Capitalism vs “Socialism”

@Carazaa Because like 'socialism', 'capitalism' is usually not a good label for the thing mentioned. For instance according to Wikipedia capitalism is summarized as:
[quote]Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system and competitive markets.[/quote] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism

But most markets that actually matter are not seriously competitive (the big four supermarket chains in the UK have 80% of the market), and if you are poor there really isn't that much in the way of voluntary exchange (work or go without, buy on instalments because you never have a large enough amount of money at one time). And can it really be pretended that companies whose principal customer is the state are really in private ownership (defence manufacturers in the wealthiest countries like the US, UK, France)?

@Abstraction [quote]Big shareholders are getting the best slice of the world's wealth. ... The problem is that capitalism has overpowered democracy. Our single vote every few years does not speak as loudly as capitalism's lobby groups and their ex-staffers who sit on committees that decide on our country's future for the benefit of mostly those corporations and their shareholders.[/quote]

Sounds more like oligarchy than capitalism to me. Or that oligarchy is the natural result of capitalism.

@ninalanyon I think when you balance the Markets, Government and Civil Society you end up with a good result. Capitalism works, democracy works.

Currently the markets hold too much sway in my country of Australia - with so many key decisions influenced by lobby groups from key industries. A relatively small donation (in light of their profits) to both major parties is sufficient to get a lot of influence. Civil society voices are being shut down or dog whistled by politicians, particularly if they criticise government policy.

@QuixoticSoul there are More billionaires in Sweden per capita Than in the USA? Wow i didn’t know that!

@Carazaa Sweden and other Nordic nations host more multi-nationals than one would expect. They are also extremely supportive of small businesses, consistently some of the easiest places to open and run a business in the world - typically beating the US in the rankings.

And you can see that just strolling around their cities.

@QuixoticSoul
99% of Scandinavian population did read the newspaper cover to cover daily, a few years back in a survey , and the news always includes world news so there is more awareness of facts! One thing that i think American broadcasters need to work on is not voicing their emotion and opinions about something “ that is so sad etc” News in my opinion is not entertainment but should be broadcasted matter of fact with a neutral opinion! Watch San Diego news and those girls wear tight dresses and laugh etc and that’s not appropriate ( you might not mind) but it is to get viewers and to ultimately get advertisers ( capitalism is money driven primarily and it can brainwash the viewers then, and I think it has )

@Carazaa hahaha are you a brit ? Sorry but Sweden is not a socialist country or economy . And thinking their tiny little country compares directly with the US and that we could just copy and paste their firm of government here and it be successful is ridiculous beyond imagination .

@TexChik So let me tell you some differences of Sweden and the USA
1. The average Swede is wealthier than the average American, and have higher standard of living!
2. All Swedes get at least 5 weeks vacation every summer and also time off a few weeks at Christmas
3. There are no homeless in Sweden
4. All children in Sweden get monies for food clothing and childcare regardless of the parents income.
5. Swedes are better educated,on test scores! In the USA the average person is less knowledgeable..
6. Crime is much less in Sweden
7. People are much healthier in Sweden ( the baby birth mortality rate is higher( more babies survive in Sweden) the mortality rate in the USA is like I developed countries India or poor African countries! And they live much longer in Sweden than in the USA.
8. The food is much healthier in Sweden than the USA because many of the additives are outlawed there!
9. Less diseases and cancer in Sweden
10. The average Swede doesn’t drive anywhere even though they have a car they walk so they are thinner
11. Colleges are free
12. An operation is $20 for everyone
13. The towns in Sweden have beautiful downtowns with cafes and parks where people walk around not poverty and homeless where kids can’t walk because they step on needles and it’s run down with poverty!
14. Swedes really care about people, animals, and nature! Surveys have shown that Americans are less concerned and caring!

Just some differences! The USA has to clean up their cities, healthcare, education, homelessness, drug use, and poverty!!! It has huge problems!

@TexChik It's not a purely socialist country, no, but it is a socialistic country. Sweden uses something called "applied socialism" which is also sometimes referred to as "hybrid economy."

And while the principles of Swedish government and economy couldn't just be lifted and put right into the United States on account of the size and population difference, there's a lot of it which could be used, and quite effectively. Direct ballot initiatives are a great example, as is nationalized healthcare and a ban on "bundling" campaigns.

@Abstraction That's exactly what I just said. I used the phrase "socialistic democracy."

@BlueMetalChick Ah ok, I see your intent. The term "socialistic" actually means following socialist principles, which social democracy doesn't.

@Abstraction That's where the shortening of the term comes in. Unfortunately, political theorists are bad at naming things. Not that I can criticize; we scientists are pretty fucking bad at it too.

@silkydrawers ok!

@YukikoAmagi Capitalism doesn't suck, it's venture capitalism that sucks. A privately owned business is capitalism. So, like, buying coffee at Starbucks is capitalism. It's the bullshit where you get money by having money that's venture capitalistic nonsense. Wage slavery and such.

@YukikoAmagi Capitalism is only evil if it is monopolizing and is corrupt! Money should never be the goal in business, but helping people should be the priority! People are often evil and there must be oversight! And there should be a safety net for the weak, poor, and old, in capitalistic societies people fire employees and throw people out on the street if they don’t pay their rent because they got fired! In Scandinavia it’s hard to fire and the living and child care is subsidized more even for the wealthy.

@BlueMetalChick wild child, free spirit 🙂

@Carazaa Was that a Doors reference? Wild child, full of grace, savior of the human race?

@BlueMetalChick Sure 😏 haha if you say so 👍️