You see a lot of left wing writers think that but I think capitals creates a situation where you can only benefit by producing first. Rather than make people powerful, i creates an atmosphere of vulnerability and the rich are subject to the whims and wants of the consumer.
i think that is why politiicains hate capitalism, it means they can no longer be control freaks. They are the enemies of capitalsm.
It depends on the political system. Places like Dubai actually try to attract more business by low (or even zero) taxes and few regulations.
It depends whose definition of “capitalism” is being used.
Marx has some valid criticisms of “capitalism” which was really more like neo-mercantilism or corporate-capitalism than any “free-market” version of “capitalism”. Conflating either of these concepts with free-markets is the source of much confusion. And he was painfully wrong about the Labor Theory of Value. It amazes me that people are still adopting that bullsh*t as a universal truth.
I occasionally find myself in these debates. My advice is to ignore them, you’ll always leave feeling dumber, and dirty.
Just take GM as an example: Once it was the largest company in the world, worth hundreds of billions. But now it just remains as a shadow of its former self. Why? Because poor little, powerless consumer decided that it didn’t want to buy GM’s vehicles anymore.
So, in free market capitalism, consumers are the most powerful market participants with producers being fully exposed to the consumers’ capriciousness.
“It depends whose definition of “capitalism” is being used.”
And indeed, of “the Wak”.[;)]
People were buying all sorts of GM vehicles, in fact most auto manufacturers were setting record sales numbers until very recently. The problem is that the OEMs were using automobiles as a loss-leader, and making profit on the financing thereof. When the capital markets imploded, so did that horrendous business model.
Further, GM hasn’t ever operated in anything even remotely resembling a free market, for at least 80 years. All of the distortions caused by the auto Oligopoly - especially during the 1940s through 1980s - severely f*cked people. All sorts of people. The legal fiction, corporate “person” called General Motors, isn’t harmed in the least. But all of the people who depended on that fiction are real victims (some accomplices, but mostly victims). The market power obtained by GM, and exercised by GM throughout the years has caused an enormous amount of pain and suffering - a far greater amount (I would imagine) than would have been borne by all those affected victims, had GM less power.