US Social Forum Detroit 2010

[Lonyo exit]

Pam, what's a bigger failure - capitalism or communism? Which philosophy has provided a greater standard of living? Longer life expectancy? Greater human rights?

It is ridiculous for you to imply otherwise. They haven't even been close in their outcomes. What straws could you possibly be grasping at to defend historically failed thinking?

[Pam]

Pam, what's a bigger failure - capitalism or communism? Which philosophy has provided a greater standard of living? Longer life expectancy? Greater human rights?

It is ridiculous for you to imply otherwise. They haven't even been close in their outcomes. What straws could you possibly be grasping at to defend historically failed thinking?

It's not as simple as "either/or". In the first place, I agree with Pfft. These people cannot all be labeled "communists".

Capitalism in its current form definitely needs reform. The era of deregulation and outsourcing since Reagan is a definite failure.

[canuck]

Pam, what's a bigger failure - capitalism or communism? Which philosophy has provided a greater standard of living? Longer life expectancy? Greater human rights?

It is ridiculous for you to imply otherwise. They haven't even been close in their outcomes. What straws could you possibly be grasping at to defend historically failed thinking?

You should look into the mess Argentina's leaders made by following Chicago school policies in their country the past ten years. About life expectancy and quality of life, check out the other thread on this forum;
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=6008

I wonder if those 1950's jalopies in Havana damage the earth more than a society where people change their cars every 2 or three years. Our concept of wealth and well being is pretty twisted if the idea of capitalism is for an individual to gather more stuff, status, and call that happiness.
The concept that capitalism is natural goes hand in hand with the illusion of fair competition. This has been hammered into our skulls for a long time and still goes a long way here in North America.

We are just waiting for some other gangrene-like system to rear its ugly head in defiance of capitalism. There are the Hugo Chavez' of this world who put every ill on the US's shoulders. They are power hungry caricatures, we have seen these guys happen over time. Some of them are more dangerous than others. But what if the disgruntled masses in China found a leader to bring about another change toward harsh communism. Remember China is still a communist country in definition. The zillionaires are amassing unimaginable wealth, the middle classes are popping up and the poor peasants are still present in droves. What if we witness a coup by China's top military brass when the cauldron of China gets too hot? China doesnt bother with the niceties of democracy, and doesnt need to profess the virtues of capitalism to operate like Jesse James.