A Problem I See With Pure Capitalism

[BCPVP]

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Does any capitalist thinker (and I don't mean Borodog) suggest that markets can exist without regulation of some kind?

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Essentially all of the Austrian economists suggest this.

[Leonardo]

Your problem is that you assume people want to maximize money, or EV in a purely capitalistic world. The fact is that people will try to maximize expected utility (defined as something like "happiness"). Now people will not steal because it makes them feel bad. It has nothing to do with socialistic ideals. It simply has to do with not feeling bad. You may argue that "feeling bad" is not part of a capitalistic world, but you would be wrong. You may then go on to say that "feeling bad" is something ingrained from our parents that will go away in a few generations of pure capitalism. The very reason that it is completely logical to ingrain that "feeling bad" is that it increases peoples long term utility. While they may benefit in the short term from doing something wrong, long term its a stupid idea.

Anyway, basically its Economic Utility that people want to maximize, not Expected Value, or $$$$.

[Peter McDermott]

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Speaking as a person that did some "time". Personal freedom is an important right to hold sacred.

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Surely though, as a person who did some time, you'll recognize that for many a period of imprisonment is accepted as one of the necessary costs of doing (illegal) business?

[Al68]

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Does any capitalist thinker (and I don't mean Borodog) suggest that markets can exist without regulation of some kind?

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All libertarians, classic liberals, John Locke fans, Adam Smith fans, and lots of others.

Unless by regulation, you only mean outlawing theft, fraud, etc. Or a self-regulating free market like libertarians favor.

And I don't know what kind of system DS is referring to with the term "pure capitalism", but I assume it's not regulated by a state.

[jwpepa]

My morality, the morality of reason, is contained in a single axiom: existence exists—and in a single choice: to live. The rest proceeds from these. To live, man must hold three things as the ruling values of his life: Reason—Purpose—Self-esteem. Reason, as his only tool of knowledge—Purpose, as his choice of the happiness which that tool must proceed to achieve—Self-esteem, as his inviolate certainty that his mind is competent to think and his person is worthy of happiness, which means: worthy of living. These three values imply and require all of man's virtues…
— Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.

http://www.atlassociety.org/

[Mickey Brausch]

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Ayn Rand


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LOL @ NONARGUMENTS

[steelhouse]

If you want to see pure capitalism at work look at Mexico or other South American countries. When you don't have minimum wage, school funding, corporate laws, that is what you get capitalism or Mexico. No middle class.

[Hoi Polloi]

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Borodog even defines money as a commodity--wtf?

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com·mod·i·ty
–noun, plural -ties.
1. an article of trade or commerce, esp. a product as distinguished from a service.
2. something of use, advantage, or value.

Certainly money is something of use and has value. It's also an article of commerce as it is used to exchange goods.

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Does money have value other than as a medium of exchange? Which elements on the hierarchy of need are satisfied by money alone?

I stand by my criticism that money is not a commodity. You definition reinforces this conclusion.

[Hoi Polloi]

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Does any capitalist thinker (and I don't mean Borodog) suggest that markets can exist without regulation of some kind?

[/ QUOTE ]
All libertarians, classic liberals, John Locke fans, Adam Smith fans, and lots of others.

Unless by regulation, you only mean outlawing theft, fraud, etc. Or a self-regulating free market like libertarians favor.

And I don't know what kind of system DS is referring to with the term "pure capitalism", but I assume it's not regulated by a state.

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None of the specific theorists you mention contend that an absolutely unregulated market would ever be free. Smith, in particular, is very clear on this point: only well-regulated markets are free. Self-regulation? When has that worked and since when is self-regulation not regulation?

[Hoi Polloi]

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If you want to see pure capitalism at work look at Mexico or other South American countries. When you don't have minimum wage, school funding, corporate laws, that is what you get capitalism or Mexico. No middle class.

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yes, the beauty of unregulated markets at work. The invisible sledgehammer.