Is capitalism fundamentally dishonest?

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  1. Charles James profile image67
    Charles Jamesposted 13 years ago

    The history of America is full of dishonest capitalists and scandal. Is it because capitalism is fundamentally dishonest? It must be very difficult for apologists for capitalism when almost every week there is another multimillion dollar scandal.
    Is the problem that capitalism is fundamentally dishonest? Or are people fundamentally dishonest?

    1. aka-dj profile image64
      aka-djposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      People can be driven by dishonesty and greed. Capitalism is ok, but it can be abused. Corporate and individual profits, with no accountability. At least her Down Under, there are slowly laws being legislated, that CEO's bear the responsibility PERSONALLY for breaches etc.

      This planet would run SSSOOO efficiently and beautifully without people!
      lol lol lol

    2. lady_love158 profile image61
      lady_love158posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      People are dishonest, well some people especially liberals, they are just liars!

      1. Joe Badtoe profile image61
        Joe Badtoeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        You must have spent hours in the library researching to come up with that insightful statement?

        Unless of course vagueness and a really short memory is part of your expertise.

        I've searched Amazon for this book....

        'The Truth' by George Bush, Dick Cheney et al but apparently it doesn't exist. You must be broken hearted.

        1. lady_love158 profile image61
          lady_love158posted 13 years agoin reply to this

          No, that's just personal experience... just look at the liberals posting in this forum, or any forum for that matter, they are simply dishonest.

          1. Amanda Severn profile image93
            Amanda Severnposted 13 years agoin reply to this



            I wonder what you believe the word 'dishonest' means?

            1. lady_love158 profile image61
              lady_love158posted 13 years agoin reply to this

              dis·hon·est (ds-nst)
              adj.
              1. Disposed to lie, cheat, defraud, or deceive.
              2. Resulting from or marked by a lack of honesty.
              3. not honest or fair; deceiving or fraudulent

              Liberals tend to twist the facts.

              1. JOE BARNETT profile image60
                JOE BARNETTposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                ha ha ha whew lady-love oh man. you are on a mission huh?

        2. JOE BARNETT profile image60
          JOE BARNETTposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          she's attempting to be an activist. their words are always empty, baseless, and or extreme.it is designed to create confusion and or stall. it's a tactic.it's election time and you have these people stirring around saying anything." obama crucified jesus","obama shot president kennedy", "geo. bush is love"ha ha ha!  watch for them! if you factcheck you quickly see no truth to nuthin' they say...never! they just make noise!!!

      2. Amanda Severn profile image93
        Amanda Severnposted 13 years agoin reply to this



        That's a bit of a sweeping statement.

        1. lady_love158 profile image61
          lady_love158posted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Well of course I was generalizing, I 'm sure there are a couple of liberals that really are honest, but they are few and far between.

    3. rachellrobinson profile image83
      rachellrobinsonposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think we covered this in the forum is Capitilism fair... so either you didn't find the answer you were looking for on that forum or you like the democrats on HP are just looking for yet another forum thread to bash Conservatives on.

      1. Joe Badtoe profile image61
        Joe Badtoeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        Either that or the bashing that the republican conservatives got was one that mainly used intelligence based on facts as a weapon as opposed to fatuous remarks and generalisations that all seem to blame Obama for everything.

        Bashing conservatives isn't a particularly difficult thing to do, half the time you people self destruct with your own obscure arguments and extraordinarily short memories.

        And why won't a single Republican conservative ever address the question of the trillions of dollars wasted by Bush Snr and Jnr in three pointless wars?

        Surely such a massive debt would have a longer term impact on any nation's economy?

        Guess Obama was to blame huh?

        As long as republican conservatives keep showering the forum with ignorance then I guess the bashings will continue.

        You could always look at both sides or at least accept that you might be wrong on a few issues, but it's not the republican way is it?

    4. JOE BARNETT profile image60
      JOE BARNETTposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      capitalism promotes greed and greed promotes dishonesty

      1. lady_love158 profile image61
        lady_love158posted 13 years agoin reply to this

        Joe, do you have a job? Do you actually work for a corporation, or for yourself?

        1. JOE BARNETT profile image60
          JOE BARNETTposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          i have two businesses!why?

    5. KFlippin profile image61
      KFlippinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Dishonesty and greed and self-aggrandizement has zero to do with capitalism or socialism.  To think that the human nature of some 'humans' to have more, to work harder, or to manipulate better has anything to do with a political system or social system, is a huge, very huge mistake. 

      It is corrupt politicians (be they capitalists, socialists, or heads of theocracies, sp?, etc...) who have enriched themselves in return for regulations that enrich others that has corrupted the financial industry in this entire world.  The current FINREG is hardly any different.  Strip the financial regs back to some basics, impose prison time that is harsh, and financial penalties that are harsh -- then you have some hope of reform.

      Letting the very ones you supposedly want to reform, help in that reformation -- is a huge sick joke, and nobody is laughing now after Clinton did it in the late 90's -- and nobody will be laughing with the current disastrous heavy handed BS bill called FinReg from this current Administration, be assured the truly rich, as in both Liberal and Conservative, will still be rich -- and libs that don't think past a gov't check for themselves or their favorite cause, will have a huge wake up call, even if it's a light bulb in their dotage -- in their 'Shovel-Ready' dotage.

      It's all bogus reform IMO, and America is so gullible they think a few pages that appear to stop them from being subject to the fine print on a credit card agreement (a CC they probably ought not even have) is somehow good for the country -- a Joke -- a Sick Joke.  Less government regs, more penalties, and you get your country back, and an even-playing field for healthy capitalism back -- IM Very HO.

    6. thisisoli profile image73
      thisisoliposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      of course it it, capitalism runs simply on who is the best, that term incorporate a lot, but one of those factors can be getting away with more dishonesty than the rest.

  2. tobey100 profile image60
    tobey100posted 13 years ago

    No, but.....that's what we're supposed to believe.  There is a certain element in modern society that sincerely believes if someone makes money, someone else had to lose money thus, capitalism must be stealing.  (Communism, according to Marx, is based on this concept)

    1. Joe Badtoe profile image61
      Joe Badtoeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      OMG! tobey100 did you just report me for saying thanks for reporting me and getting me banned sometime ago?

      1. tobey100 profile image60
        tobey100posted 13 years agoin reply to this

        Nope?  You lost me.

        1. Joe Badtoe profile image61
          Joe Badtoeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          hmmm......

          a short memory

          we move on....

          1. profile image0
            china manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            It is a right wing capitalist plot !!!!!   big_smile

            Notice how all the anti-kkkristians are missing at the moment, seems to be a co-ordinated slimy 'ban' attack going on, mixed with posting lies and deceipt, what we might expect from kkkristians and especially the kkkristian far-right.

  3. JSAlison profile image59
    JSAlisonposted 13 years ago

    Successful regulation can take out most of the robber baron elements.

    1. Joe Badtoe profile image61
      Joe Badtoeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      true

      but the robber baron elements usually have a sizeable input into who controls the regulation which is why the circle isn't broken.

      One day we'll all wake up to the fact that we are keeping bankers in lofty positions which they regularly abuse because we do little to make an impact.

  4. Jonathan Janco profile image62
    Jonathan Jancoposted 13 years ago

    I'm sorry, capitalism is what exactly? I read up on the term and, as far as I can tell, it's never existed in my lifetime. Well, maybe for the 'little people', but the richest companies in this country have been spoonfed by the American taxpayers since Nixon dismantled the Bretton Woods system in the mid-70's. What? Because the rich know how to guess as to which public funds are the best to rob, that is somehow capitalism? It's disgusting!

  5. zzron profile image56
    zzronposted 13 years ago

    I don't think it is if you do it honestly.

  6. Charles James profile image67
    Charles Jamesposted 13 years ago

    Thank you all for your contributions to date.
    I think the capitalist system is a tool or mechanism which in itself is neither honest nor dishonest.
    It has the potenmtial to be used for theft and sadly there are too many people who want lots of money without earning it. The policing and regulation systems are not strong enough.
    Now there is a divorce between the owners and the managers there is great temptation for managers to steal.

  7. kirstenblog profile image78
    kirstenblogposted 13 years ago

    This reminds me of the statment:
    "This statement is false"
    if its a lie then it must be true and if its true then it has to be a lie, oh no my brain has just exploded!

    These kinds of questions have a tendency to do that, make my brain explode that is smile

  8. waynet profile image68
    waynetposted 13 years ago

    Capitals are needed at the beginning of every new sentence!

    1. kirstenblog profile image78
      kirstenblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Very true, a writer you must be wink

      See I use capitals tongue

      1. waynet profile image68
        waynetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        Yay! So we are not being dishonest we tell the truth.

        Capital letters are brilliant!

        1. kirstenblog profile image78
          kirstenblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Truth be told, I love double negatives! I wont not use no double negatives anymore tongue

          Oh and run on sentences that go on and on and combine the concepts of many different sentences in such a way that it all flows together in a nonsensical mix of whimsy that would have really annoyed my old teachers from catholic school who were of course all nuns with a strict view of how to use the english language to communicate intelligence and and concepts to any potential readers one may attract while in the pursuit of expanding their understanding of whatever it is that the subject matter any of my writings were about which in my case back at school was often designed to provoke the nuns and challenge their beliefs and how they went about teaching it to me especially in regards to the narrow religious views they spouted as being completely true and without any fault although  as any kid from a catholic school can attest assuming they have a probing and challenging mind can indeed be found.

          1. waynet profile image68
            waynetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            er...ok...good!

            1. kirstenblog profile image78
              kirstenblogposted 13 years agoin reply to this

              I managed a whole page worth of a story in one run on sentence once, just cause I am kinda weird like that tongue

  9. SparklingJewel profile image66
    SparklingJewelposted 13 years ago

    capitalism is only a word...like any other word morphs and becomes something different depending on who touches it...in my book, capitalism would be where all involved work ethically with no greed,, with a true desire to help all people at all levels, and thinks and acts to create such a scenario within their business aspects... that includes government involvement

    "Those who are always accusing people in the private sector of 'greed' almost never accuse government of greed, no matter what it does. Indeed, the question of whether the government is greedy almost never comes up, so most of us probably never think about it. ... There are escheat laws, under which the government can seize the assets of someone who has died and whose heirs have not claimed those assets after some period of time. The theory is that there is no reason why banks should get that money. On the other hand, there is no reason why politicians should get it either, but the politicians write the laws. ... Escheat laws are just one of the ways governments seize money. Income tax rates have been as high as 90 percent in the top brackets. Even after you have paid the taxes on your income and saved or invested part of what is left, the government comes back to take more of that same money, after you die, with estate taxes. Perhaps one of the most unconscionable acts of greed by government is confiscating people's homes, in order to turn this property over to other people, who are expected to build things that will pay more taxes. ... The biggest beneficiaries are the politicians who get a larger amount of tax money to spend in ways that will increase their prospects of getting re-elected. Seldom, if ever, are the people whose homes are destroyed, and whose lives are disrupted, among the affluent or rich. Urban renewal may go through the South Bronx, but not through Beverly Hills. And no one calls it greed." --economist Thomas Sowell

  10. SparklingJewel profile image66
    SparklingJewelposted 13 years ago

    it is the consciousness of the people involved that makes the difference; that take different actions to create a better scenario

    "We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.
    "It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick -- professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They are, in short, 'We the people,' this breed called Americans. Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. ... All must share in the productive work of this 'new beginning' and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world." --Ronald Reagan

  11. Ralph Deeds profile image65
    Ralph Deedsposted 13 years ago

    Here's some words of wisdom on capitalism from a wise and good old man man--Felix Rohaytn.

    Felix Royhatyn, one of Wall Street’s last old wise-men, was sitting in his office at Lazard overlooking the Empire State Building on Monday morning.

    At 82, Mr. Rohatyn has quite a history: he helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s, advised RJR Nabisco on its sale to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in the 1980s and sold Columbia Pictures to Sony in the 1990s before becoming ambassador to France under President Bill Clinton. In the last decade, he returned to Wall Street, first to Lehman Brothers and now to his longtime home, Lazard.

    Mr. Rohatyn, whose revealing memoir, “Dealings: A Political and Financial Life” (Simon & Schuster), comes out in two weeks, is a proud man and has a lot to be proud of.

    But, surprisingly, he has also grown uneasy about his own industry and perhaps himself.

    “No matter how much I try to be really objective, the financial community has not covered itself with glory in these last 50 years,” he said, betraying a sense of apprehension. “It’s a subject that is difficult for me to deal with because I’ve lived in the milieu for the last 50 years.”

    Mr. Rohatyn’s self-aware views about the economy and Wall Street’s effect on society are the sort that are often left unspoken. And I got the sense that he was worried about saying it himself.

    “No matter what anybody says, there is a maldistribution of wealth in this country that I think is very unhealthy,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “It’s very easy to fall into the mode of saying, well this whole thing is casinos and paper money.” But he added, “I don’t think everyone in the financial community is a rogue — it’s just that that’s the way the world is.”

    I asked him to explain why he thought this happened.

    Read Royhatyn's answer here:


    http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/ … ;st=Search

    1. lady_love158 profile image61
      lady_love158posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I can happily agree with that statement... now here is where we depart... what should we do about it? Or what role if any should government play in affecting change in wealth
      redistribution?

      Could it be that government regulation is the cause preventing potential competitors from entering the marketplace? It's very easy to point the finger at the fat cats on Wall Street, but banking is a highly regulated business run by the fed which is unanswerable to the American people. Maybe, jut maybe the real villain is the one doing the pointing.

      1. Ralph Deeds profile image65
        Ralph Deedsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        The prevailing view is that repeal of Glass-Steagall and failure to regulate the banks, not over-regulation, caused the meltdown.
        Banks were undercapitalized and making risky mortgage-backed investments with the help of Fannie and Freddie.

  12. Thriller profile image61
    Thrillerposted 13 years ago

    The basis of Capitalism is greed and profit and these are in turn the cause of dishonesty and profiteering

  13. VENUGOPAL SIVAGNA profile image59
    VENUGOPAL SIVAGNAposted 13 years ago

    All capitalists are honest to their own conscience. It is others who expect more from them. No one becomes a capitalist overnight. They would have toiled days together, months together, years together with sleepless nights to the formation of their capital. If others have an eye on their hard-earned richness, it is the fault of them only.

    We should protect the capitalists, help the poor to become capitalists and bring a situation where there is no poverty and all are capitalists.

  14. Evan G Rogers profile image60
    Evan G Rogersposted 13 years ago

    Capitalism isn't dishonest - people are. It's important to realize that there's ALWAYS someone selling you something, it isn't just "Target" or "Walmart" - it's people.

    Government often times makes things worse; what with their "slavery is freedom" doctrine.

    So, before you criticize Capitalism for government's and humanity's flaws, take a breather and analyze who's fault it is.

  15. Ralph Deeds profile image65
    Ralph Deedsposted 13 years ago

    Here's a "must see" movie: "Inside Job"

    http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/

 
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