Capitalism

Capitalism Is NOT The Problem…

I’m going to put on my fiscal conservative hat here and try to convince you that class-war is a losing proposition. That in my mind means Bernie Sanders has it fundamentally wrong. That is what this post is all about.

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The two major things that drive the US economy are personal consumption and military spending. With this post, I will try to convince you that is a basic problem for us as a country. It thwarts happiness and is a wasteful way to live a life. But the biggest problem is that for too many of us it is the ONLY thing driving our lives. More money, more stuff. 2018-09-30_16-18-17 Ironically this is true throughout the economic ladder from the richest of us to the poorest. We think that if we can just get a few more dollars to buy more stuff everything will be better. Most of us have been thoroughly indoctrinated into consumer driving capitalism. For many of us, contrary to what the philosophers say, money can buy happiness, at least temporarily. Or so we believe... For those on the lower end of the economic spectrum it is another flat screen TV; for those on the upper end, it is a new $50,000 car to replace the two-year-old one we currently have. Believe it or not, there are other parts of the world that take a very different approach to capitalism. They don't depend on all of their citizens spending more and more year after year. Instead, much of the profits of their version of capitalism is used for the overall good of the country and its citizens. Those countries have an infinitely better infrastructure.  Potholes and failing bridges are not the norms for them.  Even more importantly they provide health care for all their citizens and security for their senior citizens.  Every statistic taken shows that they are much happier than we are even if they don't have multiple storage lockers filled with junk. How do we as a country get out of the "more and more" mentality and into something that makes us happier?  That is the question of the day for me.  
2018-08-24_09-44-00.pngThis post is about the question "Is America's form of capitalism being pushed aside?" Is the world moving beyond the American definition?  Some might say the Capitalism as it exists in America is "The rich get richer,  and nothing else matters...
"What happens when a society reinvests the gains from industrialization into things like healthcare, education, and so forth? Well, it’s economy changes — radically. You see, the American economy is still 75% consumption — McMansions, SUVs, designer jeans, and so forth. The problem is that 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. They can’t afford those things anymore. But if America had invested in public goods, then the economy would be made less of consumption, and more of investment. Source: How to Think About the World After Capitalism – Eudaimonia and Co
I like to blame all of our problems on #CO3 but I recognize that our "consumption" problems are ingrained in our capitalist system. The "rich get richer" and "survival of the fittest" is a dominant part of our version. Our version of capitalism will likely change in the coming years. One path will be divorcing ourselves from the rest of the world. Going it alone. Another path is that our capitalist system may morph into the version practiced by  Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada as cited in the source article. So, what is the basic difference? These countries practice what some may call social democracy.  They give all their citizens what they see as inalienable rights.  They include healthcare, education, transportation, and retirement. Because these rights are endemic in their version of capitalism they divorce themselves from the "survival of the fittest mentality". I think we have some things to learn from them in that and many other regards. Cackle Footer Banner #CO3 = Current Oval Office occupant