On Mon, 2 Jun 1997, coaster brake wrote:

> Harry Veeder wrote:
> >
> > In my opinion, capitalism is just the pursuit of MONETARY profit. This
> > can happen ONLY in an economist system which employs an extensive
> > price-system for guiding the production and distribution of goods and
> > services. Take away prices and money and there can be no "capitalism".
>
> i don't understand what you're trying to say.  you seem to think that
> prices and money are all that are required for capitalism.  i can
> demonstrate that many more factors are necessary to have a system that
> follows capitalist doctrine at all.
> thanks,
> coaster brake

I agree with you, but capitalism is IMPOSSIBLE without prices and money.
Or in other words, prices and money are necessary but not necessarily
sufficient for capitalism.

Capitalism needs a price-system regulated by the marketplace, and a
specialized stable money-system to regulate the production and
distribution of money which encourages the establishment of
financially profitable enterprises.

These are the REAL hot spots of Capitalism, and, in fact, they are the
hot spots of every "ism" which accepts prices and money as an integral
part of economic systems. Whether the ebb and flow of money is regulated by
warring monarchs or competing money-lenders, or by socially "progressive"
taxation policies, as long as individuals must BOW before the
interests of the money-system they will never be free.

Does this mean we must do away with money and prices? No! It does mean the
the money-SYSTEM should be democratically redesigned to reflect the diverse
interests and aspirations of ALL people, not JUST the capitalists.


Harry Veeder