half the world’s assets; by 2100 we’ll have many trillionaires, while American worker income has stagnated for a generation. ...Over a billion live on less than two dollars a day.

1% of the American (i.e. capitalist) population owned 35% of the country's total wealth, and the next 19% owned 51%. Thus, the top 20% of Americans owned 85% of the country's wealth and the bottom 80% of the population owned 15%. Income disparity undermines economy to a massive extent and will eventually **** everybody else good .

What are these stats for any other economic system? For example, can you say what percent of Russians owned what percent of the USSR's wealth back in the 80's?

...As global population explodes from 7 billion to 10 billion by 2050, food production will deteriorate.

We've seen from history that starvation is way more prevalent under communism. I think its likely under capitalism that people will find a way to increase food production so they can earn a profit. It could be the next new industry.

 

[DavidFirth]

With Capitalism, at least some people are rich. With any other system, almost everyone is poor.

I never thought about it that way, but you're right.

 

[proudpagan]

What are these stats for any other economic system? For example, can you say what percent of Russians owned what percent of the USSR's wealth back in the 80's?

http://www.roiw.org/1993/23.pdf

We've seen from history that starvation is way more prevalent under communism. I think its likely under capitalism that people will find a way to increase food production so they can earn a profit. It could be the next new industry.

How about British Imperialism ?

 

[suncowiam]

Isn't the writing the on wall concerning this one?

There's going to be economic depressions but it will recover because it's cyclic.

 

[suncowiam]

With Capitalism, at least some people are rich. With any other system, almost everyone is poor.

This is so true.

Folks that push for pure socialism or something like communism do not know what they are actually asking for.

 

[metis]

Unless capitalism, at least as we now see it, adjusts to a growing population but a shrinking amount of resources, it will not survive in most locations in the long run.

It's simply a matter of logistics, whereas the greater the gap of income equality and the more difficult it is for those in the lower tiers to get adequate resources, the less stability. Greenspan about 10 years ago considered this to be the single greatest danger to America's well being. Of course he said this before Trump being our Commander-In-Chief

 

[metis]

With Capitalism, at least some people are rich. With any other system, almost everyone is poor.

You may have a very difficult time convincing the Chinese of this as most economists I've read believe they'll likely pass us up economically within the next 7 years or so.

What they're doing is actually what most countries do, which is missing in this thread, and that pretty much all countries, including the U.S. and China, have what economists call a "mixed-economy", thus a blend of both capitalistic concepts and socialistic concepts as neither extreme tends to work out well in the long run.

 

[Nakosis]

With Capitalism, at least some people are rich. With any other system, almost everyone is poor.

However from what I understand, the poor under a capitalist system are better off than the poor under other systems. Poverty is also somewhat relative.

What capitalism does well is set a value for work/property. Setting this value is where other systems have problems.

With capitalism everyone has a hand in setting value. With other systems, value is set arbitrarily by a controlling group?

The US is not completely capitalist either. We accept some socialist ideas as well. Like social security and welfare.

 

[Nakosis]

Unless capitalism, at least as we now see it, adjusts to a growing population but a shrinking amount of resources, it will not survive in most locations in the long run.

It's simply a matter of logistics, whereas the greater the gap of income equality and the more difficult it is for those in the lower tiers to get adequate resources, the less stability. Greenspan about 10 years ago considered this to be the single greatest danger to America's well being. Of course he said this before Trump being our Commander-In-Chief

Whoever ends up controlling those resources is going to have a lot of power, regardless of what system they are controlled under.

Community ownership never works out because greed is part of human nature.