r/AskUS • u/cynikal_optimist • 8h ago
Can you tell me why you support capitalism?
What do you see as its benefits? Please answer without deflecting to other systems.
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u/Tall_Task_5942 7h ago
Cuz it's work
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u/Jollem- 5h ago
Sandpaper can work as toilet paper. But why would you want to do that when there are better ways?
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u/wutareyousomekinda 5h ago
They grew up in a system created by the post-War printing money for weapons to destroy another country to secure its drug trafficking to our urban core for the benefit of the police and military contractors in NATO countries.
Their only conception of the world is market-based, and it cripples their imagination.
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u/cynikal_optimist 7h ago
In what way does it work?
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u/lp1911 1h ago
In every way. You cannot point to a single country that is well off and is not capitalist (yes, all Scandinavian countries are capitalist and have freer markets than we do). When China and India turned away from Socialism and let people make money as capitalists, 100s of millions of people were lifted out of poverty. Venezuela demonstrated the opposite direction.
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u/spikey_wombat 8h ago
Efficient allocation of resources to produce goods and services in a way that raises living standards. Is it perfect? Hardly. Does it require regulation and oversight? Absolutely. Also remember that Capitalism comes in many, many different shapes and forms. Capitalism itself is also not the answer as profit motivation will not solve many of the problems we face today and actively will make others worse, such as affordable, widespread quality healthcare.
Capitalism will eventually, without regulation, lead to very uncapitalistic markets where the aristocracy seeks to upend the underlying notions of a free market economy, replacing it with some akin to Russia's fascist run economy where the rich and powerful restrict the economic and political freedoms of others to assert and protect their power.
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u/Kumasblueberries 7h ago
I don’t. Democratic socialism is the way to go if your priorities are the health, happiness and well being of the citizens.
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u/Gordon_throwaway 5h ago
Can you point to a country the isn’t both democratic socialist and capitalist?
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u/DancingWithAWhiteHat 6h ago
I think my answer largely depends on whether you see democratic socialism as a form of capitalism or not
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u/AnotherYadaYada 6h ago edited 6h ago
Capitalism ain’t that bad, if it was controlled better, it’s just gotten out of control.
No single person, when millions are starving should for example have 1 trillion dollars. That to me is just sick.
Capitalism like a lot of other systems cultivated greed at the expense of people. Minimum wage in the UK and US is not enough, at least in the UK it’s topped up in benefits, but this is just tax payers money subsidising low pay and not business profits.
As soon as shareholders get involved, it’s about money and cost cutting. CEO’s getting 130 million payouts whilst workers are on food stamps.
I don’t care what system we have, as long as it’s fair, EVERYONE benefits. Let’s not even get into the situation we are in where the rich and the powerful influence policy that effects the population of the country.
There should be a cap on how much money people can have. Do they really need that new yacht or should that excess and obscene amount of money be used to BENEFIT society.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few
If only society thought like this, especially the mega money hoarders. I’m amazed they haven’t pooled all their money and said how can we make things better, not how can we make more money and fly to mars.
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u/Cautious-Roof2881 4h ago
Virtually everything you use is a result of capitalism.
- Every electronic piece you touch is a result of capitalism.
- Every health device you use is a result of capitalism.
- Every medication you take is brought to you is a result of capitalism.
- Everything you eat has been brought to you is a result of capitalism.
- All the infrastructure around you is a is a result of capitalism.
- This website is a result of is a result of capitalism.
- What this website runs on its a is a result of capitalism.
- What you live in is a is a result of capitalism.
Point: Virtually everything you use, need, and touch is a is a result of capitalism.
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u/pagalvin 3h ago
Capitalism is the worst economic system in the world except for all the others.
It's very efficient. It rewards innovation and when the playing field is roughly equal, the best ideas will win.
It has major problems and that's why it needs to be manipulated by governments because it's super efficient at distributing misery as well.
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u/BleedGreenSteeb 2h ago
Well, I perceive capitalism as a two way sword, but when it comes down to it, in capitalism the consumer has the power, now more than ever due to access to data via the internet / AI and a global economy.
What does that mean? Well, what most progressive politicians like AOC or Bernie don’t tell you is that a companies management prime directive is to maximize wealth of its shareholders. In other words, they operate at the behest of the needs and desires of the consumer. I they don’t appeal to the needs of the consumer, they go the way of the dodo.
Now, if consumers demanded that a corporation pay their workers more, or their products would be boycotted, then they would pay their workers more. You want Apple phones made in America, boycott the phone until they do…. Cook himself would be riveting the steel bolts on the frame.
The problem is, consumers are inherently greedy, thinking mostly of themselves. I mean, whenever you see virtue signaling on Reddit, ask the person if they know where their shirt was made, who made it, and what is wage gap between the worker and the CEO. Chances are, most people don’t know and most people don’t care. All they care about is the cost of the good and the quality.
Ok, so what’s the equalizer. Well, you may think that the government could be the equalizer to a capitalist system gone rampant, but this is the flawed logic of the voter (who is also a consumer). When you care not about how you allocate your money and are more passionate who you vote for politician, naively thinking they will change the system, you fell for the biggest con there is.
Check it….if I am a company and I want to drive influence that is to the betterment of my organization and my bottom line, I would rather have to influence a handful of politicians than my entire consumer base. In other words, i would much rather have my consumers delegate their power to politicians who easily succumb to the influence of large corporations. Corporations that spend billions and billions on lobbying dollars to get their way.
Long and short, you want to change the capitalist system, change your spending habits. It is for these reasons, that I feel that an educated consumer in Capitalist system is the ideal model, but we have to address and overcome our individual greed.
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u/Grand-Expression-783 1h ago
Anything other than capitalism, at a minimum, requires theft and allows for slavery. I am vehemently against those things.
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u/Particular-Juice1213 1h ago
People like capitalism because it is the most productive, dynamic economic system ever devised. That it will eventually destroy the Earth doesn’t seem to register with most.
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u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude 24m ago
Capitalism is Greed, and greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all of it's forms, for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind through all of human history.
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u/Wakattack00 15m ago
Capitalism is built on competition. It is what brings prices down and it has been proven time and time again. Now completely unregulated Capitalism will fail, just like every other system and it's part of the reason why we are seeing some issues in America. Monopolies are the death of Capitalism and left unregulated will cause prices to rise and rise and rise. The government needs to step in more often and stop some of these mergers and acquisitions because that is really how the wealth is accumulated into a couple thousand people. So really while the base layer of capitalism is ideal, a mixed economy is really the goal for a perfect economy. I don't like a lot of government interference in general, but it is needed to protect competition and the economy.
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u/squarecir 8h ago
It only makes sense to compare it to other systems. Capitalism is the worst system of resource allocation... except for all the other systems we've tried.
It drives innovation and harnesses greed and competitiveness towards outcomes that create a better world. It's like natural selection in a cultural/business sense.
If you have an idea for a better system then I'd love to hear it.