Homestar Runner Wiki Forum

Does anyone think that capitalism is evil? It seems like a lot of people are cursed or corrupted by it.

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"Mekka-lekka-hi-mekka-The Cheat, throw a TV on 'im...ho."
--Strong Bad, about Homestar

No.

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It depends on what you mean by capitalism.

In it's purest form, a derivative of the laissez-fair philosophy, which states that the market should determine how business is conducted, and deplores any and all government intervention.

Supposedly, this approach allows the manufacturers and sellers of goods and services to greatly benefit from their trade, while at the same time, encouraging innovation and free trade, which in turn would benefit consumers.

However, there is a trade-off. Laissez-fair economics does promote greed, which in turn leads to unfair business practices that hurt competitors, workers, and in the end, the consumers who really ought to have benefited from the free market.

Case in point: Microsoft. While much of what Microsoft has done can be seen as fitting the laissez-fair model, it is very hard to deny that unfair business practices have been used to gain the majority market share. And in the end, consumers lose. Why? Because instead of having stiff competition to produce a better product at a good price, Microsoft's unfair advantage means that they can produced a mediocre product, severely overcharge for it, and still maintain a deathgrip on the potential sales.

However, the alternative to free market economy is that of tight regulation. Manufacturers and retailers are kept under tight control by government. While it certainly keeps the playing field level, it does not foster promotion of innovation and improvement of goods and services. Not only that, but it can cause the market to stagnate. Those who control this type of economy usually end up being the only ones who benefit from it. Everyone else - workers, consumers, etc. - lose.

Case in point: the former Soviet Union.

The solution seems to be some sort of middle ground, with government agencies determining parameters for what is and is not fair practice, but with enough leeway to motivate those who make, sell, and offer such goods and services to promote innovation and improvement. The only problem is that those parameters are always going to be tested by other laws and standards, as well as by greedy people who try to bypass them, and so you end up with an imperfect system no matter what you try.

I do think that for any economic system to survive, there has to be some degree of free market involved.

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Capitalism isn't evil. In fact, in some ways it's biblical. Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:25.

Socialism isn't the answer, either. 2 Thessalonians 3:10b says, "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." (NKJV)

Edit: I guess I tackled this on the spiritual side, but capitalism is far from being evil. It's called being responsible for one's own well-being.

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I am a best-selling author, and I am NOT a cat!!!

The reason I was questioning the good/evil of capitalism is because all places, ALL places, overprice everything nowadays and the bigwigs in charge of things always seem to care little about customer satisfaction or paying people well. The bigwigs like to hog the cash for themselves. They prefer getting to giving.

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"Mekka-lekka-hi-mekka-The Cheat, throw a TV on 'im...ho."
--Strong Bad, about Homestar

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Speaking of evil... the early Soviet Union, and Stalin in particular, was arguably the most brutal regime in modern history, killing tens of thousands and making Hitler's attempt at genocide look like a walk in the park.

And people rant about the evils of capitalism.

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I am a best-selling author, and I am NOT a cat!!!

Ayyyyy what'cha gon' do.

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Don't mean to double post, but I don't think that total laissez-faire free reign and abuse should be allowed. There sould be some sort of regulation on how a business treats their employees. I just think that government itself shouldn't try to provide income for the worker and shouldn't totally control how the business conducts itself.

Also, in socialistic Europe, the prices aren't that cheaper, and, in fact, in some places it costs more. Take the price of gas; it costs twice as much across the pond as it does here.

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I am a best-selling author, and I am NOT a cat!!!

I can't answer that question.
Sometimes things aren't all black and white.
While, certain parts of capitalism are good, especially for things such as economy and general fairness of man, other parts are bad, such as the USA's medical and welfare laws.
The same goes for communism.
I seriously think that no country should be heading towards either extreme, but stay in the middle, which is what a proper two party government should do.
Also, I think evil is too strong a word.
Also, I think this topic should probably end up in R&P.

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Guten tag, Johann, du riechst ganz richtig. Danke schon, Heidi. Und du auch. - A Bit of Fry and Laurie

If no store has offered the product at a lower price to beat its competitors and people continue to buy the product you consider overpriced, it's obviously priced correctly. If you're not willing to pay the price for a product, don't buy it. Make it yourself if you need to. Impractical? More trouble than just paying? Then pay.

I think capitalism's evil. I just don't think there are any viable alternatives that aren't.

Actually, I think it's the corporation that's evil. The whole idea of it. If you make legal entities that are solely concerned with making money, they will -- surprise! -- only care about money.



The last I checked, three to six million is more than tens of thousands.

- Kef

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Capitalism isn't inherently "evil", but it does suck for small business owners to have things like Wal Mart running around.


K, first of all, get off my forum. Soviet Union is great.

Second of all, you're completely wrong calling the first two evil. Marx and Lenin get a bad rap, but they weren't horrible at all. Especially Lenin. I have no idea where his bad reputation came from. He unified the entire Soviet Union, revived their economy with his New Economic Plan, and provided the basis for the emergence of Russia as a world power. That's just being a good leader. Stalin...well yeah, he was pretty brutal.

Third, and most importantly, you need to do some research. Hitler's holocaust was far worse than Stalin's gulags and brutal regime. The Nazi regime killed an estimated 6 million people, 3 million of them Jewish. Like kef said, "tens of thousands" is nowhere close to that total.

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Uh, Lenin was a thug and a murderer so actually, about that good leader thing:

...

nope.

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One country's "murderer and thug" is another country's hero. Some people in America revere George Bush while other people, especially those overseas, hate him. It's all objective, really.

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No, not really. You can twist what he did to try to fit to an idealization of the Soviet Union, but you can't outright deny the deaths caused by his rule and what was done so that he could maintain power.

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I think you're missing the point of what I'm saying. I'm not defending Lenin because I want to be "hur hur Soviet Union I'm cool on the internet". I'm saying that people in Russia have quite a different outlook on his legacy than Americans do. And I'm saying that his legacy, in regards to leading his country, made the Soviet Union a much more sound nation state than it was before. Yes, he was somewhat brutal. Yes, a leader like him is probably more radical than we will ever have here. But if you've got both Stalin and Lenin up for consideration, there's no contest. Stalin was far worse than Lenin was.

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Alright, I get what you're saying now. I just don't think that some of his actions can be adequately justified, but you're right, he did do a good job overall.

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Let me rephrase my beliefs. Capitalism isn't evil; corporations are evil. However, with the current system, there is no way for non-evil corporations to exist. Shareholders invest in companies because they want money. Therefore, the business will be concerned only about money. Therefore, it will do evil things if those things will ultimately be profitable.

Let's put it this way. You put two plans before the shareholders, Plan A and Plan B. Plan A will be profitable; Plan B will be more profitable but, while legal, it will also be much less ethical. Plan A doesn't stand a chance.

Now, individual businesses can indeed have a sense of ethics, but those that do will be privately owned.

- Kef

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Responding to something old here...


I'm glad we've come to an understanding. I'm not saying all of his actions are justified. He was pretty radical and extreme. But I consider a good leader as someone who does overall good for his country.

It's the same reason people in Russia today love Putin. He's taken away freedoms but has brought Russia back from the time of decadence it went through with Gorbachev and Yeltsin. He has sacrificed freedoms for stability. And you know what? The Russian people love him! They adore everything he's done. Politics in Russia are vastly different than they are here. They would rather have a sound nation state and a growing influence on world affairs than things like free speech. It's a different animal over there, and a political system that probably no one in America would accept.

I consider Putin to be a good leader too, despite the infringements on freedoms he's made. That's because overall, he's done the best he can for his country as a whole, and under his regime, the country has prospered, almost like never before. And we all need to keep in mind that he's still nowhere near as brutal as Stalin.

If anyone wants to question that, please, read the Time Magazine article on him as Man of the Year. The man is a cold, stand-offish leader, but you get the sense that he is powerful and deeply believes in doing what benefits Russia. THAT is a good leader.

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