Capitalism doesn't work.

[undeterred]

[tblue]

1. Doesn't work at what?

[rndmprsn]

2. Managed capitalism (FDR) works, Crony capitalism (RAYGUN, W) does not!

i had to vote false...

[AllieB]

28. Exactly. Capitalism needs to be regulated.

[mainegreen]

3. Sure it does. We don't have capitalism, though....

small, mid and large size businesses still operate generally by the rules of capitalism.
Huge businesses do not however. And they tend to run the show.

[lpbk2713]

4. You put the wrong people in high profile decision making positions and nothing will work.

Now take BushCo ..... please. :eyes:

[applegrove]

5. capitalism works when it is properly regulated. And where those areas,

where there is market failure, have government run or inspired programs.

[Warpy]

6. Unregulated capitalism untempered by socialism

is the cruelest economic system ever devised. It maximises misery and minimizes the number who are able to escape it.

[ITsec]

7. Capitalism works fine until...

Human greed kicks in. Then all bets are off.

[HereSince1628]

11. Is it possible for capitalism to have morals and create a just society

Or is it more possible for a just society to impose its morals on capitalism?

I REALLY hate the phrase "it's a business decision" that gets invoked to legitimize anti-social behavior. I much prefer the more honest phrase "it is a pro-profit decision."

[The Gunslinger]

29. Bingo. You've just saved me some typing.

[kristopher]

8. Corporatism (Fascism) doesn't work.

[leftofthedial]

9. capitalism works great!

If you are more ruthless, venal and amoral than most other people.

[lutherj]

10. Works if you're rich.

[Orsino]

12. It can't work alone.

It needs care, occasional feeding, vigilant regulators and a social safety net.

[KillCapitalism]

13. It might only work with heavy regulation & check and balances.

This what we have is more like Piracy than capitalism.

Marx will be proven right someday soon here.

[Greyhound]

14. No vote yet, define "works". n/t

[rucky]

15. I'm not really sure what capitalism's supposed to look like.

I can't recognize the economic system we have, but I don't think it's capitalism in practice.

[undeterred]

16. It is what we make of it.

I don't think what it is right now is working for most of us, but I sure don't know how to overhaul it.

[Terry in Austin]

17. It works about as well as any other religion

Like other successful religions, "capitalism" means just about anything its adherents wish it to mean.

Mostly, it ends up meaning "our system," versus "their system," and therefore a dandy pretext for acting vastly superior and occasionally giving "them" the thumping they so richly deserve, while providing ourselves with comforting excuses for the stupidities and cruelties brought on by the blind devotion it demands.

In this regard, "capitalism" works great!

[undeterred]

18. Do you believe in the "invisible hand"?

[Terry in Austin]

19. Fie, sir or madam, that you should doubt for a moment!

Belief in the Invisible Hand is essential canon, most importantly in its manifestation as the Invisible Fist, the righteous remedy for unbelievers who dare to unbelieve.

Daily, I make sacrifices to it -- invisible $100 bills.

[Dreamer Tatum]

20. People refuse to distinguish between capitalism and completely free markets

There is, of course, a huge difference, but not when your preferred method of communication is via polemic.

[fascisthunter]

21. I Agree only in Part... Unfettered, deregulated Capitalism doesn't work

[Odin2005]

22. Short answer: TRUE... Long answer: Depends on what you mean by "capitalism"

The "Capitalism" of the right-wing economists is a idealized mathematical abstraction with little basis in reality.

IMO one must distinguish between free enterprise and the institution of the Corporation. There is nothing wrong with Free Enterprise, the USSR showed how much of a disaster command economies are. The Corporation, on the other hand, is the problem; businesses should be as much as possible co-ops, with management chosen by the employees.

[asteroid2003QQ47]

23. Astound me!

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.
- John Maynard Keynes

Oh,,oh, yeah, I like it!

[undeterred]

25. Eggscellent.

[codjh9]

24. I don't think it's a simple yes or no - more complicated than that.

[BlooInBloo]

26. Not to DUers it's not...

:rofl:

[MsLeopard]

27. Have been saying it for years

it doesn't work because it's not "free" and "fair" markets. It's a rigged game. As I read in another thread somewhere - "Capitalism is not about competition, capitalism is about killing the competion." We practice warped capitalism, very manipulated, now to the point of collapse.