How do you counter the argument that capitalism is a system whereby the individual is incentivized to place personal gain above the public interest?

“How do you counter the argument…”

You can’t.

Capitalism is the only system where the individual can improve their station in life.

^ See?

@Jaxk Which individual? Isn’t capitalism a relatively recent invention in human history?

Last time I checked capitalism is a lot older than communism.

So is wealth and poverty.

Which communism did nothing to abolish.

And capitalism has?

@crazyguy – Name one country in which your proposed ideas have actually worked,

What ideas?

It’s hilarious that conservatives never fail to live up to the stereotype. You can guarantee that they’ll celebrate their ignorance by responding to any criticism to capitalism with a reference to “communism” and “Name one country”.

“Last time I checked capitalism is a lot older than communism.”

@crazyguy Capitalism is about 400 years old. Communism was the norm for pretty much the entirety of homo sapiens and plausibly even farther into our evolutionary past.

I don’t know what you “checked” or how your arithmetic is, but 250,000+ is more than 400.

@Kropotkin: “I don’t know what you “checked””

I believe it’s www.whatwouldseanhannitysay.com.

@Kropotkin Communism was started by Lenin in the early 1900s. No other system of government in the late 1800s or the early 1900s even approached Communism. So what the f… are you talking about?

The idea of the collective is arguably socialism. You should consider the implications in the word community.

@crazyguy Not even Lenin thought he was “starting communism”.

Marxist-Leninism asserted communism as an end goal, but that a vanguard party representing the working class would control the state to institute a transitionary socialist phase which you might have heard called a “dictatorship of the proletariat”.

The state, in this temporary phase of socialism, was claimed would whither away (for reasons I’m not going to try to explain) and then you’d have communism.

You do know what “communism” means, right?

@Kropotkin ‘Dictatorship of the proletariat’, as expected by Lenin, evolved into Communism, with the true dictators being the leaders of the proletariat. Karl Marx always believed that capitalism was destined to fail. I guess it is still in the process of failing!

I counter that it’s a false statement.
Capitalism is a system whereby the individual is incentivized to achieve personal gain along with the public interest.

No country has pure capitalism. Government programs are the most effective way of providing services that are mutually beneficial. Everyone benefits from having an educated workforce, a healthy workforce, a mans for discouraging crime, and having highways used to go to work and deliver goods. All these services are generally provided by governments.

Capitalism allows for competition in providing other goods and services, incentivizing a wide range of choices and efficient means of production and minimal prices. Greed at the individual level is beneficial at the societal level.

@LostInParadise Capitalism works in education and transportation as well. If Congress ever gets off its backside, capitalism could spur postal services up to par also. Getting children high school diplomas when one-third of them cannot read at 8th grade level: That is what government has done in education.

In transportation California just poured $70 billion down the ‘bullet train’ rabbit hole. That is what government does.

@gondwanalon “Capitalism is a system whereby the individual is incentivized to achieve personal gain along with the public interest.” I do not understand why any educated, thinking person cannot see that.

I also agree with @gondwanalon.

Most of us work hard to secure stability and comfort for ourselves and our families. Once that’s achieved, it’s easier to focus on helping your community.

Of course ‘financial security’ is very subjective and not everyone has a servants heart. For some, I’m afraid accumulating wealth is the end goal rather than prioritizing helping the less fortunate.

I hope you all realize that people enrich themselves regardless of the economic system in place. If it is a socialist system it is the political elite that take the rewards, if monarch it is the royalty. At least with capitalism you are rewarded for creating something to better the human condition, something people want. The political class creates nothing. They just take.

@Jaxk @KNOWITALL I agree with your comments 100%. You can never take a natural human weakness (GREED) out of any economic system.