Reddit mentions of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Dont-About-Capitalism/dp/1608191664

also Guns Germs Steel

and Shock Doctrine Naomi Klein

> First, if you want to sound intelligent in a post, do not start of with lol. You would sound much more intelligent if you just left that out and started with "It's"

It's not my intention to sound intelligent, though I guess you're the expert on that. I started my post off with 'lol' because that was the first thing that came to mind upon reading your post.

You're convinced that any movements in the market are automatically optimal and efficient when there's actually no guarantee of that. It's a kind of social Darwinism that seeks to justify the current situation by claiming that since things have evolved this way that that's the best way that things can be. When shareholders seek to liquidate a company, it might be for the best, but then again, it might not be. For you to presume that it's always for the best is a rather tall claim.

The problem lies in where the benefits and costs go and who has the decision making power when it comes to liquidation/investment. For the workers who've invested a lot of time and effort they have a large cost imposed when the company gets sold off. However, workers almost never have a seat at the table where the decision is made to liquidate the company. Even if shareholders can make a larger amount of money over a longer period of time by keeping their investment in the company, they can make a smaller total amount of money in a much smaller period if they just kill development and sell off the assets, then they can just move their now larger and liberated investment to somewhere else and repeat the process. They don't shoulder the costs imposed on the workers, so it makes individual economic sense for them to make that decision even if overall it's a net loss when considering everyone involved. A lot of European countries have mandated worker representation on the board of directors which helps a lot.

>People may get better at their jobs, but they may not. Other companies have the ability to pick up the former employees, just like they have the ability to buy the equipment that the "asset stripper" is liquidating. Because people don't, people do not believe it is a worthwhile investment.

These things could happen, but they don't necessarily happen. It takes a lot of time, money, and effort to pick up the pieces of a liquidated company even if it was profitable before. Most people, like say the workers, don't have those capabilities, and those that do aren't inclined to because they could be making more money elsewhere doing short term investments.

>That might not be their intention, but it is the effect. You have to prove to me that it isn't.

You want me to prove a negative? What proof do you have that it is? Let's cut to the chase, no one is proving anything in /r/politics comments. If you are actually legitimately curious, read this book written by a Cambridge economist, it's got all kinds of facts and references and explains in much more detail where I'm coming from.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/ha-joon-chang-23-things

Really, really, good. The guy isn't a big anti-Capitalism guy, but this book has 23 very good counter-arguments about certain things you will hear Capitalists say and argue. The book is written in a way that a layman such as myself can understand and he's very entertaining.

You can read the first few chapters here. I would recommend reading "There is no such thing as a free-market" - Chapter 1.

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Dont-About-Capitalism/dp/1608191664/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302178615&sr=8-1

>But as America and the other fundamentally capitalistic societies in contemporary society have shown, having the highest standard of living and strongest middle class in the history of the world

This is received wisdom.

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Dont-About-Capitalism/dp/1608191664

Hey, for all interested. Read a great book ( a little dry though) called 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism. Really great read. Really relevant to recent happenings in our economy, most specifically executive compensation and lower taxes for the rich. The author explains while technically the of idea lower taxes for the rich works on paper (as with most economic theories), but fails to pan out in reality. These executives are just as greedy as the next person, and if the investment isn't enticing enough, they'll never go through with it. By no means, are the rich investing their tax savings, just to promote economic growth. He provides many statistics to support this claim. Furthermore, he argues that instead of having tax breaks for the rich, having tax breaks as an incentive to promote investment. You wan't to keep all the fucking money you made last year in a bank or in gold? Good for you, TAXED. You want to invest that money and give back to the community that supported you? TAX BREAK.

TL;DR: Check out 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism. Gives you lots of statistics to tell the rich to shut the fuck up and raise their taxes.

It is cool, but does it really increase wealth?

There are multiple sides to micro-lending, but statistics really aren't very good. I think I read about this in a chapter of this book. I really liked that book.

That's a misconception you're making. First, I was being very simplistic; so attacking me on complexity is disingenuous. That should have been apparent. Secondly, government planning is how a position in the global economy improves. Their economies improved because they were not bound by restrictive "free-market" policies and had no reservations about funding initiatives which placed them in a better position globally. Now there are several other factors to consider when making this assumption, and I am very open to considering them and debating them. However, blanket attacks are not very useful.

Edit: You will have to forgive me. I meant Hong Kong when I referenced Japan. That is my mistake.

This is a good start to understanding the economic environment in Asia:
Four Asian Tigers

I also suggest reading the oeuvre of Ha-Joon Chang. I particularly enjoyed:

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism