Big Think

Dr Doom on January 17, 2008, 10:28 AM

How far has capitalism corrupted man; and in so, how far has self interest destroyed future generations?

Dr Doom on January 17, 2008, 3:28 PM

How far has capitalism corrupted man; and in so, how far has self interest destroyed future generations?

Eric Beck on October 14, 2008, 8:09 PM

There is NO question that capitalism as we know it is a MONSTER failure, and yes, wastefulness is a major contributor to that failure. Capitalism encourages “anything for a buck”, wild speculation, environmental ruin, gross poverty, crime, disease, you name it. Capitalism fuels it all, and it is all inherently wasteful. Screw theory. In practice, capitalism is license for the few to lord over the underprivileged and plunder the Earth of it’s resources, to the point of catastrophic consequences. For instance, uncontrolled logging which fucks up rivers, watersheds, wildlife vital to man’s survival, etc. Adam Smith was full of shit, much the same way Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, et al, were as they championed liberty and equality…while slaves toiled in their fields. Smith argued that the pursuit of individual self-interest would benefit society. But as we see today, that is a load of crap. Yes, George Washington had to feed and clothe and house his slaves, and in that way, they benefitted. But they were still slaves. (And slavery has given us a segment of society that is largely dysfunctional, and that begets crime and poverty, which begets waste!) The common man benefits as long as the Boss can’t do it himself, which begs the question, “Where are my robots?!?”.

carlos acuña on October 14, 2008, 10:52 PM

ej and Drdoom are both correct. Capitalism is a rather high sounding name for an acqusitive, nay, greedy, hoarding, predatory, narcissistic and, ultimately individual and socially destructive ideology. Under capitalism everyone and every thing degenerates into a role to cover up this greed. There is the producer/entrepreneur/“capitalist” and there are the consumer/buyer/“markets.”
All natural resources get destroyed/consumed at post-Malthusian speed such that destruction of any resource outpaces the pace of replacement—from clean air to clean water, to natural livestock (elk, moose, buffalo, deer, wild turkey, etc.) to topsoil to nuclear waste…you get the idea.
And as a reward those who hoard/despoil the resources and who have “caused” scarcity now profit even more obscenely under the “law” of supply and demand.
Some ideology!
Get me off this spaceship with its crazy crew!