General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Capitalism is NOT a dirty word. [View all]Laelth
(32,017 posts)That said, I don't find it persuasive, and here's why. The Republicans keep telling us that "the free market," as they define it, hasn't really been tried. Do you want to risk trying it? No. That way lies madness. The truth is that socialism has been tried, and it failed to produce a just distribution of wealth. I would also argue that "free-market capitalism" has been tried (during the Gilded Age in the United States, and during the mid-19th century in the U.K--i.e. the horrors of the most gut-wrenching Dickens novel), and it also failed to create a just distribution of wealth. Liberal capitalism (i.e. FDR, Truman, and LBJ) has also been tried, and it made the United States the wealthiest and most powerful nation on Earth.
As such, I argue, capitalism is not the problem. Laissez-faire capitalism is a major problem, however, and a heavy dose of liberalism is required in order to produce a more just, sane, and equitable society.
Thanks for the response.
-Laelth