Live data from Hacker News

Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

newyorker.com

21–30 of 230 posts

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#21

Simple answer: No. More nuanced answer: not exactly. Not Capitalism per-se anyway. But clearly you can see an unhealthy degree of commingling of big government and big business, in a way that is damaging to society at large. But to my mind: a. that's corruption, not capitalism b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

"Corporatism" and "Crony-capitalism" are more accurate names I've heard for what we have.

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#23

Simple answer: No. More nuanced answer: not exactly. Not Capitalism per-se anyway. But clearly you can see an unhealthy degree of commingling of big government and big business, in a way that is damaging to society at large. But to my mind: a. that's corruption, not capitalism b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

In the absence of big government, big corporate will become defacto government even more easily.

I guess you mean in the absence of any government. Neither big government nor anarchy is good for democracy, but there is a whole range in between.

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#25

Simple answer: No. More nuanced answer: not exactly. Not Capitalism per-se anyway. But clearly you can see an unhealthy degree of commingling of big government and big business, in a way that is damaging to society at large. But to my mind: a. that's corruption, not capitalism b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

In the absence of big government, big corporate will become defacto government even more easily.

Actually, we see this with the social media giants live in action: they may decide to terminate your account at any time for arbitrary (or none at all) reasons for your whole life, and you have no way of legal recourse.

There have been way too many stories alone on HN about people losing e.g. their entire mail archives or Youtube deleting evidence videos of war crimes, to let this situation continue for any longer.

Government needs to finally recognize the importance of social media to modern society... after all, telcos are not allowed to arbitrarily cut you off (especially not for life!). Why should social media be treated differently?

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#27

Simple answer: No. More nuanced answer: not exactly. Not Capitalism per-se anyway. But clearly you can see an unhealthy degree of commingling of big government and big business, in a way that is damaging to society at large. But to my mind: a. that's corruption, not capitalism b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

>b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

A government that is not large enough to upset an even playing field will also not be large enough to level an uneven playing field.

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#28

Simple answer: No. More nuanced answer: not exactly. Not Capitalism per-se anyway. But clearly you can see an unhealthy degree of commingling of big government and big business, in a way that is damaging to society at large. But to my mind: a. that's corruption, not capitalism b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

> a. that's corruption, not capitalism

This is the same logic used by people who argue "That's corruption, not socialism." If everywhere there is capitalism, there is corruption, you can't simply wave it away.

Edit: I originally asked "How is this argument different from 'that's corruption, not socialism'", which some seemed to interpret as a defense of socialism. I'm just pointing out the flawed logic in both arguments.

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#29

Simple answer: No. More nuanced answer: not exactly. Not Capitalism per-se anyway. But clearly you can see an unhealthy degree of commingling of big government and big business, in a way that is damaging to society at large. But to my mind: a. that's corruption, not capitalism b. that's an argument against big government, not an argument against capitalism

Some have argued, however, that this commingling is caused by the forces of capitalism. Once you have large profits, it makes sense to direct some of them towards altering the laws in your favor. Simultaneously, capitalism seems to encourage the kind of concentration of wealth that will always ensure some capitalists have large profits relative to the norm of society. So in many ways this commingling ends up being inevitable.

Re: Is capitalism a threat to democracy?

#30

Of course it is! That's like asking, is monarchy a threat to democracy? Capitalist corporations are basically just little kingdoms.

I mean the very first corporations weren't even little kingdoms, they were big ones like the east India trading company, which operated as quasi sovereign states. And they still operate that way, just on a smaller scale. If you think we are currently living in an age of democracy right now you're crazy or just not paying attention.
Post reply on HN