Winterhaze13

Enslavement? Capitalism is enslavement.

I think that Hugo really resents me.

But in today's society a very small group si making all the decisions. That isn't right, everything in a democratic society should be democratic. But consumer's don't inflict harm on society.And the rest I disagree and I'll leave it at that. Okay, you are an idiot. Democracy is meant to inject equality and fairness into society. That is it's intention. And by equality I mean that everyone should have equal opportunity. But it doesn't always work out that way and I believe that that is because of capitalism. Your jail example is stupid, they did something that warrants imprisonment. And sometimes it is necessary to restrict people's freedom. What? I'm not going to bother replying to the rest of your points. They are ignorent and it almost seems like you dislike democracy. I admit that it isn't perfect but it's intentions are good we just haven't fully realized it's full benefit.

Fascist, you cannot be more wrong. My intention is not to infringe the rights of business. Rather, I want to make the private sector more competitive by eliminating major corporations that inflict harm on society and small businesses. I want to redistribute to the poor and middle class and small business. That is obvious. Actually, the Nazis are seen by many historians as tools of the corporate world. IBM made many of the electronics in the deathcamps. That is how Hitler got into power. Watch The Corporation, a famous Canadian documentary that came out on video last week. Libertarianism is just foolish, in the economic sense. Allowing capitalism to run free would just inflict harm on society. A famous economist once wrote that it was "Creative Destruction" because it is only motivated by profit and not the common good. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You're obviously just trolling now. Quite the clever little gimmick you have going here, You almost had me too; I was about to write up a huge long-winded reply when I realized that no one could possibly be this clueless to historical facts and evidence to the contrary. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> lol I'm a history and Political Science major in University, so I know what I am talking about.

Taken from one of the articles in the Capitalism Magazine. But businesses are made up of people and are institutions. All institutions be it the state, the United Nations, Amnesty have a responsibibility not to inflict harm on society. In democracy, no one is above the law and anything that inflicts harm should be accountable for that harm on society.

This argument is especially amusing to me. In order to discredit Unions he gives me a link to the CAPITALIST MAGAZINE. Well of course they are going to be biased. They even defend Wal-mart practices. I can't take that source seriously.

Fascist, you cannot be more wrong. My intention is not to infringe the rights of business. Rather, I want to make the private sector more competitive by eliminating major corporations that inflict harm on society and small businesses. I want to redistribute to the poor and middle class and small business. That is obvious. Actually, the Nazis are seen by many historians as tools of the corporate world. IBM made many of the electronics in the deathcamps. That is how Hitler got into power. Watch The Corporation, a famous Canadian documentary that came out on video last week. Libertarianism is just foolish, in the economic sense. Allowing capitalism to run free would just inflict harm on society. A famous economist once wrote that it was "Creative Destruction" because it is only motivated by profit and not the common good.

These Arguments stink!!! These industries are very profitable, ask OPEC. Shell and other oil companies are among the largest and most profitable companies in the world. You must be thinking of automotive companies. The revenue generated can go to a good cause and not to Opec and the corrupt oil industry such as Haliburton and Texaco. National Health Care used to be in Canada. And I think that education is far to important to leave to the private sector whose motivation is profit and not efficiency. Also, it should be available to everyone. In the Soviet Union's education was state runned and it was far superior to ours. It should be open to everyone. I'm not penalizing these corporation for being successful. Although they do become profitable at the expense of others. I think our economy would be better off with more competitive businesses who are not preyed on by major corporations. Unions don't inflict harm on society like major corporations do. Your early points don't make sense to me. And my goal is not to shrink the private sector but make it more competitive by eliminating major corporation's advantages and redistributing to the poor. A planned economy is not our goal, but a fair one is. Thanks, I know that. You can also control inflation by increasing interest rates. Eliminating the minimum wage would not necassarily mean that more jobs would be created. Minimum wage is meant to keep employers from exploiting labour. By eliminating it you would inject harm into society that would exceed any benefit. Well, I think the educated should run the state. We should have professional politicians and not only businessmen and lawyers from well to do backgrounds. Sales taxes pay for government funded services. They are important. The economy is driven by the middle class and poor who constitute 90% of the populations. However, it is the wealthy who benefit the most from the economy and as a result they should pay most of the taxes. Society!!! Who else. They are not accountable, try to watch the Canadian documentary The Corporations. They use loopholes in the legal system to break the law, they contaminate the planet and they are driven by profit and accountable is not in their interest. The problem is that most of the wealth is inherited from generation to generation and I believe that all corporate wealth is better off in the hands of the middle class or poor. What? When did I say that. Daycare is very expensive, in Toronto it is $1,000 a month. We need to help families. That is why women are staying home and not working. Canada's economy is kept afloat by immigrants. They work for less which creates lower prices and more production. Toronto, this country's economic engine, its population consists of 45% immigrants. So they are very productive members of society. How? We are putting more money in the hands of people who will spend it. The wealthy have a greater propensity to save and the middle-class drives the economy. So, it makes economic sense. Take from the rich and give to the poor who will spend it and it goes back to the rich. From there the cycle begins once again. How do you know? It hasn't even been implemented yet.

What are your thoughts about this fictional party's platform. Would you vote for this party? National Labour Front The following is the political and economic doctrine for the Labour Front of Canada, a left-wing party devoted to creating social justice and equality. Here are 16 demands we hope to lobby in favour of: 1. Nationalize key industries such as oil and gas and use the revenue to fund social programs, as well as education and healthcare. 2. Nationalize healthcare and education to make it available to all walks of life, rich or poor. The education system should be entirely free from kindergarten to undergrad in universities. However, students are required to pay for books and residence if they require it. All schools should maintain the same standards and curriculum. Introduce standardized teaching manuals. 3. Introduce a redistribution tax on major corporations that will be allocated to small business and the disadvantaged in society. 4. The state should introduce legislation that will increase the number of worker's unions in the private sector. 5. The state should be more involved in the economy by creating public sector jobs. The government can control inflation by cutting spending on social programs. If there is too much unemployment, the state should create jobs in the public sector. 6. The senate should consist of ordinary people in society that meets a certain criteria. It will be made up of people with a political science or economics degree, doctors, lawyers, native leaders, bureaucrats, union leaders, etc. They will be chosen through a lottery to serve either a 2 or 6 year term. 7. Eliminate taxes on family essentials such as baby food, diapers, and clothing. Increase the tax credit per child. 8. Revamp the tax system so that single-income households, low-income families, the elderly and other disadvantaged members of society pay almost no income tax. Raise taxes for wealthy households. 9. See to it that major corporations become more accountable and responsible. 10. Introduce an inheritance tax on estates worth $1 million or more. The tax will increase as the value of the estate rises. 11. More tax credits for families using the day-care system. 12. Increase immigration to one percent of the population annually. 13. Introduce additional taxes for home owners with property worth $1 million or more. 14. Eliminate NAFTA and implement the Kyoto protocol. 15. Ban corporate donations to political parties. 16. Increase foreign aid to 0.7% of GDP.

Some more views on the Middle East situation: Israeli People's Most Common Mistakes By Gilad Atzmon The most common mistakes made by Israelis are as follows: 1. To fail to realize that there is no essential difference between Tel Aviv and a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. 2. To believe that the creation of the state of Israel was an outcome of the Holocaust. 3. To regard themselves as innocent people and thus as victims of the Israeli­Palestinian conflict. 4. To believe that they live in a democracy and therefore that their atrocities are legitimate. 5. To be convinced that they live in an open society which enjoys political and ideological diversity. 6. To believe that the ghetto is behind them. 7. To be convinced that the 'Jewish state' is a legitimate concept. 8. To think that Israel is a shelter for the entire Jewish people and the best answer to anti-Semitism. 9. To regard themselves as humanists. 10. To be sure that Israel is immortal. For more information see: http://www.gilad.co.uk/mistakes.html

That's right. See: http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn09262003.html

Dershowitz is very cynical, his book is completely one-sided and he ignores evidence that supports the Palestinian's cause. Many of his arguments are very thin and he lists about every single crime against the Israeli people but almost none on Palestinians. He often presents his argument really early in the chapter and then rambles on for pages on crimes against the Jews that often don't have any relevance to his arguments. Am I suppose to believe that the Palestinians have a monopoly on violence in the region. In addition he tries to discredit Noam Chomsky, the most well-known and respected political thinker in the world. Some of his arguments are so weak. I expect more from a prominant lawyer. In the section on Israeli's human rights record, he tries to justify it by saying that: Well, umm, Arab countries do it too. If I wrote that on a Political Science essay I would get a D. That does not justify Human rights violations nor does it give them a blank check. Worst yet, he tries to pin the holocaust on the Palestinians by claiming that they had a moral obligation to accept Jews running away from Europe. The truth is that the entire western world is quilty of this. That's why the west recognized Israel because they didn't want Jewish people to come to their country. Canada and the United States turned away ships of Jews that were trying to escape and sent them back to Europe to die in camps. If we really want to prosecute everyone who is partly responsible for the holocaust then we can even blame German Jews who voted for the Nazis. But don't pin it on the Palestinians who are far less responsible than most people.

I will list 10 common criticisms of the Israeli state and its policies. My intent behind this thread is to get at the major concerns about the middle east conflicts and hope to arrive at a grey area of compromise. Note: the criticisms will be taken from New York Times Bestseller The Case For Israel by Alan Dershowitz, which I am currently reading. On whether I recommend this book, it is blatant Pro-Israeli propanganda and completely one-sided. So, I suggest pro-Israelis read it and pro-Palestinians avoid it. If you are on the fence read The Case for Israel but read a Pro-Palestinian book afterwards. So, here are the criticisms: 1. Israel is a Colonial, Imperialist state. 2. European Jews displaced Palestinians. 3. The Zionist movement was a plot to colonize all of Palestine. 4. The Balfour Declaration was not international law. 5. The Israelis are unwilling to share Palestine. 6. The Jews have exploited the memory of the Holocaust to garner sympathy for Israel. 7. The U.N. 1947 partition of Palestine was unfair to the Palestinians. 8. Israel created the Palestinian refugee crisis. 9. The Israeli occupation is unjustified. 10. Israel is ONE of the prime human rights violators in the world. Note: I will act as a third party in this thread by only attempting to provoke discussion. Also, let's keep this discussion civilized please. Source: Alan Dershowitz. The Case for Israel. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons inc., 2003)

Capitalism allocates economic production its self, so they are the same thing. It's just a feature of capitalism.

I have always been taught that there was only one type of capitalism. Please enlighten me only the different variants. Because right now it looks as if you are just trying to avoid the truth about capitalism. But if there are some variants, then there is probably very little difference between them.

There are several problems of logic in this comment: -you assume that cooperation is incompatible with competition, this is questionable. My local darts league is competitive, but it's a league because we cooperate to be competitive. -you assert that capitalism 'is' competitive. In light of the above comment, what do you mean by 'is'? -the suggestion that democracy should be cooperative is wrong. Democracy is a competition for selecting the best ideas and the best leaders. It's a darwinian machine. And I can't help but notice a profound sense of ignorance in yours. CAPITALISM, as for as I know there is only one variant. Can't or you just have nothing to say. Your local dart league is not the capitalist market. And don't you think that competition leads to inequality and hostility and tension. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=is Democracy should be cooperative because it is suppose to mediate between conflicting forces in society. But because of capitalism, there is inequality and the wealthy class seem to control everything. Also, I get the Darwinian argument alot. Charles Darwin was not an economist, he was a scientist. He certainly did not mean it to be used in an economic context. Read the Origin of the Species. You will discover the lack of economic assertions.

Yawn!! Simple-minded capitalist ignorance. Explain to me how consumers run the state. How do consumers make decisions for everyone? At the same time it has created a large discrepency in wealth. Businesses pay workers enough so they can get by in order to maximize profit. Absolutely rediculous claim. Capitalism only advocates economic liberty while democracy advocates freedom and equality. While capitalism is against equality because they don't have an interest in seeing worker's gain political power. What? It is because these corporations are so powerful that the state is powerless to stop them. But these laws aren't deturring these corporations from inflicting harm on society. This is indicative of the growing power of business under globalization. And its not backwards. Wages rise because capitalists want to see the consumer spend more money. See fordism. Use Brittanica. That's fair but how do people get rich in the first place, by exploiting the labour of workers. Mr. Robbins touches on that. Not everyone who lives in a capitalist society is a capitalist. Someone shoose to raise me in the west, where the wealth is. And I have accepted that I must live like a capitalist, because someone already made that decision for me. Okay then, let's blame it on God and human nature. Then explain to me, who am I going to vote for. That is the problem here. I get this response alot. I choices consist of wealthy and very wealthy.

Capitalism has created more wealth and put it in the hands of more people than any other system ever created. If it is incompatible with democracy, then perhaps we should get rid of democracy, or at least those versions that are. Capitalism has created inequality based on capital. Sure some people are wealthy, but ask your self, who does capitalism most benefit. And because capitalism is the root of inequality in our society we should look to eliminate it, rather than democracy which preaches equality.

1. I'm not sure therewill always be a ruling class. You can't prove that. In the democracy it isn't suppose to exist, but capitalism has created one and that is not right. Also, there is not a ruling class in socialism and communism because class is not suppose to exist in those two systems.To say that there are no ruling classes in Socialism or Communism is almost painfully naive. You get to be a ruling class through privilege, and all systems have their privileged players. Under Communism, those in power got the best of everything, and so did their families. They got the best food, went to the best schools and hospitals, and stayed in the most comfortable residences. The common people waited out in the cold in long lines for food while the ruling members of the Communist party had servants to take care of their needs. 2.Disadvantaged are not what you say they are. That is a disgusting characterization. The poor are poor because they are exploited by being paid less than they deserve. And if you don't believe me, answer me this. Who works harder in society than single mothers? No one Who is poorer than single mothers? No one. I have seen working single mothers who work hard, while others sit happy and fat on welfare and don't lift a finger. When they want more money, they have another kid. Some of the disadvantaged are that way because of circumstances, and some because of a lack of motivation, work ethic, intelligence or attitude. And hard work is beside the point. Any idiot can swing a hammer. What is rewarded in any culture is not just how hard one works but how skilled one is. And if you fail to reward people for having more skill and education they will not invest the time and effort to acquire skill and education, and you will be left with an unskilled, ignorant population and poverty. Capitalism is an economic model, not political. It does not care who rules. And you cannot explain why every democracy has capitalism. Meanwhile, no nation which has failed to embrace capitalism is a democracy of any kind. 4. That's a rediculous argument. Do you honestly believe that the hardest working triumphs under capitalism. I don't think so. Social mobility is rare. I did not say the hardest working people always triumph. I said that without personal motivation people don't work hard. If you will earn as much by doing nothing as by doing something then many will do nothing. If you start out with the proposition that Capitalism is a failed system, antithetical to human needs then you are implicitly calling for a change to another system. Churchill's admonition then stands, that Capitalism is the worst system except for the others. You can also use Hayek's belief that systems be judged on the extent which it promotes human liberty and freedom, and once again, judge what has happened in Capitalist nations to what has happened in Communist nations. Contrarily, workers are free to go looking for less work for more pay. They are also free to attempt to upgrade their skills and education in order to increase the value of their labour. All wealthy people did not inherit their wealth. That is again demonstrably untrue. It is true that many extremely wealthy individuals inherited wealth, but there are innumerable examples of individuals who became grossly wealthy within their lifetimes. Think of Bill Gates, as one example, or the Walton (Wal-Mart) family as another. Social mobility is greater in capitalist systems, at least, in the ones with democratic forms of government, than in any other type of system the world has ever known. Education is available to everyone. If you have the intelligence and really, seriously put in the effort you will get yourself a good education. Will it be at an ivy league school? Probably not, but who says the education obtained there can't be surpassed through extra effort at a state university? Do you have to only read the books assigned you? Can't you choose other books in the library and read them to? Can't you attend lectures which aren't mandatory? Can't you do extra research? To say that there is a ruling class in communism is stupid. There are no classes in socialism, there aren't suppose to be. Socialism was created for class struggle. I don't know what you are trying to say, but you seem to think that the hardest working thrive under capitalism. So, according to you the wealthiest are the hardest working. Working class mothers to the majority of labour in society. But the reality is that capitalism and democracy co-exist and they just merely tolerate one another. Capitalism does not have an interest in seeing workers in power. And capitalism creates inequality which contradicts what democracy is about. But that doesn't justify inequality. Your point? So, you acknowledge that capitalism has its flaws. And whenever people can't defend capitalism they usually bring up communism. But let's concentrate on the problems with capitalism. But out of concern for their families many workers don't want to take that risk and therefore they are stuck in a job they hate. Remember there are only so many jobs available in capitalism But its very rare, infact Bill gates came from a well to do family that was well off enough to send him to Ivy league. You are just giving me isolated examples. But the problem remains that the wealthy have access to the best education and this is a disadvantage for everyone else. And don't tell me that capitalism creates an fair playing surface.

CAPITALISM, what other type is there. I also get that question alot. I think its an attempt to stire away from the negative aspects of the system. I don't think you have answered my question very well. I am hoping to engage you meaningfully, but cannot unless you are willing to be clear about aspects which give meaning to the discussion at your end. C'mon, just answer: A, B, both or neither? Oh, btw, it's prefered to post excerpts and a link to material rather than cutting and pasting in large bodies of text. Where can I find these responses you speak of? Re-post them if you have time. And I did post the link, I cut and paste because I was hoping some would challenge what Mr. Robbins is saying. Since most of you discount me as just some naive "commie", I just think maybe you would like to here it from a qualified person. Also, explain to me the types of capitalism in which you speak.

Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism by Richard H. Robbins Thesis Statements The following thesis statements are intended to generate thought and discussion. They are purposely provocative, although some more than others; you may agree or disagree with them, although you should be able to offer evidence for your responses. Chapter One: The Consumer Thesis Statement 1: American culture, and Western culture in general, may be characterized as the culture of capitalism, or more specifically consumer capitalism, and American society may be characterized as the society of perpetual growth. Thesis Statement 2: The core premise of the culture of consumer capitalism is that commodity consumption is the source of well-being. Thesis Statement 3: The central roles in the culture of capitalism are the consumer, the laborer, and the capitalist, each operating according to a set of rules orchestrated and enforced by the nation-state. Thesis Statement 4: The culture of capitalism and the society of perpetual growth require for the their maintenance the exploitation of most of the world's resources and peoples. Thesis Statement 5: It is central to the successful operation of the culture of capitalism that the consumer be segregated or masked from the consequences of his or her lifestyle on the laborer, on the environment, and on the way of life of those whose degradation makes his or her life possible. Chapter 2: The Laborer Thesis Statement 6: Profit in a capitalist culture comes largely from the capitalist's control of the surplus value of labor. Thesis Statement 7: The whole process of capital investment, making a profit, finding the cheapest labor, and so on represents what Karl Marx called commodity fetishism in which the real source of profits and the non-economic consequences of capitalism are largely hidden from view. Thesis Statement 8: Racism and sexism are direct consequences of the process of the segmentation of labor, and the requirement in the culture of capitalism to provide a ready source of cheap labor. Thesis Statement 9: There is an inherent tendency of laborers to resist the discipline imposed on them by capitalists. Thesis Statement 10: As in the creation of the consumer, children are among the main victims in the process of the creation of the laborer. Chapter 3: The Capitalist Thesis Statement 11: In the course of the expansion of the culture of capitalism, there has been a growing concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands, a concentration that is the direct result of the workings of the capitalist economy. Thesis Statement 12: In the course of the development of the culture of capitalism, there has been a marked change in the organization of capital and how it is controlled. The result is that only a few organizations control vast wealth and are able to dictate the nature of social, political, economic, and cultural life. Thesis Statement 13: One of the dominant historical trends has been the growing integration of the global economy, to the extent that anything that happens in one area of the world has repercussions in all others. Thesis Statement 14: In the process of providing financial support to stricken economies, the IMF is essentially reducing the risks of international financial investors, while, at the same time, transferring the suffering to ordinary citizens of stricken countries. Thesis Statement 15: Democracy, as a system of government, has been largely superseded by the operation of the global economy; the principle of one person, one vote, has largely been replaced by a system where people vote with their dollars. Chapter 4: The Nation-State Thesis Statement 16: The most important function of the nation-state in the culture of capitalism is the regulation of trade and commerce within and without its borders, and to provide for the orderly production, distribution, and sale of commodities. Thesis Statement 17: In order to provide the economic integration required for the smooth functioning of the economy, the modern state must convince its populace that they share a common culture or destiny. This is accomplished largely through the state control of mandatory education. Thesis Statement 18: Those individuals and groups that call into question the myth of the nation-state or who refuse to be assimilated into it are generally subject to extermination; or as Pierre L. van den Berghe said, "The terror and horror of mass genocidal killing are not aberrations of the modern state; they are in the very nature of it. We live in an era of routinized holocausts." Thesis Statement 19: The nation-state will soon be replaced by new institutions, the most important being the transnational corporation. Thesis Statement 20: The growth in importance of the non-governmental organization (NGO), or the non-profit sector, is largely the result of the withdrawal of the state from the provision of services (health, education, welfare, etc.) that it had, traditionally, provided. Chapter 5 Population Thesis Statement 21: "Short of nuclear war itself, population growth is the gravest issue the world faces. If we do not act, the problem will be solved by famine, riots, insurrection and war." -Robert McNamara, Former President of the World Bank Thesis Statement 22: Most of the problems faced by countries in the periphery, such as poverty, hunger, and environmental destruction, are the consequences of excessive population growth. Thesis Statement 23: The specter of population growth is a device used in the culture of capitalism to shift the blame for global problems to their victims, and to obscure the real cause, perpetual and uneven economic growth. Thesis Statement 24: Family structure and the status of women in society are the prime determinants of fertility and population growth. Chapter 6: Poverty and Hunger Thesis Statement 25: Since food in the culture of capitalism is simply one of hundreds of thousands of commodities, hunger is largely a matter of people not having enough money to purchase it. Thesis Statement 26: The evolution of agriculture in the culture of capitalism is characterized by the steadily increasing concentration of agricultural wealth (land and factors of production), and the growing dependency of the many on the few. Thesis Statement 27: Programs of so-called "food aid" (e.g. Food for Peace or Public Law 480) are simply ways that the state funnels tax dollars to agribusiness, increases the influence of food aid organizations, and promotes the ruin of small, local food growers. Thesis Statement 28: The fact that people are starving to death because they haven't the money to buy food is obscured by calling starvation "malnutrition," and treating it as a medical problem. Thesis Statement 29: The major solution to hunger is by building entitlements and focusing on the economic well-being of women. Chapter 7: Consumption and the Environment Thesis Statement 30: There exists a global environmental crisis, and consumption or consumerism (overdevelopment and the culture of capitalism) is the major, if not the only, cause. Thesis Statement 31: Our consumption needs, and even our eating habits, are formed largely to fill the needs of economic expansion and maintain the society of perpetual growth. Thesis Statement 32: It is not only impossible to sustain the culture of capitalism at its present rate of consumption, but the expansion of that culture and its consumption habits to other areas of the globe will vastly accelerate environmental collapse. Thesis Statement 33: Given the nature of the culture of capitalism, it is impossible to halt the destruction of the environment. Chapter 8: Disease Thesis Statement 34: Every culture or age has its characteristic illness and disease; for the culture of capitalism, characteristic diseases are those linked to poverty, hunger, and environmental devastation, and the increasing disparity in wealth between the rich and the poor. Thesis Statement 35: From a microbial perspective, the culture of capitalism has created the ideal environment for the development and spread of infectious disease. Thesis Statement 36: AIDS, above all illnesses, is the signature disease of the culture of capitalism. Thesis Statement 37: It is likely that within the next two decades, the world will experience a plague not unlike those that swept Europe in the fourteenth century, and, perhaps, not unlike that which stuck the New World at the time of European contact. Chapter 9: Indigenous People and Ethnic Conflict Thesis Statement 38: The cultures of indigenous peoples are vulnerable to destruction from capitalist expansion partially because their way of life differs so significantly from that in the culture of capitalism. Thesis Statement 39: A careful examination of the conditions of indigenous peoples before and after their incorporation into the world market economy, leads to the conclusion that their standard of living is lowered, not raised, by economic progress--and often to a dramatic decline. This is perhaps the most outstanding and inescapable fact to emerge from the years of research that anthropologists have devoted to the study of culture change and modernization. (Emphasis added) John Bodley Thesis Statement40: If, instead of needy dependents living largely outmoded ways of life, we appreciate the resemblance between indigenous societies and a modern, socially responsible corporation that carefully manages its resources, provides well for its workers, and plans for the long-term rather than the short term, we are better able to appreciate why indigenous societies can't survive. Thesis Statement 41: If we examine cases of purported "ethnic conflict" we generally find that it involves more than "ancient hatred;" even the "hatreds" we find are relatively recent, and constructed by those ethnic entrepreneurs taking political advantage of situations rooted in colonial domination and fed by neo-colonial exploitation. Thesis Statement 42: There are few nation-states in which one group or another is not striving for greater representation, and few states which are not, in one way or another, answering those demands with force or the threat of force. Chapter 10: Peasant Protest Thesis Statement 43: Capitalism is revolutionary in the sense that to foster perpetual growth, it must constantly revolutionize the factors of production, promote ever increasing consumption, and , consequently, regularly modify patterns of social, political, and economic relations. Thesis Statement 44: In the development of the culture of capitalism, there have been winners and there have been losers. Among the biggest losers are peasant or small-scale agriculturists, and, along with them, those dependent on wage labor, most women, most children, along with other groups who have been deprived of steady and viable employment. Thesis Statement 45: The goal of most peasant resistance is not necessarily to overthrow a system of oppression or domination, but, rather, to survive. The usual goal of peasants is "working the system to their minimum disadvantage." James Scott Thesis Statement 46: Colonial oppressors are apt not to recognize the suffering their oppression causes, and generally see protest as the illegitimate actions of a few. Thesis Statement 47: Given the structure of the modern economy, peasant or small-scale agriculture cannot survive. Chapter 11: Antisystemic Protest Thesis Statement 48: The various forms of social protest such as workers organizations and strikes, national liberation, civil rights, feminist, militia, environmental, and fundamentalist religious movements can all be understood as reactions to the expansion of the culture of capitalism. Thesis Statement 49: Virtually all social protest may be seen as emerging from the two world revolutions, the one in 1848 and the one in 1968. Thesis Statement 50: Labor protest tends to emerge in industries that are marginally profitable, and that try to squeeze a profit by minimizing wages and scrimping on any safety measures that require capital expense. Thesis Statement 51: The subjugation of women is rooted in the patterns of economic exploitation endemic to the culture of capitalism. Thesis Statement 52: Contrary to Garrett Hardin's thesis of "the tragedy of the commons," communally held land, especially in the periphery, tends to be better preserved and regulated than privately owned resources. Chapter 12: Religious Protest Thesis Statement 53: Religious antisystemic movements seek either the removal or destruction of what they believe is an immoral culture, a withdrawal from it, or the forceful or voluntary adoption of people of a new way of life. Thesis Statement 54: Indigenous religious movements, such as the Zionist movement among the Tshidi in South Africa, serve as a refuge and emblem for those who are marginalized by the expansion of capitalist culture Thesis Statement 55: The cultures represented by large-scale fundamentalist religious movements remain the only legitimate challengers to the global domination of capitalist culture. Thesis Statement 56: Protestant fundamentalism in Latin America is largely a conservative reaction to the emergence of Liberation Theology, and its critique of the culture of capitalism. Chapter 13: Futuristic Projections Thesis Statement 57: The future of capitalism must be marked by the continuing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, and the growing impoverishment of the many. Thesis Statement 58: Since the culture of capitalism must continually destroy the environment, expand economic hardship, and create continual conflict and resistence, it must inevitably collapse and be replaced by either a socialist world government or highly localized, independent, and self-sufficient cultures.

CAPITALISM, what other type is there. I also get that question alot. I think its an attempt to stire away from the negative aspects of the system. As for Bill Gates, his family was wealthy enough to send him to an Ivy League school. And an interesting fact, Microsoft is the major corporation which employs the LEAST amount of people. Let me propose a question to everyone. After reading my theses and Mr. Robbins theses. Has capitalism benefited society in any way other than making some citizens very wealthy? And let's make the responses intelligent this time.

It is against the rules to post long tracts of text. And few would read that much text anyway. If you can't state your position yourself, then don't bother trying. I have already stated my position clearly and early in this thread. See my Ten theses. The problem with threads is that many people disregard people like myself because although I am smart and educated, many discount my arguments as being one-sided and "Marxist". In response I get rediculous responses like, "well, there is a ruling class in communism too" and "well, what about Bill Gates and Andrew Carnegie", which are groundless and stupid arguments. I have posted my theses on many forums and I consistently get the same responses which suggests that all capitalists think alike. I was not aware of this rule. Ms. Wood used to teach at my University Political Science department in Toronto. I would think that if you discount me as just another naive youngster I taught that it would be wise to list a fully qualified person who would advocate for my cause.

What? We are talking about capitalism on this thread.

See Also: Democracy Against Capitalism by Ellen Wood