Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cogito who wrote (61512)	4/24/2008 2:19:52 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 543009

Aren't you confusing political systems with economic ones? No. The government mandates that my car must meet certain safety and emissions standards That action is not capitalist in any way. To the extent that the economic decisions in our country are decided through the political process we become less capitalist. Capitalism vs. anti-capitalism, or socialism, or some other idea or system as capitalism's opposite, isn't a binary thing. Its a continuum. The more regulation of any economic activity (including such things are not being able to sell cars that don't meet safety or emission standards), and the more the government directly controls money through taxing and spending, the less capitalist the country or its system is. Which doesn't mean we don't live in a broadly speaking capitalist system, but it certainly isn't "completely capitalist". Strictly speaking its likely that no such system has ever existed, at least not above a very small scale. Beyond not being "completely capitalist", I'd say we aren't even "very strongly capitalist", cut "capitalist" would still apply IMO.