On 08/14/09 06:18, Warp wrote:
>    Btw, that's true to *all* forms of economy. It's not exclusive to
> capitalism.
>
>    At its core, a government has two roles: Managing resources and stopping
> people from hurting other people. How well different forms of government
> succeed in these two goals depends, in the end, on how much they limit the
> freedom and rights of their citizens.
>
>    As far as I can see, democratic capitalism is the form of government which
> succeeds in this with the least amount of freedom and rights limits. Other
> forms of government and economy may sound good on paper, but they don't seem
> to work very well in practice.
>
>    That doesn't mean that capitalism is perfect. It just means that it seems
> to be the best we have. Other forms don't seem to work in practice, no matter
> how utopistic they sound in theory.

	I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying.

	I don't know your view of the economies in Europe, but when many 
(most?) ordinary people in the US talk about capitalism, they don't view 
most European economies as capitalist (and Scandinavian countries are 
probably the least likely to be considered capitalist).

	Likewise, when folks in the US speak negatively of capitalism, they're 
often speaking positively of the economy in places like Germany, or even 
the Scandinavian countries. Again, that's because they just don't call 
it capitalism.

	I think the people of every country view their system as "centrist" or 
a good balance. So the capitalism in the US is the "standard" for them, 
and the stuff in Europe is too far off to be called it the same thing.

	I just thought I'd point that out to everyone because it will likely 
cause confusion in the discussion.

-- 
Doctor to patient: Although it's nothing serious, let's keep an eye on 
it to make sure it doesn't turn into a major lawsuit.

Post a reply to this message