Originally Posted by
Sunvox
Definition of capitalism (n)
Bing Dictionary
capˇiˇtalˇism
[ káppit'l ězzəm ]
- free-market system: an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit.
I, for one, think most Americans would be loathe to give up weekends, holidays, paid vacation, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and a whole host of other benefits all of which came from the hard work of union organizers that worked under threat of death to themselves and their families during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Not until Milton Friedman came along in the late 1970s did we, as hard working Americans, think that profit motivation should surpass all other considerations. Today even the lowly ERJ pilot will espouse a capitalistic mantra that market economics are the savior of the world, and unions are the devil's own spawn. Do you really WANT to work like a dog and have no respect from the managers or do you just think that that is your only choice because if you don't someone else will?
Why are you blaming capitalism? Do you think the antithesis to capitalism - socialism and communism - is the better alternative? And by the way, labor unions operate on capitalistic principles just as much as any corporation. Would you ever turn down a dollar more in your hourly wage, or would you ever reach a point in which you would turn it down because you are not "greedy"?
Do you really WANT to work like a dog and have no respect from the managers or do you just think that that is your only choice because if you don't someone else will?
The point of any career is to exchange a skill set for wages and benefits that the individual feels is commensurate for the time he or she is willing to give to them. In other words, your feelings should not get hurt because you do not get hugs and kisses from the boss.
Second, have you ever wondered
why most airlines pay their pilots the wages they do for the schedules they work while other industries offer their respective employees better wages and schedules for their skills? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that 20,000+ people compete for less than 500 job openings and are willing to do it for practically nothing while accepting lousy schedules. Don't believe me? Check out how many times your typical pilot will complain about his or her job and then, in the same breath say something like
"beats working in a cubicle" or
"this is the best job in the world." Don't blame the managers for taking advantage of a buyers market - you all do it to yourselves.
- free-market system: an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit.
Did you notice the phrase "private ownership" in the above definition? No corporation exists for the sole purpose of providing you with a job. If you like what they have to offer than agree to work for them. If not, then go somewhere else. Once you drop your entitlement attitude and realize the world does not owe you everything you desire, then and only then will this make sense to you.
