[quote = anomaly]
In the US, it all starts with those famous words, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. I believe that it is this sentiment, more than any other which has, over a span of more than two hundred years, enticed emigrants to leave their native lands and come to the land where the streets were reputed to be ‘paved with gold’.
Of course, the gold in the streets was a figure of speech that represented the opportunities for industrious individuals that simply did not exist in other parts of the world. The list of successful immigrants would fill a volume. Suffice it to say that these persons, together with native borns, with true entrepreneurial spirit organized businesses of all kinds. Many failed, many prospered. However, in the main, growth ensued which required more people to do more work. Filling jobs became the was the means by which countless individuals were lifted from the drudgery of manual agriculture and the grinding poverty in the ghettos of the burgeoning cities.
A steady paycheck was the beginning of prosperity. As businesses expanded, the number of supervisory, managerial, and executive positions grew, setting in motion further opportunities for greater prosperity. The development of some businesses led to the creation of new businesses. For example, the excess products in one part of the country led to the formation of road, rail, water, and air transportation systems that spread from regional to national to international to world wide.
The sum total of all of this, as commerce continued to churn, is the formation of more and more jobs that pay better and better wages for those individuals who acquire the skills and observe a work ethic that qualifies them to sit at this ‘table of plenty’ and partake of all of its benefits. Of course, since ‘liberty’ includes the right to ‘opt out’, there are those persons whose free choices lead them in other directions.
The road to today has not been entirely smooth; rocks and potholes along the way have slowed progress. However, in the main, workers in the US have been able to parlay their efforts into security, material wealth, and a standard of living that still attracts immigrants from all over the world.
Anyone with a dream and the willingness to pursue that dream can become a capitalist. If one considers but a single segment of industry, the one which makes it possible for me to communicate with you in this manner, one can produce a long list of entrepreneurs who started out in a basement or garage and a few years later were providing handsome paychecks to thousands of willing workers.
Countless individuals on all rungs of the economic ladder who invested in corporate America have seen their wealth increase.
The role of government is crucial to the success of capitalism. To the extent that government places or eases restrictions on corporations, they will contract or expand. Experience has shown us that various administrations have done better or worse in this respect.
The key element of capitalism is opportunity at every level. The carrot dangles. The individual is free to pursue it, or not.
Originally Posted by Fantasea
In response to this post and the one which precedes it, you mix apples and oranges. If you wish to discuss the pros and cons of capitalism, please do so. If, on the other hand, you wish to discuss the role of the US in connection with other countries, please do so. If you wish to discuss the role of US companies which produce goods in foreign countries, please do so. If you wish to discuss the role of US companies which import goods from foreign countries, please do so. If you wish to discuss the role of US companies which outsource jobs to foreign countries, please do so.
Combining all of these topics into one fruit salad doesn't make for clear discussion of any of them. Each, by itself has considerable merit. Why not take one, thrash it out, and then move on to the next one.
Take your pick and go at it.
On the contrary. I have not mixed anything up here. All of the above and all of the things you mention have one root cause-capitalism, specifically, US led capitalism. Do you not realize that the USA protecting business interests is a product of transnational capitalism? The importing/exporting claim you make doesn't make much sense, as they are obviously products of the global market/capitalism/globalisation. The US interfering in other countries is usually (if not always) to protect the interests of the US capitalist economy. But, if you wish to avoid facts, ones that you cannot distort, then out of your list I will choose to 'discuss' capitalism, it's pros and cons, with you. I only wish Gabo was still in theis forum (he hasn't made a post in quite some time). He was a rather interesting free-marketer. But, if you wish to debate capitalism, I give you the next post to start it. State your pros.[\quote]
In the US, it all starts with those famous words, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. I believe that it is this sentiment, more than any other which has, over a span of more than two hundred years, enticed emigrants to leave their native lands and come to the land where the streets were reputed to be ‘paved with gold’.
Of course, the gold in the streets was a figure of speech that represented the opportunities for industrious individuals that simply did not exist in other parts of the world. The list of successful immigrants would fill a volume. Suffice it to say that these persons, together with native borns, with true entrepreneurial spirit organized businesses of all kinds. Many failed, many prospered. However, in the main, growth ensued which required more people to do more work. Filling jobs became the was the means by which countless individuals were lifted from the drudgery of manual agriculture and the grinding poverty in the ghettos of the burgeoning cities.
A steady paycheck was the beginning of prosperity. As businesses expanded, the number of supervisory, managerial, and executive positions grew, setting in motion further opportunities for greater prosperity. The development of some businesses led to the creation of new businesses. For example, the excess products in one part of the country led to the formation of road, rail, water, and air transportation systems that spread from regional to national to international to world wide.
The sum total of all of this, as commerce continued to churn, is the formation of more and more jobs that pay better and better wages for those individuals who acquire the skills and observe a work ethic that qualifies them to sit at this ‘table of plenty’ and partake of all of its benefits. Of course, since ‘liberty’ includes the right to ‘opt out’, there are those persons whose free choices lead them in other directions.
The road to today has not been entirely smooth; rocks and potholes along the way have slowed progress. However, in the main, workers in the US have been able to parlay their efforts into security, material wealth, and a standard of living that still attracts immigrants from all over the world.
Anyone with a dream and the willingness to pursue that dream can become a capitalist. If one considers but a single segment of industry, the one which makes it possible for me to communicate with you in this manner, one can produce a long list of entrepreneurs who started out in a basement or garage and a few years later were providing handsome paychecks to thousands of willing workers.
Countless individuals on all rungs of the economic ladder who invested in corporate America have seen their wealth increase.
The role of government is crucial to the success of capitalism. To the extent that government places or eases restrictions on corporations, they will contract or expand. Experience has shown us that various administrations have done better or worse in this respect.
The key element of capitalism is opportunity at every level. The carrot dangles. The individual is free to pursue it, or not.