Let's remember that capitalism is private ownership of trade and industry while the classic definition of socialism is ownership of these by the community. Modern social democracy doesn't strive for that anymore, just to "curb the excesses of a market economy", hence just to regulate capitalism, in my view. — ssu
Top-down economics (like top-down everything else) is a disaster — synthesis
A welfare state is a counterbalance to capitalism, keeping its excesses in check. Without one capitalism would eat itself alive. It's thus prudent, for smart capitalists, to allow one, to keep capitalism otherwise rolling along longer, avoiding the crisis Marx predicted at its end... by slowly becoming more socialist.* — Pfhorrest
You think its ok to verbally abuse others you disagree with, but racism is a big, "No-No"? Whats the fucking difference? — Harry Hindu
Less well known [than other paradoxes Popper discusses] is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.—In this formulation, I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be most unwise. But we should claim the right to suppress them if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols. We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant. — Karl Popper
You're lucky you have the right-wingers here to serve as the common enemy, it's the closest you'll get to leftist unity. — BitconnectCarlos
Which is an argument against capitalism, because capitalism organizes things in a top-down fashion: the owners are the top, the people who live on and work with the capital that they own are at the bottom. To eliminate that top-down hierarchy would be to devolve ownership equally to the people at the bottom, which would be socialism. — Pfhorrest
Capitalism isn't just any old free market, capitalism is the concentration of wealth into few hands, and the consequent division of the people into those who own and those who don't. A free market where ownership was widely and evenly distributed would not be capitalist, but libertarian-socialist. — Pfhorrest
In absolute terms, you are correct, but there can never be equality (nor should there be). Equality of opportunity is a worthy goal, though. You cannot eliminate incentives nor can you refuse to award innovation and merit — synthesis
Do you believe science has an answer to something like: "BLM protesters pulling down the statues they did is praiseworthy because it simultaneously highlights histories of oppression and dismantles symbols of that oppression"? — fdrake
No worries, I have the same bad habits of stereotyping the people I seem to disagree with. — fdrake
I don't think "slavery is the default" fits the anthropological record; — fdrake
"a society can be said to be systemically discriminatory against group X iff belonging in group X amplifies exposure to negative outcomes relative to those who are not in group X AND that exposure has strong social+economic contributory causes". — fdrake
This seems to me to display a misguided picture of how the physics of fusion works. Seems to me the sort of thing that someone who has read pop accounts and not done the maths might say. On that basis I will not be taking much of Counter's pugilistic advice to heart, until I see some evidence to the contrary. — Banno
Demonstrably, recreating solar plasma density on earth is possible. — Banno
I was attracted to the forum because I am the most significant philosophical thinker of this, or any other generation — counterpunch
Oh - psychoceramics. I should have spotted it earlier. Is this a direct consequence of the closure of Parler? Can we expect more visitors as they look for somewhere else to share their wisdom? — Banno
Oh boy, more straight up insults. I am forced to ask whether you think you, as a moderator capable of banning people from the forum, should be insulting people, creating personal antagonisms? I am not willing to respond to your repeated insults in kind, because I'll get banned. So please desist, or grant me license to speak freely. — counterpunch
The issue with Benkei was about Marx's value theory of labour. That actually has to do with supply and demand. — ssu
Sorry, but markets and the market mechanism of demand and supply work far better to explain economic issues. Not a dubious theory based on "labor" making the value of something. — ssu
The price of a commodity constantly stands above or below the value of the commodity, and the value of the commodity itself exists only in this up-and-down movement of commodity prices. Supply and demand constantly determine the prices of commodities; never balance, or only coincidentally; but the cost of production, for its part, determines the oscillations of supply and demand.
All the leftists would be eating each other over the correct interpretation of Marx. — BitconnectCarlos
That sounds far better than debating if, say, Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization or if political correctness is Orwell's worst nightmare or some other crap. — Maw
You'll be banned anyway if you don't stop talking nonsense. — Baden
Read this aloud into a mirror — Monitor
Although all systems have their issues, most of the inadequacies the welfare state addresses are not capitalism's fault. It is the political system that creates templates that are destined to failure, e.g., a corporate legal structure that ensures eventual serf-status for the majority.
The political system need only protect property rights and discourage the tendency towards consolidation. Competition is the key to what keeps the ship of capitalism righted and, as well, what capitalists fight (tooth and nail) to destroy. — synthesis
A lot of people just want to insult and belittle me, when all I'm trying to do is promote ideas that will provide for a sustainable future. Why do you think that is? — counterpunch
Is this a direct consequence of the closure of Parler? Can we expect more visitors as they look for somewhere else to share their wisdom? — Banno
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