Harvard Economist Debunks 3 Common Myths About CapitalismBy Learn Liberty Hey you, look around! Fear neither poverty, hunger, disease, or age. What a total CLOWN this idiot is!! He hasnt a CLUE as to what capitalism really is. WHERE did he get his diploma from, a box of Cracker Jacks?? Capitalism is using some fictitious bookkeeping entries that were created out of thin air to justify the creation of even MORE of them!! This is what the banksters do, they set up a phony accounting system, and then use it to milk profits out of the people who were duped into using it! Anyone who has taken his classes needs to demand a refund, because if this is the kind of crap that spews out of his mouth at Harvard, they didnt get what they thought they were paying for!! Another Harvard Man. Spare us from these corporate lackeys. When corporations control the govt its not Capitalism. Its Fascism. When corporations get govt subsidies and rebates its not Capitalism but Oligarchic Cronyism. These would be the White Shoe boys that Gerald Celente refers to (lol) Who is Gerald Celente, and why is he saying such insane things? He must be a commentator on MSNBC, or work as a government propagandist. your shallow end ignorance is laughable What planet are you from? Harvard may represent to you the elite fools that pretend to run our government or the criminals of Wall Street. But dont blame Harvard. The Harvard Business School has some of the wisest and smartest teachers of marketing in the world. What a person does with a degree from Harvard is not Harvards fault, nor responsibility. . You have absolutely no understanding of economics, capitalism and especially of what fascism is. To address your uninformed and nutty definition of fascism first Fascism is when the government owns the industries and businesses, everyone works for the government in these businesses. Additionally, fascism is governed by an oligarchy, or an elite group, who plans and controls all government and the people. (Sound familiar? If you like it, you must vote for Hillary) I suggest you look up fascism and do some research on it and other economic models. Please. China is a perfect example of mature fascism. China is not a communist country as it tried to be under Mao. That failed so badly, China was a basket case. So why do you suppose China is moving closer to capitalism and limited personal ownership of a business? Because fascism does not work in the long run. Hitler tried it in Germany, Franco tried it in Spain, Peron tried in Argentina, and the USSR tried it as well. For a variety of very sound reasons, it didnt work at all. The most prominent reason however was the disincentive of the common people to work to strive for a better life. There is no better life in a fascist governed nation. When corporations get subsidies, as do farmers, and others, it is indeed corruption of our tax code (a joke in itself).Its corrupt cronyism. the kind that can be bought with enough money.. It is not capitalism. If these businesses cannot make it on their own without special tax breaks and subsidies written into the tax code, then they should go broke. Period. The banks that were bailed out because they were too big to fail was nothing but political collusion and our criminal governing fools enabling those who give them money for favors. Nothing is too big to fail in a free market. Failure of those who cant cut it is a way of cleaning out the rubbish of our economy. That might sound harsh to you, but it is reality, and it works well if its left alone. I dont know of anyone who would want totally unfettered capitalism. It has to be modified and held to market principles, or it will easily become a jungle. This is the downside of pure capitalism and its a big downside, because there would be no middle class under unfettered capitalism. But there has never been a totally capitalist nation because capitalism isnt really an economic system as some think, Its only the means for making an economic system function.. Every economic method or system must involve the trade for goods and services through a medium of exchange trusted by the people. And if its to be successful it must abide by real free market principles. If not, it cannot succeed. Currently, the US has huge problems with this due to the nearly total corruption of our government. And the result is that we, the citizens, are losing our trust in our so-called government. And about Dubya getting his MBA at Harvard. What of it? He also claimed he was a conservative, too. Dubya was an idiot and Cheney and Rumsfeld ran the show for him. You are incredibleor rather what you are saying. Oh my goodness. I am copying your comment, this is beautiful. Thank you so very much! He certainly is Slick! No, youre describing corruption. High level corruption, yeah, but corruption, plain and simple. Gaming the system. What distinguishes capitalism from the merely competitive free market model which I have no problem with is the use of money to make money, as in the charging of interest, or the expectation of some other form of monetary return, such as dividend payments on stock ownership. And this money is received by the capitalist in return for what? nothing productive. Nothing useful or entertaining. Nothing economically needed or wanted. The capitalist doesnt really do anything. He doesnt produce or create. He does no real, useful work. He doesnt contribute equitably to the welfare of others as a result of his efforts to provide for himself. He takes WAY out of proportion to what he gives. Theres no equitable exchange of value. Not totally nonexistent, mind you, just all out owhackn balance. The service provided by the capitalist in the purest sense of the word capitalism is of minimal real value. He lends you a tool such as a hammer or an ingredient such as the sugar that youre short for your cookies because thats what money is: a tool or an ingredient. And then hes so cheezy and chiseling as to demand that you return his hammer with a spare handle, or maybe 1 1/2 cups of sugar. (At an interest rate of about 10%, a 30 yr. home mortgage will result in the homeowner paying out about 2 1/4 times the original principal amount, fore its all said and done, and paid up.) Thus, the capitalist is actually a drain on his greater economy. So, while this guys third point is right on the money, this guys first two points are nonsense, revealing a poor-to-nonexistent understanding of the core nature of capitalism. But you have to start with the correct definition of what money is, an idea backed by confidence. I went into this in a fair amount of detail in my paper What is Money?, originally written in 1996. A few minor changes were made to it since then to clarify a few points some people couldnt seem to grasp. It would be a much more pleasant and productive, not to mention wealthier, life we could have if everyone understood what youre saying. But with the education system we have and the lying federal government, there is hardly a chance of this understanding by the average person who is not immersed in it, and has no interest in the complexities of it. Ironically, theres little interest in the very things that affect their daily lives and their futures. And worse, the politicians dont even understand it themselves, so they are a poor means of correcting anything. All they understand is the reason they ran for office power. Nothing else seems to concern them at all. Very saddening. Youre correct, it is a shame that everybody is so dumbed down when it comes down to the things that really matter in life. But, there is plenty of interest in American Idol, football, Kobes last basitball game, etc. Im a dyed in the wool, card carrying Libertarian. And I know that a certain form of anarchy; i.e., an extremely limited government; could work, but it will never be allowed to happen. It would upset the apple cart of those who have a vested interest in the status quo. Your last paragraph says it all. The politicians are too busy gaming the system, and then leaving at the right time so they are fixed and we are left holding the bag. I would offer as an example the strange resignation from office and subsequent disappearance of the two clowns who were the heads of the House and Senate Banking committees. Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank. But not before they got the Dodd-Frank bill passed that turned the banking system into an insane upside-down process and a government-sponsored spy system on their depositors. I have no sympathy for bankers, but this has made transferring money and withdrawing ones own money to be highly suspicious activities reported to the IRS and Treasury. When my assets are a banks liability, it is not a comfortable position to be in. Asset forfeiture is only one of many acts that banks can collude with our desperately financially needful government to deprive the depositors of their assets based on the so-called crime of stacking, several withdrawals of amounts of money less than $10,000. Central banks in Europe have done it several times. Beyond that I strongly believe that anyone who would do what is necessary to attain a national office is, by the nature of what they must do, psychologically unfit to hold the office. The result is that we are governed by quasi-sociopaths. But heres the rub, Doug. Its not really ANYONES money! Its a world wide fiat paper currency/electronic bookkeeping entry financial system SCAM that was concocted out of thin air, ergo, it really belongs to no one but the banksters, and they can make up any rules that they may feel like at any time. They just allow the crooked politicians to get involved in the process a little bit to stroke their ego and make them THINK that they have some kind of say-so in the deal. Now you know why the banksters are too big to jail. They are the ones who are really running the show now. Does the flap in Colorado with the GOP make sense now? That POS Chairman is in hiding because he gets a severe allergic reaction to pitchforks, torches, tar and feathers! Youve got it right. Most of whats wrong with our economy and the worlds economy is due to those who make money but produce nothing. That doesnt bode well for a free market system. It corrupts it and shreds the fabric of any economy. Im not one to hate the rich simply because they are rich, because it all depends on how they became rich. If they became rich producing and delivering a necessary and viable product or service to the marketplace, then I believe they deserve what they earn from that. Its an honorable way to earn money. amazingthis is beautifully said as well as the other guy. My goodness, I am still trying to understand that his first 2 points are nonsensical. Capitalism doesnt work once one is not actively making a product and once one is using money itself to make money. Pioneer days maybe capitalism worked but now it is allowing all kinds of corruption. Huh. Beautiful Yugoslavia was a succefull socialist model: I spent happy times in Belgrade before the American Destruction. A great loss. Ad hominems and illogical. What a surprise. Very articulate. You are one of the few, unfortunately. Wow. Awesome post, friend. In fact, there is some great conversation on this particular thread. Thanks for sharing Never have I read such intellectual and valuable comments than right here!! OK, you brainiacs! It is so obvious, must have some ideas how we humans could create a better more efficient and healthier government. Have any of you seen Zeitgeist Addendum the second Zeitgeist? Have any of you seen the Venus Project by Jacque Fresco a real social engineer? Please, those that are writing these incredible little essays on capitalism must have some idea for solutionsyes? Zeitgeist = Technocracy = cheaters I dont trust them! Without corruption, major corporations wouldnt exist. They wouldnt get a sufficient advantage over their competitors to grow to the size of Ford or IBM. . The problem with academics is that they cant say the system is rigged / criminal which is what happened in 2007. 