[TheOrator]

Here's my new theory, guys, tell me what you think about it:

Economies are like having cancer.

For this scenario, we'll pretend everyone has cancer. They have the basic handicaps of cancer patients, but not being arsed to look those up, I don't know what they are. Their lives would no doubt be improved if they didn't have cancer, but since everyone has it it's all right for now, and life can at least be lived, with all sorts of comforts.

We'll call everyone 'middle class' to begin with. So Middle Class is just having cancer.

Pure Capitalism is like chemotherapy--it might very well make you strong enough to beat the cancer (upper class), it might do nothing, and it may even weaken you enough to kill you (lower class/poverty).

Pure Communism is like not getting treatment--The playing field is leveled. No one draws the short straw, no one dies from treatment. But no one excells--no one is cued.

Anything in between (i.e. Socialism) is just a shade of gray of our black and white economics systems.

And I know, only a Sith deals in absolutes.

Certainly both of these sides have their pros and cons.

I am sorry for how politically incorrect this sounds--I am in no way of the belief that the Middle Class (of which I am most certainly a part) is inferior to the upper class, as I can certainly survive, but certainly things would be easier if I were rich.

So what do you guys think?

Which option would you go for?

EDIT: I added a sentence to the Communism line to blur my obvious (albeit unintentional) bias against it. I also changed the original sentence.

This post has been edited by TheOrator: 15 March 2007 - 07:27 PM

[J m HofMarN]

You forgot to mention Reaganomics

[Deepsycher]

The economics I see is for the cheapness. They are willing to go to any depth to make people look stupid if there's money to be gained from it.

[Gobbler]

Ya well... I'm studying to become a filthy rich evil bastard economist person, so forgive me if I shall not comment on this, as it might get in the wrong throat sometime...

[blueoceans]

this almost sounds like a failed attempt at some sort of idea for a milton bradley board game to compete against hasbro's (formerly parker bros.) beloved monopoly game.

[civilian_number_two]

I don't see the place in your model for socialised defence of private cancer treatment, frequently used illegally to quell movements among the untreated when they chose to redress social inequalities. The untreated, contributing as they do the lion's share of the tax burden, are nevertheless underrepresented when it comes to those disputes. Also crimes such as seizure of land from those seriously suffering, done sometime in the past despite existing treaties, and now ignored or buried in legislation. Communism is more than airy-fairy notions of equality, and Pure Capitalism is more than laisee faire trade. One seeks to redress crimes commited in establishing the other, and both are involved in cloak-and-dagger misdirection.

What's interesting is that the majority of the cancer sufferers in your scenario are engaged in a class war with one another, while the best-treated chemo patients live long and ensure treatment for their friends and family. Meanwhile the sick pay to pave the roads that bring the treatment to the well.