Quote:
Originally Posted by DrModern
What's meant by capitalism here?
I don't mean to be absolutist, but I'm just not seeing absolutism in what I said. There are certainly terms of employment that are non-predatory and loans that are non-predatory. But what's a non-arbitrary cutoff besides "I sort of feel that this not too much?"
I think the rate of inflation--supply of essential consumer goods (&c.) relative to currency in circulation per capita--speaks to the reality of what society can provide as a basic subsistence level existence. It's clear that those at the bottom are already being squeezed. Why demand more from them? Why not demand more from those who already have large stores of wealth?
In other words, I think capitalism is fine--and, in terms of mobilizing our productive capacity as a species toward important goals, potentially good (SpaceX, for instance)--as long there's a powerful democratically elected government willing to tax the rich aggressively.
There isn't one specific spot, but that doesn't necessarily make all or none less arbitrary. There are no rules handed down from heaven. We just pick them based on what we collectively feel is right.
Why do I compare capitalism to lending? Well, investing in an endeavor isn't really much different than lending. You take your previously acquired wealth (whether it results from work or inheritance or theft or w/e) and let someone else use it and get a return on that while taking a risk. Can not the owners of a capitalist enterprise leech off the value created by others?
Perhaps it's a problem that personal debt is too difficult to discharge, but that's not a fundamental difference, but the result of specific laws.
I could see a distinction between unsecured debt and capitalism. So, perhaps a person can never owe something outside of the scope of a specific endeavor or property. (and secured debt would be satisfied entirely by the security, so you can't have your car repossessed and still owe money on it.)
As far as the last paragraph goes, that's just raising taxes or w/e and doesn't suggest anything in particular about lending, interest rates, or employment.