Capitalism: Is it Working?

[Mister Agenda]

Whatever else it's faults, capitalism is good at driving economic growth, and economic growth is the only thing with a record of getting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. 200 years ago, 90% of the world's population was in what would be considered extreme poverty today. 25 years ago it was about 45%. Today it is about 15%.

I'm all for mitigating downsides, but I'm not for slowing economic growth in undeveloped countries. When you're fixing a car, it pays to be careful with the engine.

If that was all down to capitalism, I'd be so surprised I might shit myself.

At it's essence, capitalism is investing privately controlled resources into providing goods and services more efficiently in order to benefit in the future. About 700 million Chinese and Indians have escaped extreme poverty in the last 25 years. I'm sure there were other factors, but investment in their productive capacity and markets for their goods and services is the primary source of their increased prosperity. Technological advances were very important as well, but investment in technological development with an eye to deriving a future profit from it is an important factor in that as well. I think the Chinese government has made the right call going to capitalism very gradually, avoiding the pitfalls of suddenly adopting 'The American System' that gave Russia so much trouble.

Southern and Eastern Asia are doing what developed countries have already done. Now some of the world's fastest growing economies are in sub saharan Africa. And it's about time.