From: altamira (altamira@ecpi.com)
Date: Fri Jun 16 2000 - 10:05:10 MDT
Actually, I think the main flaw of communism is that it doesn't recognize
human nature. Communism actually works well in tribal cultures based on
kinship, and it makes evolutionary sense. By helping your relatives to
survive, you're keeping your genes in the pool.
But in agricultural/urban cultures it no longer makes sense.
I had a wonderful demonstration of this when I was a kid. I had a summer
job working as a waitress in a coffee shop. One day someone got the idea
that all the waitresses should pool their tips and at the end of the day
divide them equally. (this isn't strictly Marxism, since need wasn't taken
into account, but it was close enough to demonstrate why communism doesn't
work) I don't remember exactly how many waitresses there were, around 8 I
think--it was a fairly large coffee shop.
I was cute and friendly and fast, so I always got good tips. It came as no
surprise to me that my take was lower than usual when we divided up at the
end of the day.
What was surprising was that even the waitresses who generally got the
lowest tips came out on the short side. Here's what was happening: instead
of trying to take on more tables to get more tips, the tendency under the
pooling system was to take fewer tables. After all, each dollar you lost
would only lose you $.125 from the pool, and really it wouldn't even lose
you that, since someone else would take the table you decided not to take.
And if you moved pretty slowly and got a $.50 tip instead of $1, so what?
It would only cost you $.0625 at the end of the day. And so forth.
We did the pooling system for two or three days, and then went back to the
old way, because everyone was complaining. I, for one, told the manager I'd
quit if we didn't go back to the old way.
Bonnie
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.com
>
>
> Yes I have, the closer they approach to capitalism the better off
> the people. Most third world problems are related to bad economic
> ideas and corrupt government.
>
> Your missing an essential idea here, communism's central flaw.
> Handouts lead to economic apathy (entropy's evil twin) and not just
> among the poor. Read Thomas Stanley's "The Millionare Next Door"
> and "The Millionare Mind". The sons and daughters of wealthy people
> who receive "economic outpatient care" (handouts) from their
> parents have a lower net worth and earn less than their peers.
>
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