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    23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism

    By cmaukonen on Sun, 04/24/2011 - 7:19pm |

    I have just been following an online interview/chat on Firedoglake with Ha-Joon Chang and economist that teaches at Cambridge Univ.  discussing his latest book 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism.  They are listed  here.

    “95 percent of economics is common sense deliberately made complicated.”  – Ha-Joon Chang

    Thing One. There is really no such thing as a free market.

    Thing Two. Companies should not be run in the interest of their owners.

    Thing Three. Most people in rich countries get paid more than they should.

    Thing Four. The washing machine has changed the world more than the internet.

    Thing Five. Assume the worst about people, and you get the worst.

    Thing Six. Greater macroeconomic stability has not made the world economy more stable.

    Thing Seven. Free-market policies rarely make poor countries richer.

    Thing Eight. Capital has a nationality.

    Thing Nine. We do not live in a post-industrial age.

    Thing Ten. The US does not have the highest living standard in the world.

    Thing Eleven. Africa is not destined for under-development.

    Thing Twelve. Government can pick winners.

    Thing Thirteen. Making rich people richer doesn’t make the rest of us richer.

    Thing Fourteen. US managers are over-priced.

    Thing Fifteen. People in poor countries are more entrepreneurial than people in rich countries.

    Thing Sixteen. We are not smart enough to leave things to the market.

    Thing Seventeen. More education in itself is not going to make a country richer.

    Thing Eighteen. What is good for the General Motors is not necessarily good for the US.

    Thing Nineteen. Despite the fall of Communism, we are still living in planned economies.

    Thing Twenty. Equality of opportunities is unequal.

    Thing Twenty-one. Big government makes people more, not less, open to changes.

    Thing Twenty-two. Financial markets need to become less, not more, efficient.

    Thing Twenty-three. Good economic policy does not require good economists.

    The capitalist system is not working, despite what elite opinion says.  Starting with these points is a great place to look into our perceptions of what Capitalism is.

    Here is a multipart interview that was done on Real News with Dr. Chang.

    I highly recommend watching it.

    Comments

    Thank you for this link.

    I will be interested in further reviewing the discussions relating to the items.

    I guess my only disagreement would be with the statement that people in rich countries are paid to much. We certainly have a million to 10 million folks who are paid far too much...

    At any rate I shall take some time and read the further info on the link.


    by Richard Day on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 12:27pm

    Thanks. I remember Ha Joon Chang from an interview on Dem Now. I'll have to watch the youtube at home.


    by Donal on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 1:05pm

    You are both very welcome.  If you watch the video(s) he does elaborate quit a bit on each thing.


    by cmaukonen on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 4:54pm

    Thanks for the post.

    The capitalist system in the U.S. is working less and less for the average citizen. But it is working gang busters for the rich and anyone connected with a mega corporation which is investing overseas.

    I have to laugh when the domestic business innovation of the day is WalMart using home delivery. IOW we are all too poor to afford to go out and buy decent food, so we wait at home for crap from China on wheels.

     


    by Oxy Mora on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 5:14pm

    This video of a presentation by Ha-Joon Chang is 1h 24m.


    by Donal on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 8:36pm