I was told yesterday that the facts refute capitalism.
Which was interesting. Especially since
So here, for Paul McGreal and others are Stephen Hicks’s “13 arguments for liberal capitalism in 13 minutes.” (That takes you to the transcript; the first vid is below.)
It makes liberal use of words like freedom, incentives, smarter, individuality, creativity, productive ability, the poor, wealth, flourish, happiness, interesting, tolerance, racism (and the discouragement thereof), sexism (also to do with the discouragement thereof), peace, and profit.
I even spot the word “awesome.” Twice!
So if you’re bored with Easter and inequality, try awesome.
Here’s a flowchart for the 13 (click for a huge one) …
… and here’s the first video of 13:
Enjoy!
1 comment:
The suggestion that 'facts refute capitalism' is not only preposterous, but highlights the differences between certain ideologies.
The liberal capitalist ideology springs from the old Whigs - basically a set of principles advocated by Aristocratic families and put into practice by underlings.
Socialism springs from naive intellectuals.
One major difference between the two is that liberals (Whigs, capitalists, libertarians - whatever you want to call them) what to DO something (make money, invent things, build companies, free slaves, build libraries, acquire art collections etc)
Socialists want, and need, to BE something.
Socialists, especially ghastly 'middle class' ones are defined solely by what they are - (ie: being something) - rather than what they do; they are schoolmasters, accountants, clerks, dustman, trade unionists etc and when you take that away they cannot cope because their lives and sense of worth consist solely of being that thing.
Unemployment amongst these people is a catastrophe because they are no longer that thing they have always been; their ability to 'do' something beyond their narrow occupation is mostly nil.
The average Aristocratic capitalist doesn't need to prove anything to anyone so just gets on and does things.
What socialists hate - especially middle class ones - is that their social superiors have it over them in spades (and they know it!) and so are quite sneaky in perpetuating myths to stupid, ignorant working class people along the lines of "you are a __________ [write some ghastly occupation here] and pottering along nicely so it means you don't have to make lots of money to be doing okay in life do you?"
For someone who has been a dustman for 20 years, and has been paid every week, it sounds sort of convincing especially when people like Bernie Madoff get sent to prison.
The education system in NZ focuses on getting children to think in terms of "being' something, rather than doing something hence the large numbers of mindless 18 year old automatons at University saying "I am the first person in my family to go to University - and so proud of that" (well whip-de-do!)
Further evidence of this, and certainly why I hate 'middle class' people, is in social settings being constantly asked "and what do you do?"
My reply is "I am a gentleman" and usually follow it up with a cutting put down of "there is nothing middle class about me" haha!
So to recapitulate - capitalists DO things, whereas socialists BE things.
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