and no one has actually answered yet...

one said, in the US because of our debt, they'd pick capitalism....  

but I should clarify....  

this is about philosophy, not situational

would you rather have democracy, as in,  a one person, one vote, a say for the common person in governance

or

capitalism where money =  power but please correct me though, I know capitalism is much more involved than that, so let's come to a SIMPLE definition we can all agree on


and to be fair, I'll put my cards on the table, I choose democracy, because capitalism hasn't worked for me...  which is totally my fault, I'm just not motivated or excited by money... I understand you work to pay and that paying equals value, and all that I get the system, I work, I've never taken any money from the government for anything, I pay rent, food, medical bills, etc...  I live in capitalism, I get it. I'm a failure in a purely capitalistic sense.

LostArtist wrote on 03/25/19 at 08:50:09:


For one, I'd say capitalism has in fact worked for you. you're confusing capitalism with extreme wealth. it's more about freedom to achieve whatever level of living your desires and ability takes you to. if you're comfortable in your life, fine. I've had opportunities to move for more, but am comfortable where I am. I don't want the extra work load or to relocate.

For me, if i had to pick one, I'd say capitalism is more important because it's far more likely capitalism will result in a society ruled by some variation of a democratic system.

But I contend you can't have one without the other. At the very least, you can't have some variation of one without the other.

Eegore wrote on 03/25/19 at 07:44:07:


So in other words, fifty  shades of grey ?

WebsterMark wrote on 03/25/19 at 09:07:19:



LOL - yep, just the response I encouraged and got you to say.

So predictable.  So easy.

LOL - yep, just the response I encouraged and got you to say.

So predictable.  So easy.

Hush.

no, capitalism hasn't worked for me, I WORK FOR IT cause I have to.  

and you can still achieve whatever level of living you want in a democracy, if you can convince the majority to vote you what you want... you still work, just in a different way perhaps...

is the recognition that all humans are equal (democracy) important?  I contend that you only get that via a pursuit of democracy, not capitalism.

Lost, you wrote those words on a computer you purchased while sitting on a chair in a house you purchased or apartment you pay rent on sitting. Your PC has more computing power than what took men to the moon. Individuals developed the methods to design it, source the raw materials, produce it and bring it to market. they did this under both a form of democratic rule that endorsed a capitalistic business model.
Without capitalism, you would be struggling to feed yourself, stay warm and out of the cold.

is the recognition that all humans are equal (democracy) important?  I contend that you only get that via a pursuit of democracy, not capitalism
Are all humans equal? In what regard? All humans have worth. Are they equal in every manner? No. Society judges some humans to be less equal than others. We put violent offenders in prison for example and take away their freedom. We do that using a democratic system, not a capitalistic one.

We're blending a lot of definitions here, squeezing round pegs in square holes.

I stand by my point that you can't really have one without the other.

"If that's the case, you can't compare and make a selection since they are different things."

 I agree.

 Capitalism and Democracy unless you are stating are mutually exclusive, are not similar enough to make a decision between the two.

 Pursuit of money, OR pursuit of Democratic election process are hard for me to compress into one thing.  When I vote (Democracy) how am I excluding my personal process of financial gain?  Am I being told, in this post, that if I choose equal voting I can not run a business or otherwise work towards personal financial goals?