Im a little confused. Is America actually capitalist, or is it crony capitalist? Would TRUE capitalism have any problems? On the surface, it makes sense: make good product, get money. Someone makes better product, you need to improve yours or you go out of business. The issue is when we get monopolies and regulations that then restrict actual good products from being able to exist. But thats not a thing in true capitalism (so they say)

Is the best thing a mix of socialism and capitalism? I dont think we could abolish government, as someone has to lead. Certainly government needs to have actual checks and balances in place.

  • Foni@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    There are two effects you’re not considering.

    First, if you make the best product, everyone else will leave the business, so you become a monopoly. But almost everything has what are called barriers to entry. I can’t open a microchip factory; the investment is absurd. That’s why large companies can easily buy out startups, and that’s why we constantly see market concentration. It didn’t happen before because until the 1970s, antitrust laws were serious; now they’re a joke.

    There’s another important issue: in a 100% free capitalist system, it’s assumed that initial bargaining power isn’t equal, so those with more can pressure those with less, making wealth concentration more and more concentrated. Adequate government regulation can help level the playing field between employer and employee, but that’s another thing that hasn’t been improving in recent decades.