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.
The most ardent advocatess of capitalism, as well as its biggest critics, see “true capitalism” as essentially economic anarchism (more commonly known as “Laissez-faire”). In this sense, yes, true capitalism should avoid cronyism because it would be following the Darwinist principle of “the most-qualified for survival in this unmanaged economy deserves the job.”
But humans cannot be trusted not to engage in cronyism. With no interventionist/organisational force (the government for instance) partaking in the economy, there is no greater power for people to put their faith in, and thus they don’t trust that their friends and family can obtain decent paying work. I would therefore argue that cronyism happens more under true, unchained capitalism.
I mean just look at how business owners behave today, in a world with some restrictions placed upon capitalism. They can’t help themselves.
Answering the question: Crony capitalism and true capitalist is a false dichotomy (distinction), but the USA certainly isn’t true, laissez-faire, capitalist.
Capitalism, (needlessly) increases competition for resources, access to markets, and even results in fierce competition over abstract things. This is exacerbated the more unmanaged capitalism becomes, so I think True capitalism would have more problems than whatever we live under now.
I think so, yes. I am of the view that capitalism is a relic of the past, a developing species or developing society kind of thing, but communism, if it’s the ideal way of structuring society, belongs to the future. A more automated and technologically advanced future.
Because there is an increased competition for resources, resource hoarding increases as well. Managed release of those resources along with who deserves access to those resources is a political endeavor. Not at the level of the state, but when you end up having a laissiz-faire system, there is no state to prevent hoarding of necessities. And now a situation can emerge where one company hoards a necessary resource and manages its release to some and not others. They will have become the state.