This is yet another symptom of absolutism, whether it be of the left or of the right. Tongue in cheek, I use the term "monster" for capitalism; I know that sandinista and others will see it unreservedly as a monstrous system of selfish greed that grinds the proletariat into the dust, and I know that seth and others will see it purely as a shining bastion of personal freedom...sandinista wrote:"become" indeed. Already there jimbo.egbert wrote:Become? We've been there already see Anti-Trust laws and Robber Barons. And now the "Global economy" scam is being used to force workers to "compete" in a race to the bottom.JimC wrote: Without unions, things would be very unbalanced indeed. The power of capital, and its understandable desire to drive wages and conditions as low as possible, means that individual workers have little chance to gain a fair share if they act alone. Collective, organised action by workers is vital; without it, capitalism would tend to become the total monster that sandinista thinks it is already...
As usual, the truth lies somewhere in-between...

There have been times (eg. early in the industrial revolution) and places (eg. many third world countries today) where capitalism comes truly close to deserving that moniker, whatever innovations or economic growth it was fostering. However, where working people can organise, and where progressive governments can legislate, a workable, pragmatic system will evolve where the excesses of capitalist greed are checked and balanced. The far left will grumble that the underlying system has not been radically overhauled; they refuse to see the sobering lessons of history which come from previous attempts at communist government, always lamely claiming that true socialism is just around the corner, given one more chance...
The champions of capital will rightly point to the innovation, drive and efficiency which accrue from a free enterprise system; what they want, however, is for the shackles to be removed, and the beast allowed to control absolutely how it treats its labour force. The fruits of that are to be seen in third world sweatshops, where non-unionised labour toil under appalling conditions, without hindance from the corrupt governments that welcome unscrupulous corporations to their countries. Perhaps there, one day, another Lenin will arise. If so, we know whose fault it will be...