Message-ID: <32D35840.36B3@mind.net> Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 08:18:08 +0000 From: "B. Diamond" <mailto:bdiamond@MIND.NET> Subject: Re: Why capitalism is NOT sustainable -Reply To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Tu and Bob Myers wrote:> You blamed capitalism for the ills of the world. I pointed out that those
> ills occur under non capitalist economic systems also. You agreeed "Of
> course I accept that these abuses occur under other systems". If abuses
> occur under more than one economic system, then perhaps it's the sentient,
> animate, people operating the systems, plural, and not the nonsentient,
> inanimate economic systems, that are doing the abusing.
and...
> You continue to imbue a nonsentient, inanimate, economic system with
> sentient, animate qualities. A system is nothing until people use it.
> The choice is with the people, not the system.
Ok Bob, I get your point about capitalism just being an economic system. But tell me, what term exactly would you use to describe the way our society functions? A democracy applies (in theory) to our political system, but we all know that politics (according to my favorite poly sci professor) is about who gets what, where, when, and how, so we're back to the money thing. Most people I know, use the phrase "we live in a capitalistic society," which I believe refers to far more than just the way business ventures are financed. What does "capitalistic society" mean to you?
Bret Diamond