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Single Idea 20525

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 11. Capitalism ]

Full Idea

Free markets inevitably lead to unemployment and ruined businesses, when the capitalist market is punctuated by a 'trade cycle' of boom and bust. .. There are speculating, swindling middlemen. ...and the nature of work is degrading and alienated.

Gist of Idea

Free markets lead to boom and bust, pointless middlemen, and alienated workers

Source

Friedrich Engels (Speeches in Elberfeld [1849]), quoted by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 5 'Arguments'

Book Ref

Wolff,Jonathan: 'An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev)' [OUP 2006], p.148

A Reaction

[compression of Wolff's summary] Wolff observes that middlemen are heroes to lovers of the market. The idea of alienation seems to be that everyone should be in charge of their own work. That may approach anarchy.

The 36 ideas with the same theme [society driven by private production and profit]:

20720 Time is money, ..credit is money, ..and money breeds more money [Franklin]
20680 Selfish profit-seeking increases collective wealth, so greed is good, and egoism is altruism [Smith,A, by Harari]
20525 Free markets lead to boom and bust, pointless middlemen, and alienated workers [Engels]
21994 The handmill gives feudalism, the steam mill capitalism [Marx]
23876 The essence of capitalism is the subordination of people to things [Marx, by Weil]
20958 Capitalism changes the world, by socialising the idea of a commodity [Marx, by Bowie]
20960 Marx thought capitalism was partly liberating, and could make labour and ownership more humane [Marx, by Bowie]
20722 Acquisition and low consumption lead to saving, investment, and increased wealth [Weber]
20724 When asceticism emerged from the monasteries, it helped to drive the modern economy [Weber]
20717 Capitalism is not unlimited greed, and may even be opposed to greed [Weber]
20718 Modern western capitalism has free labour, business separate from household, and book-keeping [Weber]
21518 Men unite in pursuit of material things, and idealise greed as part of group loyalty [Russell]
23861 Marx showed that capitalist oppression, because of competition, is unstoppable [Weil]
23845 The capitalists neglect the people and the nation, and even their own interests [Weil]
23897 Once money is the main aim, society needs everyone to think wealth is possible [Weil]
21853 We are currently extending capitalism to the whole of society [Deleuze]
22254 Economic capitalist liberty naturally leads to democratic political liberty [Novak]
22853 Anyone who thinks capitalism can improve their lives is endorsing capitalism [Lukes]
22252 Capitalism may actually be the best way to foster community [Conway,D]
22253 Capitalism is just the market, with optional limited government, and perhaps democracy [Conway,D]
22255 Capitalism breaks up extended families, and must then provide welfare for the lonely people [Conway,D]
22256 Capitalism prefers representative democracy, which avoids community decision-making [Conway,D]
22257 Capitalism is anti-community, by only valuing individuals, and breaking up families [Conway,D]
22368 It is hard to imagine the end of capitalism [Fisher]
20098 Fans of economic freedom claim that capitalism is self-correcting [Micklethwait/Wooldridge]
20681 The sacred command of capitalism is that profits must be used to increase production [Harari]
20682 The main rule of capitalism is that all other goods depend on economic growth [Harari]
20683 The progress of capitalism depends entirely on the new discoveries and gadgets of science [Harari]
20687 In capitalism the rich invest, and the rest of us go shopping [Harari]
23533 The economy has replaced medieval theocracy at the centre of our society [Berardi]
23140 Environmental disasters result not from capitalism, but from a general drive for growth [Gopnik]
24073 Capitalists use their exceptional power to impose their own rules, and make the state their ally [Davies,W]
24071 Markets are transparent, with known prices and activity, and minimal profits [Davies,W]
24070 Economies have material, economic and capitalist layers [Davies,W]
24072 Capitalism is the anti-market, with opacity, monopolies, powers, exceptional profits and wealth [Davies,W]
24074 Capitalism must mainly rely either on the labour market, or on the financial markets [Davies,W]