An Alternative to Capitalism

I've noticed from the thread "Does capitalism work?" that a lot of people here knows that capiatlism doesn't work. So I wonder which other system could be used...

(1) But first, we need to lay down the imperfections of capitalism,

(2) and to define why we created capitalism in the first place- that is, the purpose of capitalism. That also include the goals we wish to achieve with our new system.

(3) After that, we need to find alternative solutions to the specific problems that capitalism attempts to solve, while keeping in mind the lessons we have learnt from capitalism.

(4) Finally, we need to find a way to work those solutions together in a concise, efficient and precise system.


...
So who's up for all that work?

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

PS: A few alternatives that already exist....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communitarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Tada!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Replace the clergy with the media and the aristocracy for the corporations and we have the modern version!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

And here's a list of criticisms of capitalism. That gets us started in no (1)...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticisms_of_capitalism

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Gini coefficients....

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient

 

Nominal GDP per capita....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Let's not forget outliers such as the 5% richest people, which push the GDP per capita up...

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Human Development Index....
Gosh... I luv wikipedia!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HDImap_current.png

 

THE ONLY alternate to capitalism, is.... to regulate it... in moderation and in cycles as needed.

many people like to blame capitalism for poverty.

but poverty is caused by greed, selfishness and heartlessness.

of which many here show an abundance of.

-MT

 

More regulation? Do you mean more government? That would just make matters worse!

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

by regulation... i mean temporary and limited socialism.
socialism... designed to be sold off when things improve.

-MT

 

Regulation always means bigger government. Bigger government always means more corruption. Try again.

 

And yet less government means more corporate corruption. There will always be people in power, and power corrupts.

 

How about a system where there are no fixed leaders, only a "jury system" kind of thing, where the ruling people are randomly selected, rule for a month, say, and then go back to their normal jobs.

 

I don't think the scenario that you described would work. Perhaps it could work for a short period of time if the potential leaders passed a psychological / intelligence test. Perhaps it could be a course that people could complete at college. Hopefully the tests would prevent people like George W. Bush from becoming a leader.

Btw, I don’t think jury systems work very well. I think all jurors should be required to pass a test or complete a course that could be similar to the things that a judge or a lawyer would learn in school. It is very important that jurors learn to think objectively when they are decided if a person should spend the rest of his or her life in prison or die. After a person has passed the test or course, their names could be put on a list of potential jurors for the state or province that they reside in. I also think that it should be a well paying part time job.

 

Look again at your own maps.

 

If I recall correctly, Athens selected its government officials with a lottery drawing.

 

Who said we need corporations? And who said they have to be controlled by a minority?

 

It's human nature for a leader to rise among a group of people. Every troop needs an alpha male.

I find anarchism interesting because it is an attempt to reject and even condemn this nature. I think it would work on a small scale given the right conditions.

 

Canada, for example, has everything looking great. There is still more corruption in Canada then in Brazil. The amount of money deviated for selfish purposes is just amazing.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

There are lots of issues with large governments. For instance, they tend to be very slow, they have too much redundant data, data is not updated fast enough- and all that decrease efficiency and accuracy. It takes a lot of money to run a government and a lot more is lost due to corruption.

Canada has many issues right now. For instance, child care used to be almost completely funded by the government. Now, the government pays only $100 per month to every child, which is a very tiny fraction of what they used to pay, and consequently, a lot of parents are unable to leave their children on day care- which creates a lot of complications, such as their inability to go to work. Another issue is the constant rise in post-secondary education prices. A lot of people are unable to go to post-secondary education now. Many spend the rest of their lives in debt to paying for education. Those who give up on post-secondary education, spend the rest of their lives in $8 an hour jobs, barely being able to survive (cost of living here is really high). Another problem is the price of housing. It is increasing dramatically, making it nearly impossible to buy a house. Around where I live, the average price for a house is above $500,000. All those issues hurt mostly the younger population. If you compare all those things with Brazil, you will find out that Canada is headed towards becoming a thrid world country.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Anarchism is my heart's greatest hope. But the road to anarchism is hard and treacherous. Amongst all the options, anarchism is my favorite.

Anarchism is more easily attainable on a small scale, yes. Now that we have solar power, it is even easier to achieve it. If we manage to get a cheap renewable source of energy that has a greater output of energy, we will be able to do it on a large scale. But large scale anarchism require A LOT of work to properly set up. With the advent of information systems, we are perfectly capable of achieving anarchism. If we can create the system in an efficient, accurate and scalable manner, we will be able to achieve an utopian kind of anarchism. But of course, we still have to deal with adapting many of our systems. We still have to deal with the problems of crime, violence, ignorance, and many others. Just take a look of the systems we have: legislative, judiciary, political, economic, education, healthcare....

... it's tough work...

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Let's try to follow the outline in the first post. We first need to identify the problems we need to solve. Then we have to brainstorm alternative solutions. Then we can choose a solution we deem to be the best. This outline makes it easier to see the bigger picture and come up with something meaningful....