>>IMO, communism did not fail because of corruption. It probably failed sooner than it should have because of corruption. But the fundamental flaw was socialism. (The Chinese communist power remains in power because of the switch to a partially market based economy) A system that cannot measure profits, return on investment, etc... cannot allocate capital efficiently in order to grow the economy to its potential and meet the needs of the society. That says nothing about the problems associated with motivating people without financial incentives.<<
your assumption is that greed is inherent within people. this assumption is valid in our present world and it is the fundamental issue why communism failed. i focused on the leadership, but you are correct to point out that greed amongst the masses also causes many problems.
at the end of the end of the day, though, it is greed that sabotages all forms of government.
>>Just imagine Warren Buffett sitting in a room trying to make capital allocation decisions without knowing how each company was actually doing. Then picture the average Joe in that job doing it in his central planning office in government.<<
why do you think communism precludes knowing how well a company is doing? again, a selfish average joe is a selfish government will trully screw things up - both in a communist and capitalist society.
>>Some corruption in the private sector is unavoidable. But we are allowed to make rules that govern business.<<
you may have missed the point. those same corrupt people get into government to make their pet corruption legal. think no bid contracts. nobody would get into government and then send billions in no bid contracts to their buddies or in companies that they are affiliated with, would they?
did you know that each meal in iraq can cost american tax payers $50 per? that's $25 per plate and some solders take a second plate to keep their food warm. not bad for being affiliated with a government official.
>>I'm not an anarchist. We are also allowed to make rules that govern what can and what cannot be part of the government. I know less than nothing about constitutional law, but many people feel that a lot of what the government is doing now is not constitutional to begin with. I won't argue the point because I can't. But it didn't have to be this way. We did it to ourselves and can undo it. We need the conditions for it, just as we needed the right conditions to screw ourselves up.<<
the future will exist to remove all doubt that selfishness can lead to long term health - for an economy, for a nation or for a person. it is clear as day to me that jesus was 100% right 2000 years ago when he said people must care about others EQUAL to themselves or wars would get wars, famines would get worse, hearts would grow cold and all sorts of evil would occur.
you probably don't know that ~175,000,000 died last century as a direct result of war. sit up and try and count the bodies one night to get some kind of perspective on how many lives that really is. humans are EVIL, just as jesus said. we are also vain, so we don't like to acknowledge what we really are, but we are what we are.
capitalism will fall like every other form of government. the question is not "if," rather, it is "when". i'm sure all the mba types and wannabes will be shedding lots of tears as their economic god fails before their eyes. |
