kangaeru

Roachboy: What alternative system do you propose to replace capitalism? We've seen plenty of historical precedent that reinforces that despite its volatility, capitalism ultimately creates more wealth and prosperity than any other economic system.

I agree with you that economists look at things from a very heartless perspective; to give an oversimplified example, a policy which takes -9$ from the pockets of the poor/middle class and puts $10 in the pockets of the rich would be viewed as a +1$ net again and therefore economically efficient, with the theory that the winners can compensate losers never becoming more than just that--theory.

Despite these shortcomings, and maybe I'm just cynical, capitalism harnesses human greed for the greater good in a way which no other system can. People, in general, will NOT work as hard for the betterment of someone else or the society in which they live than they will for benefits that directly impact them personally. Sorry--I won't budge on this one--I believe it wholeheartedly to be true. I believe that although under capitalism many are left better off at the expense of many left worse off, we would ALL be worse off under any other system. It's hard to argue against big pharma when the drugs they sell wouldn't have been created and available to anyone at all had the incentives which motivated investment in to creating the drug in the first place been absent.

This is not the end of capitalism--if anything, Henry Paulson has proven that he is willing to let the Int'l Finance industry take its medicine, and with the Fed's safety net withdrawn, you're seeing the market work itself out ala BoA buying Merill Lynch yesterday. The true test of the system is how it operates under extreme pressure and duress, and so far I would say that considering the Dow is only down 290 pts (2.55%) as I write this, it's passing the stress-test so far.

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