Again?
The end of capitalism has begun
11–20 of 88 posts
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#12Capitalism did end in 1913, when FED was founded. What we have today has nothing in common with it
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#13The 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…
The 20th century, in contrast to past centuries, was an experiment in progressivism.
Maybe from the magnetosphere. Otherwise, it's blatantly false ... well, at best limited to the coddled middle class western world, but only post WWII, and only if you exclude Vietnam, the Gulf War, and other major conflicts, the NSA's antics, and pretty much anything that happened in economics... perhaps with the exception of collateral debt and high frequency trading, which were progressing something ... I'm just not sure anyone really stood for it except its positive results on their bank accounts. I suppose Mao, Hitler, Pol Pot and the Japanese Empire were 'progressivist' by some definition, though!
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#14I'm fairly sure people were thinking this in the 1970s, just before neoliberalism came along and destroyed all in its path.
And your point is that capitalism will renew itself once more?
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#15Awesome to see such an expression of technological optimism informed by social concern. A rare thing these days.
they have struggled to describe the dynamics of the new “cognitive” capitalism. And for a reason. Its dynamics are profoundly non-capitalist.
I believe the author refers to Yann Moulier Boutang's theory, espoused in his book Le capitalisme cognitif (translated in to English as Cognitive Capitalism): http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Capitalism-Yann-Moulier-Bout... .. I actually had it sitting on my bookshelf here in China (had to wait for the translation to come out before ordering) .. must remember to read it now!
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#16From 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…
Self sufficiency and dependency are not a 1-dimensional parameter. You can be self sufficient in some aspects, and dependent in others, and each of us can be like this in different ways.
Both aspects have their merits, and it is very easy to see that those merits are fundamental necessities. Governance is hard.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#17The author assumes we have 'capitalism' to begin with. Even talks about big banks etc.
Secondly, he's citing 'information technology' as being the death of 'capitalism'. An industry, arguably the most aggressively capitalistic.
Then he talks about corporate monopolies (anyone who's read economics 101 would tell you corporate monopolies are rarely result of unadulterated capitalism, but rather state corporatism).
He mentions big companies using public data, most of that public data is generated, collected and shared openly by private companies to start with. I'm not even sure what his point was there...
Then he talks about alternative currencies, something which bloomed in response to flailing, devaluing state currencies. Which is just about the most free-market response to state currencies...
The next paragraph he references briefly the 'sharing economy', something pioneered and spearheaded by companies such as Airbnb and Lyft. Truly great success stories of consumer capitalism.
"The solutions have been austerity plus monetary excess. But they are not working." - What? Our public spending has increases by £50bn, how is this 'austerity'? The cuts have slowed down our public spending and even that has made us one of the strongest economies in Europe. So I'm not sure where he's getting the 'not working' from.
"Even now many people fail to grasp the true meaning of the word “austerity”. - Oh, the irony.
Most of the fluffy scenarios he describes, whereby private individuals make voluntary, mutually beneficial agreements with each other, is almost the very definition of capitalism!
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#18This 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?
He doesn't explain how more information effects market scarcity, he's really just thrown that one out there with no explanation!
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#19We've been hearing about the impending “end of capitalism” since the beginning of merchant capitalism in the 16th century. Mercantilism still thrives even when commodities are produced by non-capitalist production methods.
Re: The end of capitalism has begun
#20From 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…
Self sufficiency and dependency are not a 1-dimensional parameter. You can be self sufficient in some aspects, and dependent in others, and each of us can be like this in different ways. Both aspects have their merits, and it is very easy to see that those merits are fundamental necessities. Governance is hard.
Dependency does not mean government. A homeless man can be dependent on a church for food and shelter, but that does not mean governance.