The end of capitalism has begun
theguardian.com
The end of capitalism has begun
1–10 of 88 posts
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#2It's interesting the Greece and 2008 global crises are usually brought up, but important to note that with capitalism comes a need for responsibility - especially regarding debt, and those failures were a result of irresponsiblity on the part of the governments and actors involved - not a defect of the capitalist system itself. In both cases, taking on massive debt and quite simply, living beyond one's or a state's means.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#3It's interesting the Greece and 2008 global crises are usually brought up, but important to note that with capitalism comes a need for responsibility - especially regarding debt, and those failures were a result of irresponsiblity on the part of the governments and actors involved - not a defect of the capitalist system itself. In both cases, taking on massive debt and quite simply, living beyond one's or a state's m…
This seems like a bit of a strawman version of the Greek crisis in relation to capitalism, attributing to human failures actions which were a result of a complex series of coercive acts. The worldwide financial crisis was created because of strong incentives on financial institutions to game the system for profit. This led to a worldwide breakdown of economies, but nations were not equally able to respond with economic stimuli. The Greeks were in a particularly bad situation because of a wealthy class which has been able to avoid taxation. Corrupt government also played a very important part in the process.
But the underlying cause of the crisis was the fact that the rules of capitalism have the property of being exploitable by large financial institutions unless they are under strict public oversight, and even this has been shown to be ineffective. Rational self-interest by banks which damaged the world economy forced Greece into a series of austerity measures which progressively weakened their economy and their ability to pay their debts, locking them into a series of pressure to take yet more loans under terms which lowered their ability to repay them. The logical end of this was their most recent deal which surrendered national sovereignty over their economy.
So what we see from this example is that capitalism has shifted most of the power to those most able to manipulate it, financial institutions, and led to the degredation of national sovereignty. The extreme end of this scenario would be a world without any nations controlled entirely by banks, but I doubt we will get to that point before alternative models take hold, as very few people want to live in that kind of world.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#4I'm fairly sure people were thinking this in the 1970s, just before neoliberalism came along and destroyed all in its path.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#5The 20th century, in contrast to past centuries, was an experiment in progressivism. The idea that the state can be used by the masses to improve the well being of individuals over what can be achieved in a situation of economic liberty. So what came of this? We're finding out is that the power to regulate, is also the power to grant special favors. That giving this power, even to a well intended political class, was resulted in a poor outcome for us.
I find it interesting that the EU took over the currency, interest rates and inflation are set by state actors, and that now we're seeing articles such as this one that blame economic liberties for the failure of the system.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#6From the fine article:
> individualism replaced collectivism and solidarity
I find myself wondering if I am part of a remaining few who treasure that. I value self-sufficiency over dependency, moreso as I get older. I have come to realize that there can rarely be an imposed collective benefit that didn't come at the expense of at least one individual. The answer to "is it worth it?" will be dependent on which one you ask. Likely the same for "is it moral?" if I had my guess.
That said, I don't think individualism can last forever. The fast exchange of ideas gives incredible power to well coordinated groups. Will it descend into mob rule? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. We see regular examples of internet mobs taking down powerful people and companies. The recent Pao take-down comes to mind here. People have their opinions on whether or not it was justified, and mine is irrelevant here, but to me what is most striking was the sheer effectiveness of it. Eventually "we" will figure out how much power we wield and put it to use on targets of more consequence than the CEO of a cat picture website. Occupy could have really shaken things up with the right leadership in place. They were tactically effective, but lacked a leader to put them to effective use to achieve an end.
I think the time of the collective is fast approaching. As long as it's a volunteer collective, I have no issue. If it's forced at the threat of violence, I think my opinion would differ. I am not convinced that history inspires confidence on this one.
edit: small clarification
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#7This statement seems odd to me:
Second, information is corroding the market’s ability to form prices correctly. That is because markets are based on scarcity while information is abundant.
I don't understand how this follows. Wouldn't having more information mean that prices form more correctly?
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#8It's interesting the Greece and 2008 global crises are usually brought up, but important to note that with capitalism comes a need for responsibility - especially regarding debt, and those failures were a result of irresponsiblity on the part of the governments and actors involved - not a defect of the capitalist system itself. In both cases, taking on massive debt and quite simply, living beyond one's or a state's m…
This seems like a bit of a strawman version of the Greek crisis in relation to capitalism, attributing to human failures actions which were a result of a complex series of coercive acts. The worldwide financial crisis was created because of strong incentives on financial institutions to game the system for profit. This led to a worldwide breakdown of economies, but nations were not equally able to respond with econom…
More specifically, nations are captured by their SIFI banks and used as a front to coopt the power of sovereigns.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#9I'm fairly sure people were thinking this in the 1970s, just before neoliberalism came along and destroyed all in its path.
The internet changes a lot of rules. Who will make the most effective use of these new rules remains to be seen, but the game has changed nonetheless.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#10This statement seems odd to me: Second, information is corroding the market’s ability to form prices correctly. That is because markets are based on scarcity while information is abundant. I don't understand how this follows. Wouldn't having more information mean that prices form more correctly?
Only if everyone has perfect information all of the time.