

Milton Friedman on Greed - anto210
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A

======
mrleinad
One lie after another:

\- "Is there some society you know that doesn't run on greed?" : Capitalism
greed has been powered and carried to present levels by the capitalist system.
Indigenous societies ran mostly on a community of people working together to
satisfy the community's needs. There was an "ours" instead of a "mine".
Socialist societies (when implemented correctly, nor Russia or China are) are
an example of the pursuit of a "common wellbeing" rather than a "only my
wellbeing".

\- Citing Einstein as an "individual achievement" is incorrect, to say the
least. Of course he was a genius and achieved a lot on his own, but most of
these scientific achievements are performed through a team of colleagues, not
by a "lone cowboy".

\- All of his remarks point to a unregulated market, which was the seed of the
2008 crysis. For more information, see the "Inside Job" movie. There's no need
to say anything else about that. I think the facts speak for themselves.

\- "Do you think american presidents reward virtue?" And do you think american
enterprises reward virtue? Or do they reward friends and family instead?

~~~
shiny
How do you implement a socialist society correctly? Those indigenous societies
(can you give some specifics?) probably did not operate under a socialist
government banning property rights, but voluntarily worked together. There is
nothing un-capitalist about this -- after all, capitalism is all about freedom
(hence the title of Milton Friedman's first book), and people are free to do
as they please. Even further, the people of these societies are probably
closely related and thus more predisposed to help each other. It's not
surprising large heterogeneous societies like ours don't operate the same way.

I saw "Inside Job" and did not come away with the same conclusions, and I
think there is probably more to be said about one of the greatest banking
crises in history than a 2-hour documentary. Indeed some poor regulations were
factors in the crisis, but that does not mean that all regulations everywhere
are good, and any kind of dis-regulation is bad. The internet seems to be
operating fine without heavy regulation.

~~~
mrleinad
Specifics:

\- Navajo: [http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Navajo-
Sociopoliti...](http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Navajo-
Sociopolitical-Organization.html)

\- Mapuches, in South America. (sorry, couldn't find an english article):
<http://www.cholchol.org/es_mapuche.php>

How do you implement it? Well, the problem with that, and the rest of your
arguments lies in a specific point: Capitalism is about the freedom of an
individual to get as rich as possible, disregarding anything else. It's not
about your freedom to work with whomever you please, that's what democracy and
work freedom are for. Oh, and in my previous comment I was not talking about
banning private property, but about a culture of sharing. Most of the things
we can think about today are in the realm of the "mine-theirs"...how about we
bring back the "ours"?

In a nutshell, capitalism is about money. And whenever money occupies the
place of humankind and their rights, shit will hit the fan sooner than later.
You can adorn capitalism with good will through religion, with generosity
toward poor people, with the theory of adam smith about the cup of the rich
that pours over everyone.. but will still be about money.

And I'm not advocating for a communist-russian-cold-war state. That's as bad
as this. What I'm advocating for is for policies that are centered not in
allowing people to get as rich as they can be in the name of free market and
illusionary progress, but on stablishing a minimum level of well being for
everyone. You can't get that through capitalism, but I think perhaps it's so
hard for people in the states to understand that because for years and years
they've been brainwashed into thinking otherwise.. They still believe there's
only one option.

PS: Sorry for my english, it's not my native language.

