Combating the Presuppositions.....

[RadioRaheem84]

OK, I hope that this thread becomes a long one because I would really like to touch upon just what Capitalists/Libertarians/Liberals and Conservatives presuppose when it comes to the free market. Why is it such a wonderful system in their eyes? What is the logic they presuppose in order to believe it's inherently flawed? I would like to learn them that way I can watch out for them in the future.

Can someone start this thread off by offering a typical presupposition the capitalist holds and then rebutting it? We can start with the most basic and then move to the more nuanced ones.

Thanks!

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

It is based on self interest.

I find that most arguments with capitalists start as follows:
-I explain about socialism
-They explain about how socialism MUST lead to dictatorship and deaths and how the free market leads to freedom and democracy.
-As I refute their points (e.g. democracy in capitalism not really being democratic - having a vote every few years between who i want to ignore my views and exploit my labour for the next few years), they gradually come round to saying the following:
- That capitalism is the 'least bad' system and that even though it has many faults (they have to say this because I have given several irrefutable examples) it is better than socialism because socialism murders people (Despite me explaining that it is in fact to the contrary, and that capitalism is a more barbaric system).

Oh and all capitalists pre-suppose the following:
Stalin killed 50-100million people and was responsible alone for the cold war, as was the entire USSR

Castro is a murderous tyrant.

All people living in socialist countries walk around in a sea of grey and never smile unless instructed to by the government

Chavez is somehow a dictator, despite having more electoral credibility than Bush or Brown. Makes me lol that does.

[eyedrop]

I can start with something from an article by Akerlof and Stiglitz, who won the nobelprize in 2001.

"The last 3 decades a current in economics has constructed models which assumes that markets works perfect. This assumption has overshadoved a lot of research which helps explain why markets aren't always working perfectly, -yes, why there actually exists very spread market flaws."

http://www.dagsavisen.no/meninger/article451948.ece


Found an Enlglish version of the article (http://burmadigest.info/2009/10/26/let-a-hundred-theories-bloom/)

[RadioRaheem84]

Thanks guys. Keep em coming. This is good stuff.

Also on a side note, I think John Bellamy Foster has a great new book out called the Great Financial Crisis and its Consequences.

Anyone ever heard of Richard Wolf of U-Mass Amherst? Great stuff on his website.