The Big Three Market DriversLearn Capital Flow AnalysisDo Companies Cheat Shareholders?Buybacks: The Fraud of the CenturySocialism vs. Free EnterpriseDo You Believe Official Statistics?Globalization: Good or Bad? | Subject: Capitalist Ideology A kind of economic theory. Capitalism is an economic and social system in which capital, the non-labor factors of production (also known as the means of production), is privately controlled;[citation needed] labor, goods and capital are traded in markets; and profits distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries. There is no consensus on capitalism, nor how it should be used as an analytical category. There are a variety of historical cases over which it is applied, varying in time, geography, politics and culture. Economists, political economists and historians have taken different perspectives on the analysis of capitalism. Scholars in the social sciences, including historians, economic sociologists, economists, anthropologists and philosophers have debated over how to define capitalism, however there is little controversy that private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit in a market, and prices and wages are elements of capitalism. Economists usually put emphasis on the market mechanism, degree of government control over markets (laissez faire), and property rights, while most political economists emphasize private property, power relations, wage labor, and class. There is a general agreement that capitalism encourages economic growth. The extent to which different markets are “free”, as well as the rules determining what may and may not be private property, is a matter of politics and policy and many states have what are termed “mixed economies.” Capitalism as a system developed incrementally from the 16th century in Europe, although capitalist-like organizations existed in the ancient world, and early aspects of merchant capitalism flourished during the Late Middle Ages. Capitalism became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. Capitalism gradually spread throughout Europe, and in the 19th and 20th centuries, it provided the main means of industrialization throughout much of the world. [Wikipedia] Evolving economic thought By John Schroy, on March 5th, 2010 |   The August 13, 2009 issue of Business Week published an article, “The Buyback Boondoggle — Companies spend lavishly on share repurchases, slowing innovation and job creation”, by William Lazonick, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and director of the Center for Industrial Competitiveness. Because of the multi-trillion dollar scale of the enterprise, buybacks represent a fraud against the retirement plans of a whole generation on a scale that makes Bernie Madoff look like a piker. Caritas en Veritate By John Schroy, on July 12th, 2009 |  Pope Benedict XVI, in the encyclical ‘Caritas en Veritate’, writes in favor of ethical capitalism. This is a position very similar to that of Adam Smith who stressed the importance of morality in business. The contrary position is taken by the Harvard Business School that teaches that there are ‘no right, no wrong answers’ through its famous case method. Market regulation By John Schroy, on June 16th, 2009 |  The financial reforms of the New Deal lasted for over fifty years and were based on two years of work by the US Senate Pecora Commission, spanning two administrations with bipartisan support. In contrast, the Obama “reforms” are being concocted in secret to be rushed through the Pelosi-Reid Congress, already famous for passing substantial legislation in the dark of night, without reading the text. Historically, slap-dash, one-party ‘reforms’ have not survived a Congress controlled by the other party. Featured articles on inside pages | Site navigation Capital Flow Watch has hundreds of articles on economics and investments. Articles have excerpts on the front pages, and on tag, category, search and archive pages.
» Blog Guide |
Topics: 
Popular Articles