From: Chris Russo (extropy@russo.org)
Date: Fri Feb 16 2001 - 12:24:08 MST
At 08:21 -0800 2/16/01, Brian D Williams wrote:
>Excuse me Chris but I believe the economic system of the U.S does
>qualify by definition:
>
>Capitalism: An economic system in which investment in and ownership
>of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is
>made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations.
But our government exchanges much wealth in the form of taxation and
social programs. Our government owns a lot of land and natural
resources. Our government substantially affects much of the growth
of the private sector through the central bank - as we've well noted
over the past year.
So, ours is not a nation based upon pure capitalism.
> >The failure that you mention for capitalism is more of a failure
>>of capitalism to dominate and overcome democracy. It's hardly an
>>utter failure like experiments in communism have been.
>
>Capitalism isn't supposed to overcome democracy, it's an economic
>not a political system. Besides here in the U.S. we are not a
>Democracy, we are a Republic.
A Republic is just a Democracy with a little extra buffering. I was
speaking of the force of democracy vs capitalism, and that force of
democracy is present in our Republic for all intents and purposes.
Make no mistake, however, capitalism and democracy are often at odds.
They frequently compete for the same resources and rewards, but
whereas our Republic uses votes from people and elected
representatives to decide priorities, capitalism uses the voting
power of the dollar.
Since both these systems have a lot of power in our society, they're
both constantly battling one another. Discussing whether capitalism
is or isn't *supposed* to overcome democracy isn't the question for
me so much as where we should set the proper balance. Personally, I
think that our present success as a capitalistic nation should lead
us to venture further in that direction. There are plenty of
examples of more socialistic countries that we can look at in the
world. Except for some superior privacy rules, I don't see where
they have much to offer us.
Regards,
Chris Russo
--
"If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought
or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet
hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance
which does harm."
-- Marcus Aurelius, MEDITATIONS, VI, 21
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