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FROM MY CORNER, The Big Fight: Which Economy?

Howell Hurst Economy & Finance, People Politics

FROM MY CORNER

The Big Fight: Which Economy?

This ideological battle between Capitalism and Socialism is futile. To understand how utterly worthless the fight is, please note the following: futile means that for all the shouting and punching at each other for a long time, no progress whatsoever is being made by either side. Only one solution is possible: a compromise mix of the two. There, now that’s simple, isn’t it? Is there any precedent for such an idea? Well, yes, there is. Practically every Western European country for one.

Plus Japan in its medical system, and Switzerland, and Scandinavia, Canada, and Taiwan. The idea is quite easy to grasp if you let go of your obsession with either Capitalism or Socialism. First: Since Capitalism by definition is price competitive, it dictates there will be losers and winners. The winners get to keep their place in the economy; the losers get tossed out on the street to fend for themselves.

Since Capitalism then owns everything, the losers can either only survive by the most servile subservience to the Capitalists; or (more profitable) by becoming criminals. Second: Since Socialism makes everybody subservient to the State (and somebody gets to run that scam) only a handful win and everybody else just eats from the crumbs that drop off their luxurious dinner table.

It should now be clear that in either Capitalism or Socialism some group of people able to muscle their way into the top tier administering the show end up being the winners. So, how do we solve this dilemma? Simple: design a system that uses both Capitalism and Socialism. How do we do that? I’m pleased you asked. Because that is what the above mentioned countries have done; and it works pretty well to keep most all people in the game.

Here’s how it works. Particularly in a currently Capitalist country (such as the United States), people historically like the idea of being able to start and run their own business. They also usually come up with the best ideas: the best products, the best services. Why? Because government bureaucrats of any type have the imaginations of gophers. It takes initiative and creativity and confidence to start and manage a business.

Smaller private businesses also create more jobs. Therefore, it makes sense to retain the Capitalistic benefit – if, and this is a big if – IF you provide a fund of Capital for entrepreneurs to access for their new business ideas. Which is how we solve the problem. We create a new economic model: “Socialized Capitalism.” How does it work? It creates a annual national pool of new business investment funds. Entrepreneurs use this to start new ideas.

If the ideas (and businesses) work, well and good. If one fails, and a loser or losers are created, we slip in a bit of Socialism by having national funding to help them get back in the game again with the rest of us who have been the winners. The whole concept requires you to have trust in human beings being able to help one another without necessarily trying to cheat one another. That should come about as a consequence of the philosophical acceptance of the concept.

Why cheat when being honest and getting access to large amounts of Capital is all that’s necessary to always stay in the economy game? (If some sickos can’t go along with this, we just summarily toss them in jail for breaking our new economy laws.) With these malcontents out of the way, the rest of us can get on with our businesses. Oh, there is one more thing. We pass another law that Requires that all businesses share their ownership 50/50 between management and labor.

That model, by the way, has always been shown to make a company more efficient and profitable. How can all this Not work? When all the Capitalists and Socialists refuse to change and compromise and cooperate with one another. And that problem, I’ve not yet figured out. I’ll get back to you on it when I get an idea how to finesse the issue of the human animal being so basically greedy and stubborn and unable to catch onto the idea of collaborative compromise.

This may take some time.

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