Capitalism amplifies and perpetuates injustice. E.g. descendants of both enslaving and enslaved are receiving exponentially multiplied effects of actions 100+ years ago.
Because wealth is power, concentrated wealth often receives far better than average returns by rigging systems in its favor.
Even ignoring these perversions, capitalism is terrible at answering the economic question, “for whom to produce.” This isn’t much of a change relative to previous systems, but it compares unfavorably in this regard to planned economies.
Capitalism amplifies and perpetuates injustice. E.g. descendants of both enslaving and enslaved are receiving exponentially multiplied effects of actions 100+ years ago.
That’s not unique to capitalism, though. Not in the least.
This isn’t much of a change relative to previous systems, but it compares unfavorably in this regard to planned economies.
Capitalism isn’t unique in perpetuating injustice, but it certainly excels at it, with passive exponentiality and unprecedented scalability.
Regarding comparison to planned economies, I was solely referring to resource distribution. Planned economies (including the planned aspects of mixed economies) typically have significantly more equitable distribution of resources than capitalism. Certainly there is still massive inequality, but it is far less than capitalism. E.g. the Gini index for USSR/Russia basically doubled when capitalism replaced communism.
The Gini index only measures wealth, not other forms of power; a system that does not focus on wealth as a means of accumulating power and favors is going to end up with less formal accumulation of wealth, but not necessarily less formal accumulation of power. The Gini index does not, for example, reflect such things as access to higher-quality goods and services, or the innumerable favors exploited by Soviet apparatchiks that would be replicated in capitalist societies by the expenditure of wealth.
Amplifying that last point:
Even ignoring these perversions, capitalism is terrible at answering the economic question, “for whom to produce.” This isn’t much of a change relative to previous systems, but it compares unfavorably in this regard to planned economies.
That’s not unique to capitalism, though. Not in the least.
… I beg your pardon
Capitalism isn’t unique in perpetuating injustice, but it certainly excels at it, with passive exponentiality and unprecedented scalability.
Regarding comparison to planned economies, I was solely referring to resource distribution. Planned economies (including the planned aspects of mixed economies) typically have significantly more equitable distribution of resources than capitalism. Certainly there is still massive inequality, but it is far less than capitalism. E.g. the Gini index for USSR/Russia basically doubled when capitalism replaced communism.
The Gini index only measures wealth, not other forms of power; a system that does not focus on wealth as a means of accumulating power and favors is going to end up with less formal accumulation of wealth, but not necessarily less formal accumulation of power. The Gini index does not, for example, reflect such things as access to higher-quality goods and services, or the innumerable favors exploited by Soviet apparatchiks that would be replicated in capitalist societies by the expenditure of wealth.