Tag: capitalism

Capitalism: Where You Own Your Labor

 

It’s no surprise to anybody here that computer types tend toward the left. We build systems in our heads and then make those systems real, and they never work quite right, but they are Quite Good and improve our lives anyway.

Should you find yourself in possession of a magic wand that gave you perfect pastrami sandwiches, would you want to find out if it can do corned beef? What if nobody ever sat you down and explained that your magic wand had a specialty and while all deli looks interchangeable, it really isn’t?

Quote of the Day: Capitalism and Socialism

 

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” – Winston Churchill

How can you tell we are entering a socialist society in the United States? The tell is the amount by which shared miseries have grown. Fuel and food prices have soared. There are scarcities of critical items, including baby formula and amoxicillin, scarcities that once they start never seem to grow away. People are worried that what they say might get them fired or imprisoned. Not for actual crime, but for thoughtcrime. And violent crime is growing — as it seems to in every socialist society from the Soviet Union to Venezuela. (Of  course, the government denies that violent crime exists, except by wasters who oppose the government — January 6th trials, anyone?)

Join Greg and Rob Long as they’re glad to see Elon Musk becoming the largest shareholder of Twitter and they analyze how it will shake up the social media landscape. They also cover the Biden Administration’s decision to rescind the “Remain in Mexico” policy which would more than double the number of illegal immigrants entering America each month. And Vice President Kamala Harris struggles with boilerplate Democrat talking points in an interview with BET, adding to the lengthy list of verbal mishaps that have plagued her term.

Wall Street Journal deputy editorial features editor Matthew Hennessey joins Brian Anderson to discuss economics for non-economists and the enduring wisdom of Adam Smith. His new book, Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market, will be released April 12.

Find the transcript of this conversation and more at City Journal.

Economic Realities I Confront Students with in Public University

 

Helping students to understand the outcomes of their assumptions.

These are comments I send to each student after they have written their final project for one of my classes. The lines of thought deal with issues of economics based on the movie “Parasite” (Joon-ho, 2019). Most students write about class, capitalism, discrimination, equity, or the like as a theme that they draw from the movie and then do a semester full of research on their topic. I have suggested alternate viewpoints throughout the semester, pointing out economic approaches students in a public university do not always hear. Student tendencies espouse a general socialistic perspective where “government” is seen as having jurisdiction over monetary affairs. I never press my views on students but I surely have them consider the implications of theirs (or any) economic theory.

My general comments about the “Argumentative Writing” final project:

Quote of the Day: Capitalism and Socialism

 

“Under capitalism, the rich grow powerful. Under socialism, the powerful grow rich — and everyone else grows poor.” – Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit)

Why is socialism growing more powerful in the United States? Because it directly benefits the gentry class: those running the country and those supporting them. This includes not just the political elite, but also the upper-middle-class, credentialed workers who work white-collar jobs – management and technology. The folks who can work remotely and get all their wants and needs delivered to their door.

[Member Post]

 

…as envisaged in 1950. In Heinlein’s story The Man Who Sold the Moon , the first manned lunar landing is not government-driven. Rather, it is the achievement of entrepreneur/industrialist Delos D Harriman, known to his friends and associates as ‘D.D.”  Having long dreamed of going to the moon, he finally decides that the time is […]

⚠️ This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet's community of conservatives and be part of the conversation.

Join Ricochet for free.

Free-Market Donald

 

Donald Trump was the most free-market-oriented president we’ve had since Ronald Reagan, and the economy showed it. Probably because of his rhetoric, many people don’t know about the Donald’s free-market proclivities. The people that don’t know about it seem to fall into two major categories:

  1. Ardent Trump supporters.
  2. Ardent Trump haters.

Protectionism prevents President Trump from being a free-market purist, but he was more marketed oriented than his four predecessors. Some, though not all, of that protectionism was justified for strategic and moral reasons.

It was the free-market side of his policies that made the economy roar. Rich, poor, corporations, workers, and people of all races benefitted. Not to mention all 37 genders. Of course, the Left will reverse it all in the name of Compassion.

[Member Post]

 

See what happens when you have a mixed economy and mixed monarchy where no philosophical, intellectual, or moral principles guide the nation? You have government handing out favored legislation to private media companies, then those companies silencing political opposition, but as private companies, therefore not “censorship” per se but by proxy, then state AG’s, left […]

⚠️ This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet's community of conservatives and be part of the conversation.

Join Ricochet for free.

Mon Cher, We Will Never Be Second: Phillipe de Rothschild’s Wine Bottles and the Beauty of Capitalism

 

Wine is an art in France. And a business. Considering its dual nature, perhaps there was no one better to revolutionize both aspects of the French wine industry than a Rothschild. One from a family that has been entwined for centuries in Europe’s money and its art, as patrons and creators.

Nowadays, to the extent that he is remembered at all in the Anglophone world, Baron Philippe de Rothschild is remembered as a race car driver or the husband of style icon Pauline. However, the Baron was also a poet, film and theatre producer, playwright, translator, and vigneron of almost unparalleled success.

Château Mouton Rothschild, a wine estate located in Pauillac, southwestern France, has been in the Rothschild family since 1853, when it was purchased by Nathaniel de Rothschild and renamed from Château Brane-Mouton. Nathaniel was actually an English, not a French, Rothschild, though he spent the majority of his life residing and working in the country with the French branch of the family, and Phillipe believed that this is why the vineyard was denied Premier Cru status despite meeting the price standard. (The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 was based on each château’s trade price and reputation, which at the time was closely related to the quality of the wine that it produced. Even in the face of significant criticism, the classification list remains in force today). Despite Nathaniel’s love of it, Château Mouton Rothschild little interested James Mayer de Rothschild, the heir, or his son Henri.

“Ты куда?”: Where has Russia’s Brain Gone? (Borscht Report #6)

 

The утечка мозгов/brain drain has been a concern for Russia since the 1990s, when the collapse of the USSR and the resulting political and economic chaos pushed those with sufficient means and desire to escape to do just that. All told, about 2.5 million Russians of various ethnic and economic backgrounds left the country between 1989 and 1999, heading predominantly for the US, Israel, and the EU, especially Germany. Despite the massive gains which the Russian economy saw in the first decade of the 21st century, a further 1.6-2 million people have fled the country since 2000. It would be easy to posit that this is mostly the result of economic issues in the country brought about by Western sanctions and the fall in hydrocarbon prices, or a lack of high paying jobs for skilled people. And these are issues, but a more interesting, and telling, one is at play when we parse the data before and after 2012. 

Join Jim and Greg as they fume over the obscene process by which Congress shoveled a lot of wasteful spending into the combined omnibus and COVID relief spending bill that will do some good for small businesses. But while disgusted with the process, they are excited about the doubled tax deduction for three martini lunches! And they address comments from Die Hard director John McTiernan that the film is anti-capitalist, but they just might veer off into other aspects of this cinematic masterpiece.

[Member Post]

 

On Tuesday we’re going to get down to cases in America.  Everything is on the line.  And everything that you think is normal right now, today, could be fading or gone very shortly.  The Democrat Party, transmogrified into what amounts to “communism lite,” insanely wants to destroy everything that has made America great: the Founding […]

⚠️ This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet's community of conservatives and be part of the conversation.

Join Ricochet for free.

Woke Capitalism: How Huge Corporations Demonstrate Status by Endorsing Political Radicalism

 

It’s a rather strange claim of the American far left that their interests are opposed to that of corporate America, because there’s virtually no evidence to support it. Quite the contrary: During the wave of Black Lives Matter rioting that took place during the early summer of 2020, American corporations marched in lockstep. Not only did they use social media to swear fealty to this political movement, but they also made massive internal changes in conformity with BLM propaganda.

It’s called “woke capitalism” and while it’s not necessarily new, it’s certainly more prevalent than it ever has been. The term itself was coined by conservative editorial writer Ross Douthat in 2018. He succinctly summed up what woke capitalism is: superficial nods toward cultural leftism that allow the company to do what it really exists to do – make money.

You might be confused or think that there’s something ironic or askew about major corporations backing supposed “rebel” ideologies. However, this stems from a very surface understanding of the topic. When we delve deeper into it, the motivation for large corporations siding with ostensibly “anti-capitalist” groups will come clearly into focus.

[Member Post]

 

When interviewer Marissa Meyer of “The Happy Writer”, a podcast that focuses on writers, asked how Leah Johnson, debut YA author of You Should See Me in a Crown, celebrates accomplishments, Leah answered that she buys sunglasses and suits and goes to restaurants.  A moment later, Leah downplayed these things by saying that she tries […]

⚠️ This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet's community of conservatives and be part of the conversation.

Join Ricochet for free.

Rob Long is in for Jim today.  He and Greg appreciate the climate change crowd joining other far left activists in admitting what we’ve known for decades – that their real goal is to kill capitalism.  Rob also tears into New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his ongoing celebration of himself and for claiming people from other states are now flocking to New York to be safe from the virus.  Rob also explains why countless New York businesses are on the brink of collapse because of Cuomo’s callousness.  And they have fun with Berkeley, California’s decision to have unarmed civilian city workers make traffic stops instead of police.

[Member Post]

 

The clock is ticking on how long people will continue to tolerate the COVID-19 quarantines. Here in Chicago, wills are weakening, despite the recent extension of the lockdown until the end of May. Many businesses that chose to shutter are now reopening within the restrictive guidelines of the quarantine. Preview Open

⚠️ This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet's community of conservatives and be part of the conversation.

Join Ricochet for free.

Capitalism vs. Socialism: Facts vs. Opinion

 

Opinion: Capitalism is a corrupt system, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Fact: Capitalism has created more wealth for more people, than ever in the history of the world.
Fact: The poor in America are still richer than about 70% of the rest of the world.
My opinion: Capitalism in itself is not a corrupt system; people are easily corrupted and the system need not be replaced.

Opinion: Democratic Socialism is a better economic system for the US than capitalism.
Fact: Socialism is defined as “[a system] in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the [government],” and “[a system] in which there is no private property.”
Fact: This is what happened in the USSR, Cuba, and Venezuela, and it resulted in extreme poverty for all, except those in power.
Fact: The Nazis were the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.