Forum Post: Capitalism. Truest form of freedom.
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 9, 2011, 11:14 a.m. EST by ronpaul2016
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Listen. I believe there is some merit to our movement, but I think we are heading in the wrong direction in my opinion. The movement is falsely blaming capitalism, which I find disturbing.
What we have now in our government, is corporatism and corruption. A system created by allowing big government to get in bed with big business. Socialism will just increase this corruption. In a true system of capitalism, there would be no bail outs for any one. Even the occupiers of wall street. If you make a poor decision, you accept responsibility for your actions.
I feel that occupy wall street movement will struggle to gain momentum, if we continue to ask for bail outs for student loans and other forms of welfare. If you took out loans for a degree that doesn't have a chance of getting you a job ie philosophy, art etc. that is your own fault. Not the fault of wall street.
Also, wall street is allowed to do what they do, because of congress. We should have a full fledged protest on the steps of Washington! Not Wall Street.
Ron Paul 2016
Corporatism is bad and is what we have.
But don't run your schlock over philosophy and art. Those are truly meaningful pursuits, which is the reason that Plato emphasized that at his Academy.
However, it is the fault of college for marginalizing philosophy and art. So I guess I agree with you... don't go to college to learn it. Save that for the easy stuff like economics and engineering...
I have a degree in (capitalist) economics and I agree that true textbook capitalism has many things going for it. And I agree that what we have now is very far from textbook capitalism. But capital theory points out that some markets are very good at providing the optimum amount of goods to a market and some markets are very bad at doing so. The only entity that can step into broken markets and fix them is government, and that is where democracy comes in.
There is a tremendous amount of corruption in government, but that is paid for by the biggest corporations with the most cash, who put out propaganda demanding reduced government services for most people, and at the same time lobby for government contracts (including the privatisation of govt functions, which is a great way to pay consultants millions for something a government employee used to do for a union salary), tax breaks, and subsidies. (Oil companies get subsidized to take our oil from the ground, for which they pay about 8cents per barrel and sell it back to us for $4/gallon, while we spend $trillions sending troops around the world making the world safe for big oil.) The People need to wake up and stop this nonsense. The first step is a constitutional amendment that defines a corporation as a non-person and takes away their right to directly lobby the government.
There are some markets that can never deliver the optimum amount of a good. Health insurance is a prime example. It makes no sense as a market good, It violates all of the textbook definitions of a "perfect market" and is riddled with externalities. (Employer provided healthcare is killing small business, and giving the advantage to giant corporations once again). It can only work if socialized.
Some goods and services must be provided by the government. It is the job of the People to stay informed, stay involved, and keep the government honest.
The libertarian impulse to smaller government is good, but good governance is the real solution, not blind cutting of everything.
I agree with daroon that capitalism is amoral, but government regulation seems to result in those in power rewarding those they approve of and over-regulating those it doesn't. why are so many of the president's high-level appointees from Wall Street? I think the founding fathers had it right when they set out to limit government's reach. It's the collusion of corporations and government that is the truly frightening development.
Capitalism is when the markets react to supply and demand and it is backed by sound money to keep capitalism accountable.
What we have today is Corporatism, the merger of BigCorp/Banks in bed with corrupt Govt and the endless printing of fiat money through the Federal Reserve System ( money not backed by anything).
Do you understand your income tax goes solely to pay interest to the Federal Reserve on money they never had in the first place and merely ordered to be printed off the printing press?
The wild capitalism is bad. Norway is capitalist but exist true welfare policy. Why USA is different? The psychos that drive the politics hijacked the public goods. Lobbies and Private Financing of politics are crimes that must be forbidden!
Capitalism is basically amoral, it make no distinction between what's right and what's wrong. Many of the results of capitalism, such as the exploitation of the workforce and natural resources have the appearance of immorality. These consequences can only be tempered by regulation which is then demonized by some as socialism or communism.