Capitalism - Competition and Innovation?

Basically, does capitalism promote competition and innovation? Does communism and socialism not?

Wake said:

Capitalism seems to promote competition and innovation.

Socialism and communism don't.

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NGNM85 said:

Evidence...???

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Wake said:

Lol?

Under capitalism people have the freedom to prosper. To compete and innovate by the sweat of your brow and the spark of your mind.

Under socialism/communism, there is government regulation of business. Almost everything government touches seems to crumble.

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It depends on what form of capitalism we're talking about. Free market capitalism has the best ability to promote proper competition and innovation. Corporate capitalism, such as what we have now in the US, does not. It in fact does the opposite.

just fyi wake - there's governmental regulation in free-market economies also, as well there should be.

Ikari said:

It depends on what form of capitalism we're talking about. Free market capitalism has the best ability to promote proper competition and innovation. Corporate capitalism, such as what we have now in the US, does not. It in fact does the opposite.

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Can't you just answer the question? Capitalism (Period) is better than socialism (Period).

American said:

Can't you just answer the question? Capitalism (Period) is better than socialism (Period).

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1) that isn't the question.

2) Even if it were the question, it would be a stupid one because it is far too simplistic.

Although to answer the OP, yes, I do believe that a market-based economy is more conducive to competition and innovation.

American said:

Can't you just answer the question? Capitalism (Period) is better than socialism (Period).

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I did answer the question. Some forms of capitalism are as bad if not worse that socialism. Specific forms of capitalism form the best basis for economic models, that being the Free Market Capitalism model. Sorry if things aren't as cut and dry as you'd like to pretend. But it takes honest analysis of a system and where we need to be in order to intelligently effect the system to bring about the desired results.

The best breakthroughs have occurred outside the realms of Capitalism. For example, The Principia de Matematica by Isaac Newton where he derived calculus and then explained the force of gravity.

sookster said:

The best breakthroughs have occurred outside the realms of Capitalism. For example, The Principia de Matematica by Isaac Newton where he derived calculus and then explained the force of gravity.

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How exactly was that outside of capitalism? Did he receive a federal grant for his research?

Yes, clearly capitalism provides incentives to develop and innovate unlike any other economic system. It is why every democracy in the world today has a mixed market economy - they are intelligent enough to realize the benefits. Here are some facts about capitalism's success over the last 200 years:

World GDP per capita has increased from $700 to $6000 from 1800 to 2000. Life expectancy in England in 1800 was 40, today it is around 80. In 2005, as compared to 1955, the average person on Earth earns three times as much money, ate one-third more calories of food, buried one-third as many of his/her children, and could expect to live one-third longer. We are less likely to die from war, murder, childbirth, accidents, tornadoes, flooding, famine, whopping cough, tuberculosis, malaria, etc. People are more likely to be literate and to finish school. Only six countries are poorer now than they were in 1955. The average South Korean lives twenty six years more than they did in 1955.

The poor in the developing world grew their consumption twice as fast as the world as a whole between 1980 and 2000. There are fewer people living in poverty today than in the 1950s, in fact, it has dropped in half. It isn't like the 1950s were even bad. The 1950s was the best time the world had ever seen up to that point. We have just improved dramatically from what was already an all time high. Today, of Americans that you would consider poor, 99% have running water, electricity, a refrigerator, and toilets; 95% have a television, 88% a telephone, 71% a car, 70% air conditioning. In 1970, only 36 percent of all Americans had air condition, in 2005, 79% of poor households did.

Inequality is declining worldwide. It has increased in the U.K and U.S. since the 1970s (which, by the way, have improved for the last two centuries), but has decreased on the global scale, which is more important. The growth of China and India is bringing about a global middle class.

I doubt a different economic system would do as much as quickly.

What capitalism? What socialism? May be this one?

Let me quote it for you:

If one understands that socialism is not a share-the-wealth programme, but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of super-rich men promoting socialism becomes no paradox at all. Instead, it becomes logical, even the perfect tool of power-seeking megalomaniacs.

Communism or more accurately, socialism, is not a movement of the downtrodden masses, but of the economic elite.

Gary Allen, Author

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Wake said:

Basically, does capitalism promote competition and innovation? Does communism and socialism not?

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I believe it does. This is one advantage that this type of societal organization has.