Posted on 07/22/2015 7:13:54 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
My guess is most of us would agree that America seems to be in decline, but not for the reasons TIME magazine does. Much of the decline is centered in the politics and policies of the governing party.
But TIME is pretty sure that, given the study that they cite, the reason is … capitalism. Here’s the “it was great, but” reason:
We looked at very broad measures, and at individual measures, too, said co-author Hershey H. Friedman, a business professor at Brooklyn College City University of New York. The most dangerous sign they saw: rising income and wealth inequality, which slow growth and can spark instability, the authors say.
Capitalism has been amazingly successful, write Friedman and co-author Sarah Hertz of Empire State College. But it has grown so unfettered, predatory, so exclusionary, its become, in effect, crony capitalism. Now places like Qatar and Romania, countries you wouldnt expect to be, are doing better than us, said Friedman.
I wish those who opine about this sort of thing would begin to delink capitalism and “crony capitalism”. Because as soon “crony” is added, “capitalism” is no longer evident. Instead you have powerful corporate/social/political constituents helping write laws that raise bars to entry in a markets to impossible heights. You have the same entities suggesting regulations which have the same effect. Capitalism, in its barest essence, is a voluntary transaction between two free people which ends profitably for both. That’s it. When government begins intruding with regulations and laws designed to limit and protect certain constituencies, from corporations to unions, that’s not capitalism, whether you stick “crony” in front of it or not.
It is certainly cronyism. The government attacks, for instance, on Uber are rampant cronyism. They’re designed by government to protect an existing constituency that doesn’t like the competition (and has had a government granted monopoly for decades). Of course, in the end, it is the consumer – i.e. the citizen – who is hurt by this sort of cronyism.
And it appears that cronyism has gotten worse and worse over the past few years. So while America may be in decline, it isn’t because of capitalism.
It’s because of cronyism, government favoritism, or whatever catch word or phrase you wish to tag the phenomenon with. But leave capitalism out of it.
Markets have always existed and always will exist.
A free market economy, however, can exist only with strong political protections. Rule of law, enforcement of contracts, etc. The problem of course is that those in charge of the politics have an irresistible incentive to stack the deck in their own favor or that of their friends, which is called crony capitalism.
Crony capitalism is the default setting for human economies. With the amount of cronyism and capitalism varying from one to another.
Neither a true command economy nor a true free market economy has ever existed, or probably ever will exist.
Half a century of Liberal domination of the legal system, education and the media. Pretty simple actually.
There is an author from the 90s who wrote for the NY Slimes or something and wrote the dumbest articles never linking Guiliani's tough on crime policies with less crime. I wish I could remember that fools name.
Most likely the author was either R.W. Apple or Frank Rich.
R.W. was always exactly 180 degrees wrong.
Frank Rich is a theatre critic not a foreign policy analyst.
For a LARGE part (on purpose from the progressives), it is the dumbed way down and totally unserious American public.
Those affected most when the 60s leftists took over running most institutions. Is there any sign from our rebellious young to counter the counter revolution yet?
I would’ve guessed that Time would say that global warming was the cause for ALL problems...everywhere...under every circumstance.
We are in decline because the government policy of picking winners and losers has reached an unprecedented scale.
Government has become completely married to big business and wall street to the exclusion of everything else.
Taxpayers have become worker drones scraping out a meager existence.
It’s all explained in “Rollerball” and “Network”.
The decline that matters is the culture...
Most of the world seem to indicate that a financial circumstance melt down is on the way, but none blame socialist spentful policies
This is where I disagree with you.....it has nothing to do with Race; it has everything to do with the Christian Worldview and the destruction of the Natural Family (Reality and Humanization for those children).
The schools and TV have been promoting vice and satanism/paganism/materialism for 75 years as they vilify Christianity and sexual morality and are erasing the worldview in children which created the Great Minds and Great Books-—to nihilists and people who stick their minds in sewers 24/7 and look at humans as objects and godless, herd animals and forcing “group thinkers” (for the collective culture).
The Hope and Wonder and Virtue which used to direct the majority is being replace with a pessimistic, godless nihilism of narcissism and no Virtue-—no perseverance, no loyalties, no love of the Good, Beauty, Harmony and Excellence (Virtue).
The programming of the children (immigrants) is to sexualize them and warp their desires (divide and create hate intentionally with lies and misinformation 24/7)—ideas which are evil and unnatural and destructive and lead to nihilism and dysfunctional people and emotionally damaged children who can not function at a high, productive level in society.
Immigrants raised with a Christian Worldview (Classical Education) are like a Ben Carson, a Thomas Sowell, a Clarence Thomas, a D’Souza. They are brilliant and promote Good, although the evil media tries to destroy them now. Those people should be the people media enshrines and promotes and emulates, but they pick the satanists and vile minds like Clinton and Pelosi and obamas and sodomites/pederasts like John Maynard Keynes and Harvey Milk for the ideal person for the children/universities. It normalizes evil.
It is God v. Man as Whittaker Chamber stated in the early 50s, and Man is winning (back then). It is a culture war and the schools have owned the minds of children completely since Jimmy Carter and the sodomites of Hollywood had obscenity laws removed, so they could warp and corrupt the minds of very young children which is hard to fix.
Media and schools promote and normalizes vice and perversion 24/7. Children are allowed to “watch” life and be in artificial institutions (dehumanization) to be programmed, instead of live Real Life and have loving adult/human interactions using all the senses, to guide and form their desires and worldview like the Mark Twains and Lincolns who never hardly walked into artificial “group think” institututions. Education comes from the Self and desire to “Know”. Our schools destroy that wonder and mystery and beauty and individualism, which creates moral, virtuous people. The Christian Worldview is the most perfect, just, free ethic system ever created....like the Nicomachean Ethics, only with the Theological Virtues tacked on: Faith, Hope and Love.
We have to take back the “schools” and Classical Education, And reform Law so it only promotes “public virtue” as all Just Law is required to do to be Constitutional. Cicero stated when Law ceases to be “Just” (virtuous), it will collapse civil society. We have to return to Objective Truth/God’s Laws (Christian Ethics promotion) like at our Founding.
Time gagazine: Too slanted to read, pages too slick for butt wipe.
Like the federal gov., what good is it?
This was a great response and I agree with it, but still feel you and I will have to agree to disagree regarding race/ethnicity.
The reason for economic decline and decay is the assault on capitalism:
1) increased government spending
2) increased gov. deficits
3) increased taxes
4) increased regulations
5) increased inflation
6) assault on private property, profits, and profit motive
7) hostile business environment due to the assault on the rich, businessmen, and capitalists
8) destruction of the incentives to save, invest, produce, and accumulate capital
A good question, and one they absolutely will not answer...
the infowarrior
...and the morality.
The global Marxists are coming out of the closet. Used to be just cultural cleansing of America’s system of government and institutions and values. Now they think they have dumbed down and invaded the pubic with enough ignorant foreigners, socially and culturally enough, to impose economic Marxism on a National and Global level without majority opposition. The ideal of Karl Marx is finally being realized...they hope.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.