Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Wednesday, April 29. 2009

QQQ

There's no such thing as 'capitalism'; Marx made that up. It's just another way of saying 'freedom'.

Commenter "Ahem" at Maggie's Farm
Posted by Bird Dog in Quotidian Quotable Quote (QQQ) at 09:11 | Comments (8) | Trackbacks (0)

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Very good. I like the 'Marx made it up..' bit. Funny and very true. Manufacturing ISM's was a growth industry back in the day. Marx was the Henry Ford of that industry.
#1 Tom C on 2009-04-29 09:19 (Reply)
Yes, a wonderful comment. Capitalism isn't a theory or even a system - it's just what people do when they are left to do whatever they want.
#1.1 Bird Dog on 2009-04-29 09:30 (Reply)
Great pith --but, what does an anti-capitalist hate, then? Freedom? Or success?
#2 buddy larsen on 2009-04-29 10:38 (Reply)
"[W]hat does an anti-capitalist hate, then? Freedom? Or success?"

Both. However, by punishing success and removing incentives, standards of living are reduced, leading to less economic freedom and affording the government the opportunity to become more oppressive. That is where we are today.
#2.1 Barrett on 2009-04-29 12:50 (Reply)
Then I guess you'd say freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose?
`
#2.1.1 Meta on 2009-04-29 14:20 (Reply)
--no no, everything left to lose.
#2.1.1.1 buddy larsen on 2009-04-29 16:17 (Reply)
Adam Smith advocated for the system that evolved naturally, the one we usually call capitalism now and that he would have called a free market. I don't know that Marx coined the term, but it would be ironic if the world's freest and most productive economic system had taken its common name from the world's worst economist.
The free market is a system, albeit one that formed organically, which should annoy the organic farmers who want things to go co-op.
#3 Geoff on 2009-04-29 16:40 (Reply)
Perfect - I will be using it.
#4 NJSoldier on 2009-04-29 22:23 (Reply)

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