Why Do You Think China...

[deathstickboy]

I am pro-free market, not "pro-capitalist". :wink:

Quote:There's never been a "communist state" in existence, so it isn't possible to know what communism really is.

Because it was an ideology created and nurtured by Capitalists as a round about way of consolidating resources under a central authority.

Quote:If you owe your job to the party in power, you're going to support their policies. Likewise, if your company depends on funds from the state, whether your management or regular employee, you're going to support the policies of the party in power.

That leads to a vicious cycle as the state then has to levy tariffs, taxes and duties on imports to protect its state owned company. The state owned company then never has to really compete on the open market. Its goods and services are shoddy and it never tries to improve its goods and services, in part, because that costs money for research and development, and that money has to come from the state.

You have a point, but some things really should not be total free market commodities IMO. Just look at what has happened with water "privatisation" in south america especially. Its a fucking joke, a complete scam.

Another example was the state run energy infratructure in BC, it was payed for by tax payers, because at the time, no one was willing to invest or take the risk required to build gas pipelines all over the mountinous terrain. Natural gas used to be delivered at the lowest possible price. The "issue" revolving around the WTO, NAFTA, and the Enron scandal was that the state owned company was delievering natural gas at the inflated "market prices" to the USA, which was 2-3 times more than British Columbians were charged for it, because the prices here were not subject to "market forces". Under the WTO, this is not allowed, so that was one of the "political pressure" excuses used to sell most of it off the Duke Energy, and Accenture (Enron's accounting firm), because that is "not allowed" under these capitalist friendly "free market" trade treaties.
The cost of service basically doubled over night, now you pay for the gas its self, and a "transmission fee" which is nearly equal to, the price of the natural gas its self.
So now its all based on "market forces", so when Katrina hit, our gas prices (from the wells in our fucking province) went up 10%, due to the "continental shortage".
Can you say, giant scam?

Issues like this make it hard for me to make up my mind as to what is really "the best" but one thing is for sure, and that is We are the ones being screwed...