Why do people think business/capitalism is evil? Please discuss.

[thedreampolice]

"Isn't capitalism immoral?
No. Capitalism is the moral system, since it is the only system that allows man to be virtuous -- to pursue the good -- by leaving him free to act by the use of his reason. Freedom to act is a precondition of morality. This is Capitalism's moral justification.

Isn't capitalism justified by the fact it serves the "public good"?
No. As a secondary effect of allowing the creators and innovators of society freedom to create and produce, laissez-faire results in a society where progress is the norm, and the standard of living continuously rises. That capitalism serves the "public good" (properly defined as the sum of the good of all individuals) is true, though this is not its moral justification but is merely an effect of its cause: freeing the individual from the mediocrity of the collective, to live his own life as an end to himself. "


Why do so many people think capitalism is evil or business is screwing someone over?

This is not a rant seriously. I think it should be discussed and I am very curious why this is so prevalent in a society the clearly benefits so much from capitalism.

Discuss!

 

[DJ Excellence]

Personally I'm all for laissez faire. Obviously you need some form of welfare , socialist elements in a society for it to work. Even in the US (one of the most capitalistic societies in the world, that's a given) has medicare, section 8, food stamps programs etc ...you can't just let the poor and the needy die , that being said if you take this too far this isn't good either (anybody heard of a communist nation that has done well ? china has now a mixed economy , doesn't count).

In Europe, I somewhat dislike the extreme taxation (on everything : income, retail, investments , etc ...) because you don't get that much in return , in France for ex the so called universal health care system is collapsing hence the need for private health insurance, .....

Without free enterprise, you don't have large conglomerates, multinational companies which are essential to the economy; you don't have entrepreneurship either ... extreme taxation and other socialist elements are clearly hurting those. So there's a definite need to find the right balance.

I think many people are against capitalism because they 're struggling financially (unfortunately, the recession made matters worse) and def not in a position to start a business or invest $$$ in the stock market , you can't really blame them tho. They may see government intervention as a solution but it's obv not a long term alternative.

 

[LDB]

Capitalism is fine......as long as everyone is given an equal opportunity to take advantage of it. In my opinion the word in itself has always carried the stigma of racial oppression, even in 2010 race plays a major factor in every aspect of American society.

 

[skidflow]

Capitalism is bad because anytime you deal in profit making...corruption always surfaces in some form or fashion...The whole "money" system is corrupt so why wouldn't the art of acquiring it be corrupt also.

 

[5th Sequence]

capitalism in theory isn't bad, in theory it is moral. Capitalism in practice however, as proven by our latest economic depression, is prone to various forms of abuse and greed if not properly regulated.

I just think the hatred for capitalism can be more accurately described as extreme public disappointment - especially since us on the bottom tier of the financial class are already repressed in various aspects by the upper echelon big wigs - and they are the ones who collapsed the system. It certainly wasn't your factory workers who let you down.

 

[thedreampolice]

"Capitalism is bad because anytime you deal in profit making...corruption always surfaces in some form or fashion...The whole "money" system is corrupt so why wouldn't the art of acquiring it be corrupt also."

Interesting, so if someone buys a beat off of you for $500 or whatever you are corrupt and screwing them over?

 

[2GooD Productions]

every "ism" in theory sounds good, on paper capitalism and communism both seem like very good ideaologies, but with both of them in practice we have learned their flaws.
Capitalism opens the door to profit over morals. Multinational corporations have NO NATIONAL BOUNDARIES and use that fact to store their money in tax havens, use slave labour, abide by laws in different countries to get shit passed they wouldnt get passed in other countries. Some multinational corporations have become more powerful than countries. Many use mercenaries, especially oil companies to kill people to get at valuable resources.
So some of these huge conglomerates have their own small armies.
Because of the nature of these huge corporations they dont have to bide my national laws, and the case for the exxon valdez disaster is still ongoing, with appeal after appeal stretching it out till all the actual victims will probably be dead.
The corporations fund ALL SIDES in governments that are tactical to them. Party politics is bullshit, its about the money men. They pull the strings to get favorable treatment, it happens time and again.
Industry led government is fascism calling it capitalism or anything else doesnt change that fact. The US govt has been showing more and more incremental fascist tendencies, accellerated by the bush administration.
The problem with every ism is us, many of us are easily corrupted if the price is right, and power does corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. We are the weak link in any good idea. We are gullible and corruptible.

 

[thedreampolice]

90% of all business is America have less than 20 employees.

Sorry they are not paying off the government or controlling armies.

There may be a FEW examples of corrupt companies doing horrible things like that, but that is by far the minority.

What system to you propose that is better or more fair than capitalism?

 

[LDB]

90% of all business is America have less than 20 employees.

Sorry they are not paying off the government or controlling armies.

There may be a FEW examples of corrupt companies doing horrible things like that, but that is by far the minority.

What system to you propose that is better or more fair than capitalism?

One yet to be implemented or possibly discovered that FROM THE START...has everyone on the same plain and GIVES EVERYONE equal opportunity. Something that WILL NEVER HAPPEN in this GREEDY ASS CAPITALISTIC society. Like 5th said, those are the ones who ran this country financially into the ground in less than two decades!!!!! The ones how REALLY believe that the Rich should get richer ofF the backs of the poor because if these CAPITALIST were only making money ofF of each other (the rich), they wouldn't exist. Someone has to be have the rich mans foot to there neck in order for the rich to stay...RICH...

 

[thedreampolice]

"has everyone on the same plain and GIVES EVERYONE equal opportunity"

How does everyone not have the same opportunity?

4 of the richest men in the world today are self made billionaires and are not born in to wealth.
America is one of the ONLY countries in the world where you can be born poor and die wealthy.

 

[2GooD Productions]

What system to you propose that is better or more fair than capitalism?

Like I said, it doesnt matter what Ideaology we use, because the corruptible will always be corruptible.
If we truly want to save the world, then we have to remove people from the equation.
Driven by industry we have become a cancer on the earth slowly growing and destroying everything that gets in our way. If peak oil and peak food is a reality then the only thing that will save us all is one child policies, euthanasia, controlled viral spreading, famine, and all the other things they are doing to us right now.
It is a fact that there is only so much agricultural land to feed the world, which is suseptible to weather patterns and not a constant. We clear land for agriculture and we destroy the worlds oxygenator, decarbonator the rainforests. Its okay that the USA is enjoying great industrialisation due to free markets but now the rest of the world wants it, china and india want it, but the problem is they cant because of peak oil, so whos to dictate to the world who can industrialise and who cant? There isnt enough to go around, so who gets what share?
This is a global world we live in now, national sovereignty dont mean shit. Who decides who will eat and who wont? Or who gets what oil share?

 

[thedreampolice]

"It is a fact that there is only so much agricultural land to feed the world"

ha ha have you been to Nebraska?

 

[2GooD Productions]

"It is a fact that there is only so much agricultural land to feed the world"

ha ha have you been to Nebraska?

Is nebraska feeding china?

 

[dacalion]

4 out of 6 billion? gotta like those odds right?

 

[thedreampolice]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_China

China can feed itself.

 

[thedreampolice]

"4 out of 6 billion? gotta like those odds right?"

America creates over 900 millionaires a DAY!

I do like those odds!

 

[dacalion]

"4 out of 6 billion? gotta like those odds right?"

America creates over 900 millionaires a DAY!

I do like those odds!

I do too, but the bigger picture gotta make you wonder whats happening to the ones that aren't becoming millionaires? The other side of that double edged sword.

1.6 million people in the US will go bankrupt this year! and that just for medical reasons only!

ofcorse I googled this and found...

The United States has often been referred to as the only country in the world with a million millionaires. Recent figures show that this number is actually much higher. Dr. Bill Belew of PanAsianBizreports that
the U.S. has 8.9 million households worth at least 1 million dollars. This is compared to China with 300,000 millionaires and Russia with 88,000.

 

[thedreampolice]

For sure, but people don't go bankrupt because business is successful. They go bankrupt because of poor financial choices. With out business no one would have jobs and EVERYONE would live in poverty.

 

[LDB]

How does everyone not have the same opportunity?

Wow! Seriously? U have no clue? Seriously? Damn....this is where I exit the conversation. When a person that I KNOW doesn't need everything spelled out acts as though the NUMBER ONE thing that eats this country....and the world rather, from the inside out doesn't exist...lmao

 

[2GooD Productions]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_China

China can feed itself.

Production

Due to political and technological changes over the last half of the 20th century, the agricultural production of China greatly increased.
Crop 1949 Output (tons) 1978 Output (tons) 1999 Output (tons)
1. Grain 113,180,000 304,770,000 508,390,000
2. Cotton 444,000 2,167,000 3,831,000
3. Oil-bearing crops 2,564,000 5,218,000 26,012,000
4. Sugarcane 2,642,000 21,116,000 74,700,000
5. Sugarbeet 191,000 2,702,000 8,640,000
6. Flue-cured tobacco 43,000 1,052,000 2,185,000
7. Tea 41,000 268,000 676,000
8. Fruit 1,200,000 6,570,000 62,376,000
9. Meat 2,200,000 8,563,000 59,609,000
10. Aquatic products 450,000 4,660,000 41,220,000

[20]

However since 2000 the depletion of China's main aquifers has led to an overall decrease in grain production, turning China into a net importer. The trend of Chinese dependence on imported food is expected to accelerate as the water shortage worsens.
No it cant.