Thank you Carebear and PrairieCraft for taking the words right out of my mouth.
The way I see it, there is no such thing as a 'perfect' economic system in the world where everything is 'fair'. Such a system does not exist. When you really think about it, human beings themselves are not 'perfect' or 'fair', so how can any system we come up with ever be 'perfect' or 'fair' to all?
Of all the systems out there, though, I have to say that Capitalism (to the extent that it's allowed to work without a lot of governmental intervention elbowing its way in) is the best of the lot. Does it ever get abused? Yes- and so do all the other systems- but unlike all the others, Capitalism provides the most opportunites and incentives for good work eithics to abound, thereby raising the standard of living for all across the board. History has proven time and again that the same cannot be said of socialist/communist-type systems.
Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher says it best for me when he stated centuries ago, "That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it." It was true then and it's still true today, because as I observe it, basic human nature is still the same as it's always been. People work best and hardest and are the most generous when what they've earned isn't cumpulsorily taken away from them and given to someone else. That just ruins all incentive for enthusiastice productivity. Who wants to put their heart and soul into something to make it the best it can be when it will only be taken away and handed to someone else? As Carebear said, work ethic suffers, and along with it, quality, and then it all just snowballs from there.
The Pilgrims learned that the hard way early on when they almost starved those first few years after they arrived at Plymouth. They basically proved Aristotle's statement correct, but were finally able to make a success of things when it was decided that everyone should be allowed to grow food for themselves and their own immediate families instead of sharing and producing work equally along communal lines. Once everyone started working for themselves, the Pilgrims were much more willing to work hard and they grew so much food that starvation was just a bad memory.
I don't know if you've ever read William Bradford's diary on those early starving years in Plymouth colony, but it's a pretty eye-opening case study on why Capitalism, although seemingly more 'greedy' is a more successful system than those that tout to be 'more fair and equitable'. In my opinion, that's because Capitalism takes into account and accepts as a given the greediness/selfishness of basic human nature and uses it to the best advantage for the benefit of all through competition, while other systems seem to begrudge the fact that we're basically greedy/selfish and they try to force everyone by law into not being greedy, which usually doesn't go over very well for long. People just don't like being forced, I've noticed.
IrishLass
The way I see it, there is no such thing as a 'perfect' economic system in the world where everything is 'fair'. Such a system does not exist. When you really think about it, human beings themselves are not 'perfect' or 'fair', so how can any system we come up with ever be 'perfect' or 'fair' to all?
Of all the systems out there, though, I have to say that Capitalism (to the extent that it's allowed to work without a lot of governmental intervention elbowing its way in) is the best of the lot. Does it ever get abused? Yes- and so do all the other systems- but unlike all the others, Capitalism provides the most opportunites and incentives for good work eithics to abound, thereby raising the standard of living for all across the board. History has proven time and again that the same cannot be said of socialist/communist-type systems.
Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher says it best for me when he stated centuries ago, "That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it." It was true then and it's still true today, because as I observe it, basic human nature is still the same as it's always been. People work best and hardest and are the most generous when what they've earned isn't cumpulsorily taken away from them and given to someone else. That just ruins all incentive for enthusiastice productivity. Who wants to put their heart and soul into something to make it the best it can be when it will only be taken away and handed to someone else? As Carebear said, work ethic suffers, and along with it, quality, and then it all just snowballs from there.
The Pilgrims learned that the hard way early on when they almost starved those first few years after they arrived at Plymouth. They basically proved Aristotle's statement correct, but were finally able to make a success of things when it was decided that everyone should be allowed to grow food for themselves and their own immediate families instead of sharing and producing work equally along communal lines. Once everyone started working for themselves, the Pilgrims were much more willing to work hard and they grew so much food that starvation was just a bad memory.
I don't know if you've ever read William Bradford's diary on those early starving years in Plymouth colony, but it's a pretty eye-opening case study on why Capitalism, although seemingly more 'greedy' is a more successful system than those that tout to be 'more fair and equitable'. In my opinion, that's because Capitalism takes into account and accepts as a given the greediness/selfishness of basic human nature and uses it to the best advantage for the benefit of all through competition, while other systems seem to begrudge the fact that we're basically greedy/selfish and they try to force everyone by law into not being greedy, which usually doesn't go over very well for long. People just don't like being forced, I've noticed.
IrishLass
