The United States is NOT a capitalist system!

There are many uninformed people on this thread, particularly those on the left who continue to cite America as being a "capitalist" country. I also hear it from certain neo-cons who call America a capitalist country when proclaiming how great we are, etc. I am here to disband that myth being taught in governemnt run schools in a few paragraphs. There are three major components to a capitalist system: the free market, private property, and contractual enforcement. We have none of those.

The free market is a major component of capitalism. Today, we do not have a free market but have have centralized economic planning. The Federal Reserve sets interest rates and controls the money supply. The federal government increases spending to "stimulate the economy". It does this by generating revenue via the income tax (which peaked at a top rate of 94% during WW2). When it runs out of tax revenue, it borrows money. (Ultimately, the Federal Reserve is the lender of last resort.) The federal government also sets price and wage controls when inflation starts getting out of hand (as a result of its own excessive spending and Federal Reserve money creation). The Federal Reserve setting interest rates is also a form of price control. Centralized economic planning, whether it is through an income tax, control of the money supply, setting interest rates, and price and wage controls, is NOT a property of capitalism by any means.

Private property is another major property of capitalism. I submit that we do not have private property protection in the United States. A 94% confiscation of wealth, or simply confiscation of wealth in general through the income tax is an obstruction of private property. Also, since the Federal Reserve controls the money supply, it effectively controls the value of our money. The Fed inflates the money supply, and the banking system is able to create new money out of thin air, loan it, and charge interest on it. The value of our money goes down, prices go up, and we have a higher cost of living. In return, our lost purchasing power is gained by the banking system. It is no different than the bankers sneaking into our house and hollowing out the centers of our bars of gold that we have stored in our basement. This, of course, is legal....the purchasing power of our savings is confiscated. That technically means that we don't actually own our money. The only way to protect yourself from this is to not keep your savings in dollars, but in gold and silver. (In the 1930s during the Depression, the federal government made it illegal for any one American to own more than $100 worth of gold. This very well may happen again, especially seeing a tax on gold hidden in Obamacare). Property confiscation, whether through an income tax, inflation, or seizing of gold, is NOT a property of capitalism by any means.

Contractual enforcement is a major property of capitalism. In a capitalist system, two individuals may make a contract and it is government's duty to enforce that contract. For example, an employee may agree to work for an employer for a specified hourly wage which both parties agreed to. If the government decides that pay rate is too low, then the employer can go to jail for violating minimum wage laws, regardless of whether or not the employer and employee both agreed on the wage in a contract. It does not matter to the government that that employer could not afford to hire any employee for the minimum wage rate; it does not matter to the government that the employee would have been unemployed because of that. (The government is all-wise and it's moral code is perfect.) Also, the federal government does not enforce contracts which deal with gold. If an employee and employer agree on payment of gold instead of Federal Reserve Notes, and a severe case of inflation hits from the time the employee labored to the time he receives his pay for the labor, the employer can simply decide to pay the employee in Federal Reserve Notes instead. If the employee decides to sue for breach of contract, the employer will win in court becuase of legal tender laws. Not enforcing contracts, whether it is through minimum wage laws or legal tender laws, is NOT a property of capitalism by any means.

So let's summarize. The United States has these following economic properties:

1) Centralized Economic Planning
2) Central Bank that controls the money supply/interest rates
3) Price and Wage Controls
4) Legal tender laws
5) Property confiscation through income tax / inflation / seizing of gold

All of these are straight out of the Communist Manifesto, my friends. The United States has not been a capitalist country for about 100 years. We, along with the rest of the industrialized world, have been following the Communist playbook, and there is no end in sight. Pretty soon, we will have acheived true international socialism and we will be forever secured in our intended place in The New World Order.

 

Sorry man but unfettered laissez faire capitalism is to harsh for most people in a modern society.

 

Its a mixed economy with a right rather than left trend. Its closer to true capitalism than most places. I love how a capitalist will decry this country as not capitalist because it doesn't adhere to laissez faire doctrine, and then turn around and say its socialist, which is equally irrational if not more so, because it does not come close to adhering to the true principles of socialism.

 

It's state-capitalism, not Communism. It can also be refered to as "corporate socialism."

Alfred Chandler, Jr., the distinguished business historian writes:

The basic philosophy is that "market discipline is good for the masses," but "the wealth of the nation..a more capable set of men" need the protection of the nanny state. Socialism for the rich and powerful and capitalism for every one else.

 

The US uses a mixed market system and to my knowledge has never had an entirely free market.

Most Conservatives feel the average person would be more free of bureaucracy.

 

It falls short of state capitalism though, because in the US the state does not own or have significant control of the enterprises, though it controls some conditions that relate to them.

 

State capitalism or corporate state capitalism can also be a system where the state intervenes in the markets to protect and advance the interests of the most powerful corporations and financial institutions in the country.

 

The true principles of socialism are outlined in the Communist Manifesto. It's not about economic equality and never was. It's about elitist control.

 

Please re-read my post. I never once claimed we were a Communist society. I said we are using the Communist Manifesto as our playbook.

 

The US is a tyrannical Oligarchy that uses fundamental Socialist principles to underpin its fascist Corpocracy

This is why the US political system remains totally unchanged when the power is shifted from democrat to republican and visa virsa. They are puppets to this Totalitarian Corpocracy

 

How can the right can be so ignorant?

And the pretention to mention the Communist Manifesto to say that USA is communist is an insult to the intelligence of many people. USA is capitalist, a neo-cons capitalism; but capitalist, at all.

Sorry, but I can't see any kind of socialism in a system where the Central Bank is a conglomerate of banks, so private. Where the healthcare is private. There isn't socialism. You have a corporacracy, it is closer to fascism, extreme right, the authoritarian extreme right.

 

If I recall correctly, English is not your first language, so I'll give you a pass. But for the record, I never said the USA is a communist country. I said we are following the Communist playbook in order to acheive international socialism. Fascism is just another form of socialism. Government involvement in the economy is not right wing by any means.

Healthcare is not private. It is corporate fascist as well. A truely private healthcare system would be much better than what we have now, which is clearly failing.

The fact that the banking system is private does not matter. Any state run bank would be subject to the exact same corruption of debasement of currency for the benefit of a small parisitic ruling elite. You miss the point of the Communist Manifesto entirely if you don't grasp that concept.

 

I'm not advocating laissez faire capitalism. I'm advocating that we reject centralized economic planning and enforce contracts and private property.

 

That doesn't make any sense. You can't call something "capitalism" if the government is engaged in central economic planning. It's just grossly misnamed at that point.

 

IMO, we should not have the Federal Reserve system. Bankers should be determining their own interest rates. IMO, the FDIC(properly implemented) provides enough stability against bank runs.

Congress should only be able to spend money it recieves in taxes or that can be sold in bonds. There should be no inflating of the money supply based in over-spending.

The government needs to provide a reasonable definition as to what property is. Many of the products sold on Wallstreet need to be scrutinized as to their benefit or detriment to society. We have to have a safe determination when inforcing contracts as to what is a legitimate asset. In a laissez faire system, there would be opportunity for theft and abuse.

Much the way we have a national defense and law enforcement in a free society, we have to have reasonable regulations and enforcement of property.

I will say, that considering the ineptness and corruption in our current government, we may well be better off with laissez faire capitalism.

IMO, there should be minimal and reasonable regulation as to healthcare provision, hazardous material management and working conditions. We do not need the excessive red tape that exist today.

We should have no minimum wage laws, no unemployment benefits(other than through private insurance) or workers comp. Normal health insurance should cover all health issues. I favor tax incentives to employers to provide partial compensation for healthcare issues, but not direct provision of insurance. Individuals should use the funds(tax deductable) to buy insurance , fund HSA's or both.

The government should not be involved in housing, welfare, unemployment, education, healthcare or retirement(other than privatized accounts).

Free markets with reasonable regulation and policing works. Having the federal government not indebted to the people with entitlements is crucial to maintaining a long term free and prosperous civilization.

 

Don't you love the following statement, when it is from the first post on the thread??

"There are many uninformed people on this thread, particularly those on the left who continue to cite America as being a "capitalist" country."

The poster must have ESP as he was the only one on the thread when he posted that. Following that logic he must have been referring to himself as there was no one else on this thread then.

Yep, you picked it. No one owns anything and it's a Communist country. How did you find out? Did you notice them watching you from inside that van that's always outside your home?

Enjoy your New World Disorder. You'll be one of those kept in an institution, for a number of reasons, incvluding your Disorder.

 

Lol, we are as capitalistic as it gets. We have 5% of the country with 80% of the wealth, and the other 95% fighting over 20%. That seems like capitalism to me, lol.

 

Dr Righteous is trying to make a point about the Federal Reserve system and, in my opinion, is overstating his case. Could the other people commenting agree that the United States has traditionally had a mixed market system, that it has gradually become less capitalistic (in a pure definition sense) and that the Federal Reserve has quite a bit to do with this trend away from capitalism?

As for the references to communism, I think Dr Righteous is missing a much more likely bogeyman: facism. For some reason free-market fans either can't understand the elements of facism or they lump it in with socialism and communism when it is quite different from that train of modern economic thought. I suggest Dr Righteous read up on Facism and Corporatism while keeping his starting thesis in mind.

 

Lol, the Fed is a product of capitalism. How to get more money so people can build more (*)(*)(*)(*) and buy more (*)(*)(*)(*). That is what capitalism is all about. The only people who don't like the Fed are the people who don't have money.

 

I don't know how you can contradict yourself so much in such a small amount of words, but you pulled it off.

5% of the country has 80% of the wealth because the tenants of capitalismm have been compromised. A few others have described it quite well as corporatism. Wealth concentration is much easier to attain when some escape the nature rules of the free market through the seized power of the people via government.

Fairly hard to accumulate wealth when government legislates so many obstacles including SS, 40-50 different kinds of burdensome taxes with varying rates depending upon wealth and income, and inflationary monetary policies carried out by the federal reserve.

 

And yet social mobility has been higher under periods of heavy progressive taxation, which makes perfect theoretical and practical sense.

 

how exactly would that make sense though? I'd imagine with higher taxes it'd be harder for people to progress.

 

*sigh* You do understand the meaning of the word progressive in the context of taxation, yes?

 

No, I know. when I said progress I was referring to social mobility. Maybe I don't totally understand the idea, but that's what i meant.

 

Progressive taxation is a form of indirect wealth redistribution - it means more subsidies for education and such, resulting in vastly increased social mobility. Not to mention that because so many needs are satisfied by higher standards of social infrastructure it leaves middle class people free to increase their wealth with the additional disposable income.