Thomas Woods - Big Business

[carcabe]

Informative, intelligent, amusing, congenial. I love this man!

[DaveC86]

Tom Woods is awesome.

[frasmus]

This is so consistent with the wisdom of Adam Smith who said, "It is not by the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect to receive our dinner. But by their self-interest." It's the natural order of a free market. Even a big businessman looking out for his self-interest who does business lawfully will benefit everyone around him. This is why I jokingly like to say that "on the eighth day, God created the free market." It's because I sincerely believe this to be true.

[shumich]

Sure, and advertising is efficient. And planned obsolesence. And the fashion industry. And the billions of pounds of fool restaurants throw away a day. Oh, and the billions of pounds of plastic the US receives from China. Wow, how is it that the largest capitalist nation in history, the US, is trillions of $s in debt to the largest Commie nation? Let's face it, your absolutist thinking has theological undertones that would make Bolsheeviks jealous. The "free market" is giving many the finger.

[frasmus]

Another favorite saying of mine is that "you can't legislate morality". I don't believe the free market is faultless, but by far the fairest and most efficient way to uphold personal liberty. The theological undertone is simply this: God created us for liberty. I respect your right to disagree. Just don't shackle me with interventionist ideals that lead to ultimate serfdom.

[shumich]

Thank you for your intelligent response. I do get extreme sometimes. Seriously though, it just drives me crazy that the US is so out of control w/ consumerism. There is more to life than buying crap. Please, look at my resonse again and consider some of its implications. My writings have theological undertones. I'll admit it, I see the Old Testament prophets (in the Quran also) as people who defied corrupt authority w/ a higher power. Same is true for Christ.

[amosdwright]

Who said it was consumerism as such that has put us into debt? Most of the debt is gov't debt. But let's be fair. The problem is the belief that you should get something for nothing. That sounds an awful lot like Hope and Change. In China, they lived under abject poverty for so long, they tend to save. And when, by the way, were they worst off? Under Communism. We're in debt to a China powered by Capitalism. NOT a China powered by Socialism/Obamanism.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

How much debt does the average US citizen have in comparison with his/her European/Asian counterpart? How many bankruptcies are filed each year? How much in student loans do US citizens have in comparison to other countries?

You keep saying that the US runs inefficiently because of government intervention. But all other nations where consumers have less debt, and thus more freedom, tend to have governments acting in favor of the interests of consumers rather than corporations. Lemon Socliasm?

[FletchforFreedom]

Ah, yes, "consumerism" - the standard complaint of those who have no real argument beyond "I don't agree with what YOU decided to do with YOUR money so you should let ME (or someone like me) make (better - LOL!) decisions for you!"

[Pdrum2]

@shumich And where does that consumerism come from? It comes from Keynesian economics not capitalism. The idea that consumption brings economic growth.

[LordVigeous666999]

yeah, the US is in debt to China, so, if they have so right, when you planning on moving there?

[LordVigeous666999]

yeah, but we also have reserve currency status. Which means we can literally print green pieces of paper, and buy physical goods with it.

Which means, production shifts away from our country and towards other countries

And who gave us this status? Governments

And who gives us the printing of money without reservation? The Federal Reserve, and institution of the US Government

So absent, either of these government actions, the Free Market would have corrected this long ago

[FletchforFreedom]

Yes, advertising is efficient. And "planned obsolescence is an accusation without teeth. The "billions of pounds a day" figure is entirely bogus (Americans discard less than 100 billion pounds of - mostly expired - food in a year and, no, that does not show inefficiency). Who cares how much plastic we get from China? And the debt run up (while deplorable) is neither the fault of capitalism nor problematic in who holds it.

Your examples are entirely specious.

[Aristotle100]

Thomas E Woods is great! I love listening to him he's an amazing speaker.

[shumich]

Monetheist. Mr. Burns.

[Visfen]

@Aristotle100 The best ever.