What are the Economic and Moral Criticism of Capitalism

[Sophist]

Salamu Alaikum,

 

While answering the above question, would you be bold enough and answer this vague question: How feasible is the idea of Market Socialism?

 

If you are with the Ye then substantiate your view with evidence, if you are with Nay then also do the same (substantiate your premise)

[Valenteenah.]

Good questions. Wait while I search my lecture notes and prepare some arguments.

[Sophist]

Barwaaqo,

 

looking froward to seeing your arguments- i shall take delight in read them insha Allah.

[QUANTUM LEAP]

Hi bro Sophist…. as I cant see anyone trying to answer your question, I thought perhaps I should take a gamble. Should you find this unconvincing please don’t blame me as I’m not Economist. Rather an Optimist.

``Market socialism'' is a current of ideas, starting, it seems, with the eminent Polish economist Oskar Lange, for how to make extensive use of markets without thereby creating gross economic and political inequality. Making rational economic decisions about really big, unavoidably political issues, like, say, education or public health is hard enough; there's no reason to add to the burden any more than it has to be, and markets are very good at letting us live our economic lives without thinking too hard about them.

For a hundred and fifty years, struggles for radical egalitarian alternatives to capitalism have been waged under the banner of "socialism." While the precise meaning of this idea has always been the object of intense debate, radical egalitarians have usually believed that an economy based on private ownership of the principle means of production and the overriding search for profit maximization could be supplanted by one organized around the satisfaction of human needs through some kind of public or social ownership. Even among those social democratic reformers whose political efforts were directed mainly towards ameliorating conditions in the existing society rather than working for a rupture with capitalist institutions, socialism still served as a visionary backdrop which kept radical egalitarian values alive.

Increasingly in the last decade, this vision has seemed to many people to be a fantasy. This is perhaps ironic. One might have anticipated that the demise of the command economies in the USSR and elsewhere would have emancipated the idea of socialism from the liabilities the Soviet authoritarianism. After all, for decades democratic socialists in the West had been denouncing the undemocratic practices in the Soviet Union and arguing that socialism should be understood as the extension of radical democracy to the economy rather than bureaucratic control of production. At long last, one might have thought, the ideal of democratic socialism could gain credibility.

 

That is not what has happened. With the end of authoritarian state socialism, the idea of socialism itself has lost credibility. Capitalism increasingly seems to many people of the left as the only viable possibility. For all of its deep and tragic flaws, the empirical example of the Soviet Union at least demonstrated to people that some alternative to capitalism was possible; capitalism was not the only game in town. Democratic socialists could then plausibly argue that the flaws in the command economies could be remedied with serious democratic reconstruction. Without the practical example of even a flawed, but still radical, alternative to capitalism, capitalism assumes ever more strongly the character of a "natural" system, incapable of radical transformation.

 

In this context, the left is in vital need of bold and creative new thinking on the question of the institutional conditions for radical egalitarian alternatives to capitalism. Whether or not in the end such alternatives are properly described as "socialism" is not really the important question; the crucial issue is forging well-grounded ideals of how such egalitarian values can be translated into a politics of radical institutional innovation.

[Hibo]

Shaqsiii,

IT’S ME AGAIN, MISS ARTISTIC INTEGRITY DOING MY JOB BROTHER NO HARD FEELING.

 

HERE I AM ONCE AGAIN REMINDING YOU THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. ACTUALLY I WAS NOT GOING TO SAY ANYTHING. BUT HERE YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKES US LOOK LIKE FOOLS CLAIMING THAT YOU ARE THEY ONLY ONE WHO CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION WHEN 98% OF YOUR ANSWER WAS PLAGIARIZED FROM THIS ARTICLE ON THE NET.

 

http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/havenscenter/rup3.htm

by John Roemer

 

OH, PLEASE DO NOT JUST EDIT YOUR POST NOW AND GIVE CREDIT TO THE AUTHOR WHEN YOU NEVER DID IN THE FIRST PLACE. JUST LIKE WHAT YOU DID IN PAST WHEN I POINTED OUT YOUR PLAGIARISM.

 

I HOPE I DO NOT GET CRITICIZED FOR SPEAKING THE TRUTH BROTHER LIKE LAST TIME. NO HARD FEELING AND I AM NOT OUT TO EMBARRASS YOU LIKE YOU CLAIMED LAST TIME.

 

Miss Artistic Integrity

[QUANTUM LEAP]

Thanks for your watchfulness.....remember what I said and I quote....."….... as I cant see anyone trying to answer your question, I thought perhaps I should take a gamble. Should you find this unconvincing please don’t blame me as I’m not Economist...." Now if you read btn the lines you would know it wasnt me who wrote that rather a closer answer to what the gentleman requested for besides one is allowed to quote and no this is not an essay rather just a discussion hence your respose. I would also suggest that since you so artistic and probably roam around for copyright infringements, I would suggest you try to help out and answer the user. You would be much more help.

[Kruella]

Where shall I start?

enslaving the poor....structural adjustment, working on the backs of women and children, Sweatshops...Globalization and transnational corporations...economic integration and colonization....simply the formula to world domination by the American $$

As for market socialism, it's another avenue to exploit the poor hopefuls who think they will get their daily bread..higly unlikely that will work either!! Prince and Paupers do exist in market socialism too.

 

perhaps those who know more about economics and Islam will share the more egalitarian economic system in the Sharia

 

salam

[X.Playa]

Sophist,

 

I have majored in Economics and yet its a pretty dry academic debate the way you posed the question.

 

If you make it a bit relevant to Africa or Somalia then i can contributed my bit of experince based on a 3rd year econmoic development drop out...

[Ariadne]

I have always been an anti-capitalist when it came to political structures of countries and what type of government can and dont work. Capitalism is the worst one next to dictatorship

because there extreme wealth and extreme poverty

and of course the in betweens. In communism, there is no rich or poor the government owns everything and wealth is divided amongst the people no private owner can take over or buy out a business and then make tons of $$ while someone is starving on the street. Another thing look at the health care system in the USA nad look at Cubas (Cubas has proven to be better cuz the money they opperate with does not come out of your pocket while your giving birth or going through cancer treatment the money comes from the government owning almost everything and paying for it with the money that is taxed on the people). I personally think communism is a better form of government than capitalism and it could be the best type but it always goes corrupt... so anarchy anybody?

[Macalin]

OK.i really don't know anything about all this.

but i am 100% sure that communism doesn't work.period!

it failed and it will always fail.

now capitalism has its weaknesses but so far its the better economic system!

i don't need to explain anything,look at all the capitalist nations and all the communist nations!

[Ariadne]

walaalkiis communism is good until it goes corrupt its better than capitalism because wealth is eqaul and no one hogs all the riches to himself anyway and it inevitably goes coruppt...so anarchy is the key!

[Macalin]

so it doesnt work,,right cushitic cutie>

the chances of fairness is dead right?

thats why it never works cuase humans are subject to nepotism and all sorts of unfairness.

capitalism has its weaknesses thus when individuals are given the choice they get to do what they wish and that leads to greediness and being a gluton,..but regardless it is working now better than communism.

i wish i had knowledge on this!

[Ariadne]

I know that bro they both dont work so the best way to go is anarchy no communism or capiatlism anarchy is what we need to try out....hopefully sooner than later

[Macalin]

looL @ cush!

Are you serious that you actually believe that anarchy is actually better than capitalism which of course has more advantages than disadvantages?

I cant believe you..but nonetheless we see already what a state of anarchy looks like,.go no further and have a peep at our very own country!

well see yaa!

[Ariadne]

well maybe not total anarchy... thanks for the eye opener on our country btw...but there has to be something better than capitalism which is like a plague to me (the plague of americanization and and sweatshops and child labour in developing countries)I personally calll it the McDonalds plague cuz you cannot escape from Mcdonalds no matter where you go (my mom told me theres a micky D's in tanzania and kenya its even reached the remotest areas of the world....isn't that scary that no mater where you go there will always be a way to get a cheeseburger and a happy meal :eek: