Capitalism: Is it Working?

[little_monkey]

Unfettered free capitalism was tried in the 19th century, and it led to massive monopolies,

-and much, much more....good and bad, absolutely.

Agenda, while I agree with you in the broad strokes, this whole "crony capitalism/soft fascism" thing, to me, seems to be little more than trying to distances one's self from the weaknesses of a particular system. It's okay if capitalism leads to land barons - mine labor history etc..no tool is perfect. You clearly understand what went wrong and why we need to make sure that doesn't go wrong again. That doesn't mean that capitalism is -bad mmkay-.. just that it can be used for whatever purpose the operators ingenuity can devise. If you think that leveraging your capital to capture a government is anything -other- than one of the most powerful examples of free market capitalism (why isn't the government for sale..as a product..bud?)...then you're giving the free market a short shrift. That is one hell of a business transaction. To be completely honest, sometimes, when government is bought, it isn't so much that it -can be- bought that bothers me....as the bargain basement price it went for, you know?

Should we really be surprised when some otherwise successful system breaks down or grinds against itself when taken to extremes?

I did mention in an earlier post, "Capitalism works best for most sectors of the economy. But certain sectors, in particular infrastructure, education and health, need more active participation from the government , while the banking system needs tight government supervision/oversight. " <----- I like quoting myself,

I believe that a mixed economy serves better than an unfettered capitalism that we know from past experiences leads to excess. The problem in the US is with a party that has adopted as sacred manta that the government is too big, and tries in every which way to make it fail so they can be looked upon as the party who told you so. And so there isn't a healthy discussion on what is the right equilibium in regard to the government's role in the economy. Any role taken by the government, except with the military, is branded as a form of communism. They like to present the situation as either unfettered capitalism or communism, when in reality, there is a wide choice to make between those two extremes.