tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post113139230981717035..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: Putin, Russia and American InterestsHunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1131482190226642032005-11-08T15:36:00.000-05:002005-11-08T15:36:00.000-05:00...and we are ample proof that capitalism is a mis...<I>...and we are ample proof that capitalism is a miserable failure.</I><BR/><BR/>On what grounds? Because we don't practice pure free-market capitalism or because it is a horrible place to live?Matt Huismanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09972662349345412127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1131477033023015552005-11-08T14:10:00.000-05:002005-11-08T14:10:00.000-05:00Statements such as this, "we are ample proof that ...<I>Statements such as this, "we are ample proof that capitalism is a miserable failure...." prove that I'm wasting my time here. I have better things to do.</I><BR/><BR/>No, he's asking you to back up your faith-based responses with something approaching reasoning and evidence. It's not so much that you're wrong, buzz, as that you're trying to combat one form of belief with another and relying upon the fervence of your belief to be more than Tlaloc's.<BR/><BR/><I>"Contrarily, can you come up with even one example where capitalism when it has truly been tried has failed?"</I><BR/><BR/>This is the <I>ultima ratio regat</I> of free-market boosterism because it's so patently reliant on theory over reality. Whenever a critic of capitalism brings up a contrary example, the booster/economist merely says "Ah, but that wasn't true capitalism because X, Y, and Z interfered." Well, duh. The reason free-market capitalism doesn't work is because it can't exist outside the theoretical. Real markets are way too easy for actors to screw with (and if the Grover Norquist types have their way, there will be no mechanisms left to stop those that do).James F. Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747033407956667363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1131415743618587042005-11-07T21:09:00.000-05:002005-11-07T21:09:00.000-05:00Communism, in its way, works. All you need to do ...Communism, in its way, works. All you need to do is think of the human experience as a lifeboat, and have a willingness to pitch those who don't overboard.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.com