In Reply to: Re: Selfishness and capitalism posted by Devin on May 02, 1996 at 15:26:15:
: :
: : It is good to be selfless. Selflessness is at the core of heroism,
: : kindness, love and manners. I am willing to be selfless to those who
: : are selfless to me. People who are selfless to me are friends, lovers
: : and family - less so strangers; even less competitors. Masochists are
: : able to be selfless to those indeferent or even unkind to them. Alas,
: : the world is too short on masochists to allow selfless alternatives
: : to capitalism to work.
: : The selfish underpinnings of capitalism is what makes it practical.
: : In a world of stangers you can rely on selfishness when all else
: : fails. Everybody understands selfish rules even if they disagree with
: : them. You can rely on selfishness, but alas you cannot rely on
: : kindness.
: : For this reason I believe we must count on capitalism to organize
: : humanity best. Other systems are more aesthetic, apealing, beautiful,
: : hopeful and inspiring, but they work less well in the actual world.
: Jim,
: I find it very sad that as such a selfish person
: you argue that everyone else should be selfish,
: There really is no need to be selfish to strangers,
: just because they are strangers, this is a decision
: you make for your self.
: I am not selfish to strangers, and the more people
: who are not, the less selfish our society will
: become.
: You argue that selfless alternatives to capitalism
: cannot work. Well Capitalism does not work anyway,
: even by its own standards, the so called 'free market
: economy' does not work. Privatised industries are
: regulated by extremely constrictive legislation to
: allow them to function effectively, this proves that
: the free market economy is a myth.
: Capitalism also does not work for the millions upon
: millions in the '3rd world' who are in abject poverty
: because of the capitalist policies of the north.: Selfishness because it makes capitalism work?
: I DON'T THINK SO!
: Devin.
Bravo, here here, encore. For once a fellow socialist who can
see the evils of the capitalist system which creates massive
poverty.Capitalism does not work because as my learned
comrade stated it relies on the demands of the market and is
solely focused on profits and not the needs of the general
population. It focuses on the needs of a select few. A select
few with the power and wealth to influence governmnents.
Ordinary people might influence governments once every three or
four years through voting at elections but big business
influences government every day. What's more they influence
them to make decisions which will aid them to command more
profits.Capitalism is precisely the reason why there has
been such a massive redistribution of wealth through modern
economies. Many, many years ago there was no such thing as
class structures. Classes were created by capitalists and
the division between the rich and poor will only continue to
widen while capitalism continues.We need to press ahead for
a revolution. We must smash the injust system.