Originally Posted by
rickair7777
The problem is that alternative is to give the power to people who's motivations are not primarily money... those kind of people generally suck at managing an economy and eventually get around to establishing police states and whole-sale mass murder to retain their power. That naturally further depresses the economy... but all for the good of the people of course.
While there's a relationship between money and power, the money game is generally a lot more enjoyable for all concerned than the power game. With capitalism you can still have some "socialist like" protections built into the system so it's not too hard on the losers. But it's not practical to make everyone the same... the winners need an incentive to put in the effort to win.
Rick, you are not a dumb guy. Don't do what so often happens when any comments outside what is generally accepted by making them "either/or".
While you did throw out the concept of some "socialist like" type protections in a capitalist economy, you did what people often times do regarding any criticism of the staus quo: you jumped to the extreme of a full communist society with all the horrors of the soviet union. Making changes to our current system is not the same as advocating communism.
That said, some things don't lend themselves to a profit driven system.
Health care and any attempts/ideas to keep the environment healthy enough to support a society come to mind.
For a significant percentage, perhaps the majority, of the US population, the current system does not serve them well. Either we figure out a way to lessen the power of Corporations/Capital(call it what you will) or we will fall victim to it.