The Misunderstood Robber Baron. Just something to contemplate as we hand more money over for

[midnight]

corporate wars, bonuses, etc....

The censure of big business continued through the 1960s and beyond, but it has gradually been eclipsed by the cultural and intellectual reclamation of Gilded Age tycoonery. During the past two decades, revisionist biographies and collective portraits of Mellon, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Harriman, J.P. Morgan and others have effectively rehabilitated the reputation of the robber baron. Even the railroad tycoon and speculator Jay Gould, known to his contemporaries as "the Mephistopheles of Wall Street," has been rescued from cultural purgatory. The quotient of negative moral and political judgment in these studies has declined or disappeared entirely. The emphasis now falls on the commercial brilliance of these men, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091130/fraser

[KansDem]

1. Even Steve Forbes has a book promoting capitalism (again) for "meeting the needs of the people"

"How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today's Economy"

Product Description:
Has capitalism failed?

Is it fundamentally greedy and immoral, enabling the rich to get richer? Are free markets Darwinian places where the most ruthless crush smaller competitors, where vital products and services are priced beyond the ability of many people to afford them?

Capitalism is the world's greatest economic success story. It is the most effective way to provide for the needs of people and foster the democratic and moral values of a free society. Yet the worst recession in decades has widely—and understandably—shaken people's faith in our system. Even before the current crisis, capitalism received a "bad rap" from a culture ambivalent about free markets and wealth creation. This crisis of confidence is preventing a full recognition of how we got into the mess we're in today—and why capitalism continues to be the best route to prosperity.

How Capitalism Will Save Us transcends labels such as "conservative" and "liberal" by showing how the economy really works. When free people in free markets have energy to solve problems and meet the needs and wants of others, they turn scarcity into abundance and develop the innovations that are the foremost drivers of economic growth.* The freedom of democratic capitalism is, for example, what enabled Henry Ford to take a plaything of the rich—the car—and transform it into something affordable to working people.

In the capitalist system, economic growth doesn't mean more of the same—grinding out a few more widgets every year. It's about change to increase overall wealth and give more people the chance for a better life.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Capitalism-Will-Save-Us/dp/0307463095

Frankly, I've given up on the "free market" approach to everything. We tried Reaganism: it failed. If you want to sell pizzas, CDs, and perfume, then capitalism works, but not for national security issues like energy, education, the environment, and health care. Socialism will work better for those concerns...

Keep the public good out of the hands of private concerns.

________
*:rofl:I'm so sick and tired of hearing this canard...

[midnight]

2. Capitalism without over site is not in the best interest of the public good.

But what I can't understand is why enough money to pay off the public mortgage debt, and credit card debt was handed over to the banks who did nothing with it but escalate their salaries.

So we have two choices -- we are going to make a big decision, probably over about the next six months. And the big decision we are going to make is going to go one way or another. We are going decide, basically, "Hey, we don't need regulation. You know, it is fine. Boom and bust, boom and bust, boom and bust, and good luck with your 401k." Or alternatively we are going to say, you know, "We are going to out with some smart regulation that is going to adapt to the fact that we have new products and what we are going to have going forward is we are going to have some stability and real prosperity for ordinary folks."- Elizabeth Warren
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/elizabeth-warren-makes-jo_n_187635.html