You are taking the most extreme cases of capitalism and presenting them as proof that capitalism equals exploitation. Pinochet and Suharto were extremists. The US has a capitalist system, its human rights record is pretty incredible, and it doesn't kill millions of its own citizens to maintain its capitalist system. The US does treat the citizens of the developing world poorly, but then so do the leaders of those developing countries.

I agree with Naomi Klein's assertion that neo-liberals have pushed for de-regulation whenever there has been a major crisis. This has happened around the world and in the US (e.g. 9/11, Katrina). But again, you are using a straw man so that you can attack capitalism better. Guys like Milton Friedman and Francis Fukuyama were extremists; they were ideologues. Being in favour of capitalism and being in favour of fair trade and workers' rights are not mutually exclusive.

The exploitation and other negative effects of capitalism can be mitigated by enacting policies that protect the worker while still maintaining a system where everyone has the freedom to prosper. Overthrowing the capitalist system and replacing it with a communist one is not the answer. Planned economies lead to inefficiency since the workers do not have the incentive to work hard. And this causes economic stagnation.

And creating a classless society is very difficult, if not impossible. The state bureaucrats will almost always become the new appropriators of the surplus. We see similar outcomes in every nation regardless of whether the nation is socialist or capitalist. Under the communist systems, it's the state bureaucrats. Under the capitalist system, it's the corporations.

by saad on 08/08/2009 07:04:57 PM EST

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