tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post2612835749049884030..comments2024-03-28T23:22:41.774-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): "The End of Capitalism"Minnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-2562847257280184222010-09-27T10:43:13.727-05:002010-09-27T10:43:13.727-05:00after millennia in which it would be difficult to ...<i>after millennia in which it would be difficult to find important changes.</i><br /><br />Like alphabets, writing, rule of law, agriculture, metalworking, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics and numbers themselves, fire, the wheel, animal domestication, timekeeping, paper, gunpowder, gears, screws etc. etc. Just some of countless other advancements. The industrial revolution didn't just give birth to itself out of nowhere.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10619153370091469672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-46717834648457762482010-09-27T10:31:42.241-05:002010-09-27T10:31:42.241-05:00Natural advancements over time have little to do w...Natural advancements over time have little to do with laissez faire capitalism. The U.S. is a more capitalistic state than Scandinavian countries which are more socially Democratic and very strong on welfare and government programs. Coincidentally they are more successful than more free market countries. The free market capitalism of the far right is just as ridiculous as the communism of the far left.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10619153370091469672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-58883265225440347312010-09-26T15:43:03.678-05:002010-09-26T15:43:03.678-05:00Steve -- your source referred to income inequality...Steve -- your source referred to income inequality in one county (the U.S.) in one year (2005). I'm talking about a worldwide trend over a period of centuries. I don't think there's much doubt that prosperity has increased overall among the Earth's poorest citizens in the last 200, 100, or 50 years, after millennia in which it would be difficult to find important changes. The most glaring counter-examples are not in places noted for their capitalist ethic.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-60453906028139524102010-09-26T13:39:26.597-05:002010-09-26T13:39:26.597-05:00The money and guns are a lot more spread out than ...<i>The money and guns are a lot more spread out than they've been for practically all of recorded history, and that's a good way for them to be.</i><br /><br />Actually they're not. That money's been steadily becoming concentrated among the few since the '70s.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/business/29tax.html?ex=1332820800&en=fb472e72466c34c8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss" rel="nofollow">Income Gap Is Widening</a>Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10619153370091469672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-48110497119551432882010-09-26T09:37:44.017-05:002010-09-26T09:37:44.017-05:00I stopped reading Lapham after he was caught in 20...I stopped reading Lapham after he was caught in 2004 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/books/review/Senior.t.html?ex=1316750400&en=4dba00cdb9565d6b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss" rel="nofollow">reporting on an event before it took place.</a> Essentially, he fabricated a story. Lapham never really took full responsibility for it, and neither did his profession hold him accountable.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04854543617806427302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23272681701005184592010-09-25T16:47:57.460-05:002010-09-25T16:47:57.460-05:00Some money and guns have been a prerequisite to a ...Some money and guns have been a prerequisite to a minimal quality of life more or less forever. It's not necessary to have all the money and guns, though. The money and guns are a lot more spread out than they've been for practically all of recorded history, and that's a good way for them to be.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-74998887027106093182010-09-25T15:36:51.078-05:002010-09-25T15:36:51.078-05:00"Freedom"
Slavery, war and genocide wer..."Freedom"<br /><br />Slavery, war and genocide were all done in the interest of capital as well...<br /><br />Life under laissez faire is a nightmare if you don't have all the money and guns.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10619153370091469672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-20254200284783703712010-09-25T13:53:38.051-05:002010-09-25T13:53:38.051-05:00It's an historial accident, not a given, and j...It's an historial accident, not a given, and just happens to coincide with the only widespread longstanding period of growth in prosperity, education, freedom, and technological advancement the world has ever known.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-42855571900481913862010-09-25T08:21:08.523-05:002010-09-25T08:21:08.523-05:00Good link, Z.Good link, Z.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-54051534560228881752010-09-25T08:00:41.141-05:002010-09-25T08:00:41.141-05:00"[I]t’s also probably true to say that capita..."[I]t’s also probably true to say that capitalism in its stronger forms went out the window in the United States in the 1930s, because now, once you get the combination of government and business — I mean, speaking to Diamond’s point — propping up a system that is essentially dead in the water is what we’ve done with the government takeover, the stimulus bill, the TARP. I suspect we’re attempting to rescue a corpse."<br /><br />While Americans will tend to believe that theirs is a capitalist popular democracy, I think anyone whose mind isn't merely a reflection of the evening news is aware that the country has become something of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism" rel="nofollow">crony capitalist</a> state - not exactly uplifting, but it's definitely worth reading through the full article for a well-reasoned appraisal of today's situation.Z. Constantinehttp://blog.operator-speaking.com/noreply@blogger.com