How would you fight crony capitalism

1. 69

   AJReissigposted 11 years ago

   Big government and big business go hand in hand, and I consider monopolies enabled by big government to be just as bad as big government itself.  This is a problem that dates back as far as the country itself.  My question is, how would you fight to end the corruption?

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      rhamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Term limits, publicly financed campaigns and lobby reform. Take the money out of the equation and real work to fix this failed country and system will then begin.

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   2. 61

      Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You can't, it's impossible to fix. No matter how small government gets, how short the terms are or even if there is no government at all, capitalism creates wealth accumulation and wealth is power and thus unelected people become powerful. You can minimize the effect by getting rid of corporate donations etc. but ultimately money will always corrupt and always find a way.
      
      It's not crony capitalism, it's just capitalism.

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      1. 69

         AJReissigposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I was in agreement until your last statement.  Capitalism and cronyism are as different as night and day. I am sure that this is what the Karl Marx school of thought teaches, but the cronyism that we see is not capitalism.

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            Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            My whole comment is just the longer form of my last statement, you can throw around Marxist accusations as much as you like (I am not a Marxist) but the truth is as simple as this. Money is power and capitalism concentrates wealth on individuals who despite being unelected will exercise that power. Simple as that.
            
            Put a government in place and they will corrupt it, have no government at all and they will use their money to take power directly.

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2. 62

   prettydarkhorseposted 11 years ago

   You can't. It is imbedded in the system of capitalism.

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   1. 69

      AJReissigposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I disagree.  In fact, where true capitalism takes place, cronyism can't occur,  since it requires government intervention to give someone /some industry a favored status.

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         prettydarkhorseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         There is no true capitalism, people need to change who runs all the system.
         
         Heard of bureaucratic capitalism?

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            Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            This true capitalism business is getting as bad as the true communism cries from the other side, a mythical system that would cure our ills but never exists. Of course "true capitalism" without any controls or limitations has occurred a few times, a particular example is the industrial revolution in England... Poverty skyrocketed, the life expectancy plummeted, starvation was a real threat even for families with work, wages were tiny, there was no job security, workers had no rights and child labor was popular. It didn't take people long to figure out that was terrible and change it.

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               prettydarkhorseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Oh England Industrial Revo, sure start up -- cyclical, do you believe in it?

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3. 60

   Evan G Rogersposted 11 years ago

   Destroy the Government.

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      Josakposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ever seen that in action? I have. No government and suddenly there are no protections for the average person and nothing to restrain the power of the wealthy, first they hire some armed "guards" and before you know it you have a little dictatorship. It's actually precisely what has happened in Somalia now the country is run by a smattering of Mafias and petty dictators.

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4. 74

   Reality Bytesposted 11 years ago

   What we have is an attempt by corporate entities to purchase the government of the United States.  This attempt may well be already a successful endeavor.  When thinking of fascism, we are led to believe it is a form of government in which the government takes control of industry.  While in the instance of the United States, it is the corporations which are taking control of the government.
   
   The government of the United States is being transformed in to an Oligarchy with a "corporate fascist' form of governance.  The first step that could be taken to alter the nations destiny is to overturn the decision in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case.  A Constitutional amendment should also be proposed defining a person as a living, breathing, human being!

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5. 64

   Greek Oneposted 11 years ago

   I would like to tackle the problem as an insider

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