Is capitalism a giant pyramid scheme?

[Psy]

Capitalism requires compounded growth for markets to remain healthy, meaning if the market grows of 1% in a year the market has to grow at least 1% from the previous year, meaning the market has to grow 3% by the second year in reference from the starting point.

Since the world is finite eventually the rate of growth would have to slow simply due capitalists running out of material inputs for production. Then you have the other issue that reduce the rate of profits like over-production, automation and the struggle of the working class. Usury in capitalism will make such slow downs drastically hurt the rate of profits to the point they'll become non-existent if not become losses.

So it seems capitalism is a giant pyramid scheme, were the whole system is solely based on unsubstantial growth, and should collapsed under its own weight as potential growth dries up.

[Red_or_Dead]

I agree. Basicly capitalism is all about growth. No particular goal, just grow, expand, get more, make more... And with the world being finite, as you put it, it is bound to go down in flames sooner or later... And I would prefer it to be sooner.

[Renewed Revolution]

I agree. Basicly capitalism is all about growth. No particular goal, just grow, expand, get more, make more... And with the world being finite, as you put it, it is bound to go down in flames sooner or later... And I would prefer it to be sooner.

Yes, my old social sciences teacher was a Capitalist, but he always said that nothing could ever keep growing, and that it would have to stop eventually.

[Psy]

I agree. Basicly capitalism is all about growth. No particular goal, just grow, expand, get more, make more... And with the world being finite, as you put it, it is bound to go down in flames sooner or later... And I would prefer it to be sooner.

I think material constraints on compounded growth is why we saw capitalists focused on the growth of the financial sector since theoretically the financial sector can grow indifferently due to not being grounded in the material world or at least that is what capitalists hoped, growth of the financial sector turned out to be a pyrmid scheme on its own and now capitalists are panicking over that pyrmid collapsing.

[al8]

What exactly is the definition of a pyramid scheme?

[Psy]

What exactly is the definition of a pyramid scheme?
You can find a Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme) entry on it.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

The growing return needs to be a constant, or else the firm goes under. It's still up for debate whether or not growth, on a market scale, can last forever. As Psy pointed out, capitalists have discovered that even financial sectors aren't invincible. Suppose the faucet is turned off and the entire global economy becomes a giant market with virtually no national exploitation (China's industry competes against America's) - if the firms fail to grow, recovery would be painful.

[nvm]

and should collapsed under its own weight as potential growth dries up.
I don't agree. It won't collapse under it's own weight.
Do you think that giant corporation owners are dumbasses?
That's why we have wars every now and then.
So exactly that won't happen

[Psy]

I don't agree. It won't collapse under it's own weight.
Do you think that giant corporation owners are dumbasses?
That's why we have wars every now and then.
So exactly that won't happen
While Iraq has been profitable to some capitalists, it is a drain to the US capitalist class as whole, Iraq is not supplying the US empire with any value while occupation is draining value from the US empire at a time when markets are melting down. The Iraq war is amplifying the crisis of capital not alleviating it.

So yes the capitalists are dumbasses.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Capitalists, like monarchs before them, are very much fallible.

[nvm]

While Iraq has been profitable to some capitalists, it is a drain to the US capitalist class as whole, Iraq is not supplying the US empire with any value while occupation is draining value from the US empire at a time when markets are melting down. The Iraq war is amplifying the crisis of capital not alleviating it.
If the US was nt in the war it would have faced a more serious recession caused by overproduction as u stated correctly in ur first post when u talked about

Capitalism requires compounded growth for markets to remain healthy,

So if they had not destroyed human and material resources in Iraq they would have been facing more serious problems.
The war in Iraq was not a loss for the US.
Now they ll simply leave because the job is done

[gla22]

If the US was nt in the war it would have faced a more serious recession caused by overproduction as u stated correctly in ur first post when u talked about


So if they had not destroyed human and material resources in Iraq they would have been facing more serious problems.
The war in Iraq was not a loss for the US.
Now they ll simply leave because the job is done
reminds me of 1984. Constant war to keep production up.

[Psy]

If the US was nt in the war it would have faced a more serious recession caused by overproduction as u stated correctly in ur first post when u talked about

So if they had not destroyed human and material resources in Iraq they would have been facing more serious problems.
The war in Iraq was not a loss for the US.


If you think the Iraq is going according to some master capitalist plan you are mistaken. Oil prices are on the rise threatening inflation while the markets are weak.



Now they ll simply leave because the job is done

They leave because the US capitalist class are getting impatient.

[gla22]

^^^^
The war in Iraq had everything to do with oil and natural resources and economics.

[Psy]

^^^^
The war in Iraq had everything to do with oil and natural resources and economics.

Yes but it is not going as planned, they don't control the natural resources in Iraq as their occupation is failing.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Contractors associated with the Bush clan, like Halliburton, have made a nice penny off the war. However, short-sightedness is wrecking those capitalists not (directly) involved in the occupation.

[gilhyle]

Capitalism has a key characteristic that a pyramid scheme does not - namely that it can default in part without the whole thing coming down. Now its true that some of themost complex and widespread pyramid schemes have displayed this characteristic but never with the resiience of capitalism. The key flaw in your analysis is the idea that if capitalism grows 1% in year one it must grow more than that in year two to compound the growth. That is not the way it works. Capitalism as a whole may experience an absence of growth in one year, an excess well over any compound rate in another etc.

In soe sense you are correct 'in the end'.....when all the methods of capitalist expansion are exhausted it is then confined to the growth potential of its own so-called 'creative destruction' Dont hold your breath.

[Psy]

Capitalism has a key characteristic that a pyramid scheme does not - namely that it can default in part without the whole thing coming down. Now its true that some of themost complex and widespread pyramid schemes have displayed this characteristic but never with the resiience of capitalism. The key flaw in your analysis is the idea that if capitalism grows 1% in year one it must grow more than that in year two to compound the growth. That is not the way it works. Capitalism as a whole may experience an absence of growth in one year, an excess well over any compound rate in another etc.

In soe sense you are correct 'in the end'.....when all the methods of capitalist expansion are exhausted it is then confined to the growth potential of its own so-called 'creative destruction' Dont hold your breath.

The capitalism starts to weaken even when the rate of profits simply start to stagnate.

[trivas7]

Capitalism requires compounded growth for markets to remain healthy, meaning if the market grows of 1% in a year the market has to grow at least 1% from the previous year, meaning the market has to grow 3% by the second year in reference from the starting point.

So it seems capitalism is a giant pyramid scheme, were the whole system is solely based on unsubstantial growth, and should collapsed under its own weight as potential growth dries up.


What you need is an ever-new supply of labor to exploit. Capital is accumulated labor.