Topic: US Capitalism: The Most Remarkable Achievement In Human History Against Poverty (Read 6620 times)

It’s Not America Anymore
http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/america-anymore/

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3. Communism killed 110 million* people for resisting dispossession.

*The number cited is as consistent as it is rooted in sound research; i.e., not.

Greg Gutfeld, one of the hosts of Fox News’ “The Five” and a historical scholar of zero renown, recently advanced the position that “only the threat of death can prop up a left-wing dream, because no one in their right mind would volunteer for this crap. Hence, 110 million dead.” In declaring this, Gutfeld and his ilk insult the suffering of the millions of people who died under Stalin, Mao, and other 20th Century Communist dictators. Making up a big-sounding number of people and chalking their deaths up to some abstract “communism” is no way to enact a humanistic commitment to victims of human rights atrocities.

For one thing, a large number of the people killed under Soviet communism weren’t the kulaks everyone pretends to care about but themselves communists. Stalin, in his paranoid cruelty, not only had Russian revolutionary leaders assassinated and executed, but indeed exterminated entire communist parties. These people weren’t resisting having their property collectivized; they were committed to collectivizing property. It is also worth remembering that the Soviets had to fight a revolutionary war – against, among others, the US – which, as the American Revolution is enough to show, doesn’t mainly consist of group hugs. They also faced (and heroically defeated) the Nazis, who were not an ocean away, but right on their doorstep.

So much for the USSR. The most horrifying episode in 20th Century official Communism was the Great Chinese Famine, its death toll difficult to identify, but surely in the tens of millions. Several factors evidently contributed to this atrocity, but central to it was Mao’s “Great Leap Forward,” a disastrous combination of applied pseudoscience, stat-juking, and political persecution designed to transform China into an industrial superpower in the blink of an eye. The experiment’s results were extremely grim, but to claim that the victims died because they, in their right minds, would not volunteer for “a left-wing dream” is ludicrous. Famine is not a uniquely “left-wing” problem.

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/02/why_youre_wrong_about_communism_7_huge_misconceptions_about_it_and_capitalism/
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One of the comment says "Communism works!! But only with Bees. Or Ants. . . . " I am not an expert but I believe bees and ants both are ruled by a Queen...

https://vimeo.com/84333052

The conservative behind “2016: Obama’s America” is under indictment for campaign finance violations but his next doc will open on schedule on July 4, filmmakers say.

The filmmakers behind Dinesh D’Souza’s upcoming doc have vowed to press on while their star defends himself after his indictment on federal charges that he violated campaign finance laws in 2012. On Sunday, they released a trailer for the movie, America, that is set for release on July 4.

America is the follow-up to the surprise hit 2016: Obama’s America, which earned $33 million in 2012 and became the second most popular political documentary in history, behind Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which earned $119 million in 2004.

In America, D’Souza — who wrote and produced the film — makes the claim that 1960s radical leftism is more or less indistinguishable from current mainstream liberalism, a doctrine that he says preaches the United States is the product of “stealing and plunder” from Native Americans, Mexicans and African-American slaves.

“I want to take this progressive, leftist critique head on,” D’Souza says in the trailer. The movie will include re-creations of some of the major events in American history.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-trailer-released-674121

"Exploiting others?" Pff. How is accepting a wage in return for your labour exploitation?

The thing about voluntary exchange is that it is voluntary. You're free to quit if you don't like your crappy job, divorce if you don't like your marriage. Granted, you still have to pay your way in life, but what else are you going to do - steal from others?

The trick is that every individual thinks they're a winner and nobody actually thinks they're being exploited, especially if they're 'successful' (mortgage they can't pay, marriage they don't want, Job they can't stand, and more money than their friends and acquaintances). Capitalism has been of a huge benefit ultimately to roughly 1% of people in the world.

I don't know about d), but I agree with the rest. I always find it amazing how many people are perfectly happy with a system based on exploiting others (and though they don't realize it, themselves as well).

Yes, it's possible to get lucky and have a benevolent dictator who provides great healthcare. But would you like to discuss the healthcare situation in North Korea, for example?

Personally I'd much prefer a free market in healthcare, where anyone can participate to improve competition and standards, and doctors earn a good wage.

Watch and... weep? 
Cuba's Healthcare: Medical Apartheid
http://youtu.be/IUSdYY243pk

  

I was going to list all the social benefits brought in by the post war Labour Government in the UK with regards the welfare state- but I expect you would have argued that these services were ultimately funded by the taxpayer (and so, ultimately, capitalism  ), silly argument though it is.
  
     So I'll refer you to this instead - just to show you whats possible in a country that has suffered decades of trade embargo's by the US. In spite of this, and in spite of being a much poorer country it has managed to outperform the US in many key areas of poverty alleviation (at least in regards to healthcare). Certainly if you look at the pre and post revolution comparisons in healthcare indicators it would seem that the current Cuban government are doing a much better job at poverty alleviation than was manged when the country was run by "entrepeneurs" (gangsters) from the US.  
     Read it and weep  

                 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Cuba

Lies, damned lies and statistics. I’m afraid that laughably hilarious statement; that ‘US Capitalism is The Most Remarkable Achievement In Human History Against Poverty’ is ridiculous, and is in no way supported by your chart.

A few points
a)   Your chart shows that those living on a $ a day or less (at 1987 $ values) fell from 26.8% to 5.4%. In isolation though this tells us very little, and certainly does not back up the assertion that globalised free market capitalism eradicated poverty. The chart posted straight after yours actually shows that from 1987 to 2010 inflation increased by at least 1200%. This means that the income of the percentage of people no longer living on a dollar a day would have had to increased by at least 1200% in order for them to live the same quality of life they had in 1987, basically just to stand still.
b)   Which leads to the next point ‘capitalism lifted x amount of people out of poverty’, lifted them out of poverty and into...? Make no mistake, if these people now make $2 a day instead of $1 a day they are still living in conditions unbelievably worse than they would have decades ago. It would be foolish to assume that even a small minority of those no longer living on $1 are now living jolly happy lives.
c)   The fact of free market capitalism is that it is a system that relies on exploiting others in order to acquire and accumulate wealth. The United States has acquired and accumulated plenty of wealth over the ages, and no surprise it has achieved this like true capitalists, by exploiting others and this includes the developed world
d)   Finally, how much of this reduction in global poverty is even attributable to the United States? Who are the people who have been lifted from poverty and how much of a part did the US play in that? According to Professor Danny Quah from the London School of Economics, it is actually China that accounts for 100% of global poverty reduction from 1981 to 2005. This is due to the fact that in this time period, global poverty reduced by 500 million (from 1.9bn to 1.5bn) but Chinese poverty decreased by 627 million. Looking at this then you can see that if you take out China’s reduction in poverty, global poverty levels would have actually risen. I would be interested to know OPs thoughts on this.  http://ablog.typepad.com/keytrendsinglobalisation/2013/11/china-world-poverty.html

The usual ‘capitalism has taken more people out of poverty than in any time in our history etc etc’ line is used by my Prime Minister David Cameron, as an excuse to enact corrupt legislation designed to protect wealthy elites and maintain the status quo. It is a lie and a fallacy. The fact that some people actually believe that US style, rapacious, neo-liberal, free market capitalism will make this world a nicer fairer place, the more deluded they actually seem. And as more people like OP trumpet this nonsense without looking past the blatant lies, it grants this old, outdated and totally corrupt system more legitimacy to control and dictate our  lives.

Obviously there must be better examples of nations or systems that worked way better than US capitalism helping people from abject poverty. Feel free to list all.

Thank you in advance...

+1

     Apologies to all the sane citizens of the US frequenting this forum - but I find the idea that, given its absolutely appalling take on international relations and foreign policy (being a heady mix of the illicit financing of dictatorial junta's, rapacious and oil thirsty conquest, anti domino effect occupations and, of late, sponsoring groups they at home label terrorists in the hope that said groups will do the job for them on non co-operative foreign governments) - all done in the name of "Freedom and Democracy") - I find the idea that the US is somehow to be given the glory for alleviating world poverty ( to an extent that may or may not be imaginary anyhow) absolutely delusional on the grandest scale.
 
     Jesus wept 

Please don't read this that I am anti US because I am not. Yes, I believe that the ruling elite therein have a lot to answer for in this world, but I don't for one minute hold the average US citizen responsible for this anymore than I would blame my grandfather for Britains Imperialist past.

  But "US Capitalism: The Most Remarkable Achievement In Human History Against Poverty" ? 

   Get a grip here.

   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A

For the youngest among the bitcoiners here. Those 2 could debate non stop without calling the other one a denier.

Capitalism has raised the standard of living for most of the people on the planet. Goodbye capitalism, we will only really miss you when you are gone.

There hasn't been any hyperinflation in the current US dollar. And inflation wasn't the problem (click that link to read the math proof). Please try to understand that the problem is centralized, top-down control due to the power vacuum of government, and stop conflating necessary debasement with the true problem.

http://armstrongeconomics.com/2013/11/21/hyperinflation-definition/

And there are people who wonder why I hate hyperinflation so much, yes well done, America benefited the poor! At the expense of your own and their children and/or grandchildren you fucking halfwit! Now go have a group masturbation session with Ben Bernanke in retirement and die of old age not knowing how much you've fucked us all over.

grrr >_< didn't need this reminder first thing in the morning of how I need to work twice as longer than my parents to pay off government debt.

Edit: Wait a minute, 1987? That might have been when the hyperinflation ended, I've got to do some research.

The OP and the link provided by Hawker disagree, as the former says 5% and the latter says 20% live in absolute poverty. The chart in the OP probably uses liar government statistics for inflation.

For example, one third or more of India's 1 billion population can't get proper nutrition. The government recently started to subsidize food, and this will drive India into bankruptcy over the next few years as the current account deficit as a percentage of GDP is rising above the "point of no return" spiraling failure. They installed an IMF alumni as the central bank governor to put this Communism into effect. Heck you can still buy a child in India. Slavery is very real and takes many forms. See below.

Although we lifted the material lives of humanity with technology, i.e. even people living on a few $ per day have a smartphone and ride motorized transportation, the power vacuum of democracy keeps the world in slavery. For example, in most countries the working class can not stop working else they can't pay their daily needs and debts. In the developed world we have massive debts to pay, i.e. our houses costs 10 times more than they should because we pulled aggregate demand forward by 30 years with 30 year mortgages. In the developing world, they spend 30% or more of their income just on food, and have much lower personal debt levels but their savings has been wasted with super high corporate debt levels:


On top of that, these charts will take a massive adjustment to the worse, once the Madmax outcome hits before 2020. Refer to the linked thread above.

Socialists love to refer to myopic statistics over limited timeframes which obscure the reality of the debt-slavery and power vacuum referred to lovingly as "democracy".

And yes if we realize that the power vacuum and the expansion of debt-slavery is at its source generated by the ability of the State to tax and have a monopoly on force, then a more anonymous form of decentralized altcoin might be a technology that again lifts the people of the world higher.

Only technology lifts the people, while government tries to waste all the gains.

The hubris and self-importance of the boomers who are so proud of their $150 trillion global debt bubble, with $1000 trillion of unfunded social liabilities, and another $1000 trillion of sovereign bond bubble credit swap derivatives.

Bitcoin is a bet on the theory of evolution applying to currencies.  A new type of currency has emerged from the Internet and we want to see what its niche is.  There is not going to be a collapse - while being poor sucks, the world economy has never been better.

To clarify, I was parodying the doom-mongers!

I think it's often said that smart people make good money in recessions, and so it follows that changes of the financial/monetary order can present opportunities as much as they wipe some people out. It's ebb and flow, and it's happened fairly consistently throughout history. Some major changes are a calamity, and others are not such a shock event. The cryptocurrency change has the potential to be more orderly than the calamities of the past, as the change is being widely discussed before it's necessary. Although I expect at least some turbulence in even the most orderly changeover, and that's without major economic events forcing the issue. Let's hope for (and encourage) the former.

Mankind is organic, fluid, predatory like its many societies through out History has proven. A form of communication replacing a type of service does not equate to the fall of all man made societies, but to improve upon.

I guess I chose to see a half full glass 

Bitcoin is a bet on collapse, etc.

So... pessimism is driving the price of bitcoin up? NNooooo!!! 

You are sort of wasting your time.  Your chart shows that things are getting better for most people in the world.  A lot of posters in this forum don't want to hear that so they reply saying "inflation" "population" and a few other excuses to be pessimistic.  

Here's a few more charts that cause unhappiness: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/24/these-31-charts-will-destroy-your-faith-in-humanity/

This just doesn't seem to be a forum where good news is welcome.  A lot of people fantasise that we are in the Final Days, that the state will collapse and that we will all live in basements and use ammo as the ultimate currency.  Being told that life is getting better and better really doesn't make them happy

So contraception is the solution to fight poverty?

Exactly this!! I was reading and I was thinking WTF is he talking about, $1 is worth nothing today!
The graphs are exactly the same on different direction, nothing changed, actually it should go up because the population increased

It depends what you call success.  People who could not afford basic essentials in 1970s have mobile phones now.  Most of those people will never hold a dollar bill in their lives.  But they have been lifted out of grotesque poverty by international trade and economic liberalisation.

Ah, well that makes it more interesting. The line in the graph drops dramatically between 1970 and 1987, then changes to a far slower pace. So the first chart is more useful alongside the purchasing power chart.

I wonder what the first chart would look like if it took 1970 purchasing power as it's start point? Probably wouldn't depict quite the same "success" factor.

Maybe the inflation isn't correctly calculated but: "...world’s population living on $1 or less (in 1987 dollars)...".

Wonder how many actually read through the posts they are commenting on

^ Exactly this.

http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/Annual_Inflation/Cumulative_Inflation_by_Decade_sm.jpg

Wonder how much the purchasing power of $1 declined on the same timescale  

Everybody’s featuring their “graphs and charts of the year,” like The Atlantic and the Washington Post (be sure to see Vice-President Joe Biden’s “Graph of the Year” on Amtrak ridership). Well, the chart above could perhaps qualify as the “chart of the century” because it illustrates one of the most remarkable achievements in human history: the 80% reduction in world poverty in only 36 years, from 26.8% of the world’s population living on $1 or less (in 1987 dollars) in 1970 to only 5.4% in 2006. (Source: The 2009 NBER working paper “Parametric Estimations of the World Distribution of Income,” by economists Maxim Pinkovskiy (MIT) and Xavier Sala-i-Martin (Columbia University).

What accounts for this great achievement that you never hear about? AEI president Arthur Brooks explains in the video below, summarized here:

It turns out that between 1970 and 2010 the worst poverty in the world – people who live on one dollar a day or less – that has decreased by 80 percent (see chart above). You never hear about that.

It’s the greatest achievement in human history, and you never hear about it.

80 percent of the world’s worst poverty has been eradicated in less than 40 years. That has never, ever happened before.

So what did that? What accounts for that? United Nations? US foreign aid? The International Monetary Fund? Central planning? No.

It was globalization, free trade, the boom in international entrepreneurship. In short, it was the free enterprise system, American style, which is our gift to the world.

I will state, assert and defend the statement that if you love the poor, if you are a good Samaritan, you must stand for the free enterprise system, and you must defend it, not just for ourselves but for people around the world. It is the best anti-poverty measure ever invented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss80iuEBC6A


http://www.allenskillicorn.com/2653/greatest-achievement-human-history-never-hear/