tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221472834360388026.post8849057709725973035..comments2022-07-17T07:12:52.817-07:00Comments on The Pursuit of Chinese Happiness: How China SquandersEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11701436665747198398noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221472834360388026.post-4602973273551905172013-07-03T10:50:11.226-07:002013-07-03T10:50:11.226-07:00Capitalism has no core values...Hmmm I don't t...Capitalism has no core values...Hmmm I don't think that is entirely what history shows us. Marx may have been wrong about many economic principals but his analysis of history and class struggles are spot on given todays news. <br />Capitalism does have fundamental values. In it's most pristine form it depends on liberty of the individual to associate with others and that this right is protected by law as well as being a common right of human kind. When the evolution of capital becomes monopoly then it becomes co-opted with favoritism, price fixings and aberrations. I am not a libertarian mind you. I always recommend that people read works of Adam Smith not only the first chapter by later on where he abhors the division of labor and businesses that would set workers against each other. There is more to say, but I am compelled by the "invisible hand" to move on. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167433597267415713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221472834360388026.post-43940534020956572852013-06-12T18:44:41.686-07:002013-06-12T18:44:41.686-07:00Frank: why don't you eat only biscuits and dri...Frank: why don't you eat only biscuits and drink water every day, work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, meanwhile stop listening to music, taking vacations, donate to charities, and use all the time & money you save to marry more wives and have more kids? In other words, why don't you live like a Confucian? The point is, we ALWAYS have extra energy, profits, and time to squander, unless at this very moment you're starving and you have no idea where your next meal is coming from. If we all can acknowledge this, then the only question left is whether we should squander gloriously or catastrophically.Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11701436665747198398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1221472834360388026.post-59277196529205791372013-06-12T15:39:01.124-07:002013-06-12T15:39:01.124-07:00This idea that the pursuit of profit is equivalent...This idea that the pursuit of profit is equivalent to "squandering" doesn't jive on the surface. I haven't thought about it in depth, mainly because I strongly disagree with some of the surface issues like dictating how anyone should have to spend their free time or resources (that's tantamount to socialism or communism). But I'm open to new ideas as long as they allow me to keep my freedom of choice.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09339746638468377154noreply@blogger.com