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RE: Capitalism VS Consumerism
Indeed, there will always be elites, but the question is:
- How much power will they have
- How did they get there
In true capitalism you can compete, and essentially everyone could become an elite. Not by stealing from them, but by creating something so important that you elevate yourself to that status and wealth.
Now you can do this too today, but only like 2 people have became billionaires since the 50's I believe. This is bad (probably the cryptocurrencies will create new ones).
- If you get to the top honestly by having a decentralized reputation system proving your deeds, then you can become an elite, that has deserved this status.
- If you got to the top by being a sneaky manipulator or conman, then it's very bad for society.
It's kind of like you need some ethics too, and a transparent reputation system, but other than that there is nothing wrong with people acquiring wealth in a honest way.
Ok, I like your reply, but I think much more than 2 people have become billionaires since the 50's, I live in Honduras which is the classic banana republic, is the poorest country in Latin America (excluding Haiti) and even we have a billionaire. And where do you think these billionaires get their money from? And these guys are the perfect illustration of what a capitalist is.
They have probably got their money from the corrupt government?
A capitalist cant be corrupt, because all the money is his in the first place.
Corruption, can only exist in government, because they use other people's money. So if a politician embezzles funds, or people have to bribe him to get things done, that is not capitalism.... That is just how government works.
Remove government, and corruption will end instantly, 100%, literally.
Boy, you sure have a lot of belief in the honesty of people, but remember these billionaires (anywhere) are the ones who fund elections, so whichever way you look at it they are still part of the problem, but look in the US, you have Bill Gates, and about 4 other Microsoft founders, the Facebook guy, Mark Cuban and a big etc surely these guys became millionaires way after 1960, so are they corrupt?
No It's exactly the opposite. I don't have trust in people, in general, that means I don't want to give totalitarian control to a few "elected" individuals that will have total control over you.
The more decentralized the power, the better, and so far only capitalism can decentralize the wealth through competition, and may the best person win. In fact everyone wins, proportional to their value.
Centralized control is the worst possible thing you can imagine, regardless of political beliefs.
But, they don't compete, capitalists probably get together to fix prices, have you noticed every time let's say Coca cola raises it's price Pepsi does the same? Wouldn't you think they would have price wars lowering the prices to get more consumers? But they do the exact opposite, precisely because capitalists ARE the ones who control everything, they are the elites, they are the ones who have the money.
I don't want to be controlled by anyone either, but I know that I am being controlled, and about the only thing you can do about it is go to a deserted island and try to live there.