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Cresent City Kid

(1,621 posts)

58. It began with a seemingly limitless supply of natural resources

Fri Nov 30, 2012, 01:59 AM

Nov 2012

From the start, a relative few claimed ownership of the resources and/or the land that contained them, an economic system based on calling dibs. It is a linear system, extract resources from the earth, turn it into stuff, assign arbitrary monetary values to the stuff and the labor to make it, pay the predetermined winners and losers accordingly, then dump the waste. Even finding another planet or asteroid with resources is only a temporary fix, the system is fated to stop growing at some point.

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DU POLL: Will Capitalism as we see it today eventually fail? [View all] RKP5637 Nov 2012 OP

Yes, and I fear it will take the planet circling the bowl down with it. corkhead Nov 2012 #1

Yep, I have a similar fear. It will not go down/change or adapt to a new system quietly. One of RKP5637 Nov 2012 #5

What System Will It Be Replaced With? DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #2

Not at this time. n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #6

Why does it already have to be operational? LisaLynne Nov 2012 #7

Wouldn't You Want To Try On A Pair Of Shoes Before You Buy Them?/nt DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #10

Who's going to try on those shoes? Why not us? /nt LisaLynne Nov 2012 #12

If You Were Building A Home Wouldn't You Ask The Builder For A Blueprint? DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #15

I'm going to try one more time ... LisaLynne Nov 2012 #16

If Researchers Wanted To Try Out An Investigational Drug Whose Side Effects Are Unknown DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #22

Yeah, I was just going to say that ... LisaLynne Nov 2012 #26

Let Me Give You An Analogy DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #30

I said let's stop with the analogies, lol LisaLynne Nov 2012 #32

Meanwhile, your next door banker neighbor was driving a brand new Lincoln Navigator and coalition_unwilling Nov 2012 #50

That's my thought here too, that it's a model for the future, not necessarily operational RKP5637 Nov 2012 #14

Right and I think some people ... LisaLynne Nov 2012 #18

No. Capitalism as we see it today will not "eventually" fail demwing Nov 2012 #3

it's already failed. bowens43 Nov 2012 #4

No. Maybe the American brand of exploitative "top-down" capitalism. But capitalism is strong. jpljr77 Nov 2012 #8

Yes, that is a form of capitalism that could work IMO, modeled such that it benefits all and not RKP5637 Nov 2012 #19

We're a lot closer to a much better system than anyone realizes, I think. jpljr77 Nov 2012 #24

Don't You Think Some Folks Here Are Looking For More A Fundamental Departure From The Present System DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #29

Yep, I think it will/could improve as long as the ship is steered in the right direction. You make RKP5637 Nov 2012 #31

This is a start LeftInTX Nov 2012 #48

Yes, because its inherent assumption is that growth can continue forever. nt Nay Nov 2012 #9

As for example in housing ... Often we hear build, build, build ... but does that mean we RKP5637 Nov 2012 #33

It began with a seemingly limitless supply of natural resources Cresent City Kid Nov 2012 #58

The kind of capitalism.. sendero Nov 2012 #11

As we see it now? Near-pure capitalism is already a massive failure. HughBeaumont Nov 2012 #13

Sad, but quite true. The current model is gutting the country much as corporations that benefited RKP5637 Nov 2012 #35

We won't end capitalism. Mother nature will shut it down for us. Selatius Nov 2012 #17

Sadly, for the most part, it seems to me humans often only react to catastrophic RKP5637 Nov 2012 #37

Radical free market capitalism is finally failing gollygee Nov 2012 #20

It will fail because it is not sustainable libtodeath Nov 2012 #21

What Would A Solidly Socialist Economy Look Like And Where Is It Practiced?/nt DemocratSinceBirth Nov 2012 #23

Maybe we can start one libtodeath Nov 2012 #27

I thought it already failed when we bailed out the banks. Ganja Ninja Nov 2012 #25

I thought it failed before FDR saved it Eyes of the World Nov 2012 #28

It already has failed, we're just looking at the long decline. PDJane Nov 2012 #34

The beauty of capitalism in a democratic republic is the pendulum swings. RomneyLies Nov 2012 #36

I hope so, I think we might be seeing the beginning of it swinging back ... more and RKP5637 Nov 2012 #38

Sadly, the past three decades have seen the pendulum swing waaaaaay to far to deregulation RomneyLies Nov 2012 #40

A mixed economy works when the wrong people aren't in charge... Comrade_McKenzie Nov 2012 #39

+1 Daniel537 Nov 2012 #43

Dewey quote: flamingdem Nov 2012 #41

Capitalism, per se, will always be around Daniel537 Nov 2012 #42

Capitalism existed in the Soviet Union. RomneyLies Nov 2012 #45

It IS human nature. You're right. Obviously since it's been around for so long. randome Nov 2012 #46

I always steal wallets at the scene of an accident leftstreet Nov 2012 #49

Capitalism is not part of human nature. white_wolf Nov 2012 #59

Bring the day. Brickbat Nov 2012 #44

The current form of predatory nadinbrzezinski Nov 2012 #47

Yep, predatory, exactly!!! n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #52

Capitalism has already failed n/t leftstreet Nov 2012 #51

The problem isn't capitalism, it is unregulated, uncontrolled capitalism Marrah_G Nov 2012 #53

Here's the thing... frostfern Nov 2012 #54

Excellent analysis IMO! Thanks! n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #57

It has almost reached it's limits. bluedigger Nov 2012 #55

And I sincerely hope it takes the 'Captains of Industry' down with it ... n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #56

Capitalism as we know it is a failure for most and our world TheKentuckian Nov 2012 #60

Any system that must constantly grow to survive cannot sustain in a finite environment. Egalitarian Thug Nov 2012 #61

It's all going over the cliff, eventually, and will sadly take billions of people with it ... n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #65

Read Richard Wolff's "Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism." Ron Green Nov 2012 #62

Thanks for the book suggestion! n/t RKP5637 Nov 2012 #64

yes, no doubt about it nydem14499rsgx Nov 2012 #63

We hope it will be for the better for the majority of people, but if RKP5637 Nov 2012 #66