...in the broad sweep of history, all current forms of capitalism are ultimately transitional. Modern-day capitalism has had an extraordinary run since the start of the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago, lifting billions of ordinary people out of abject poverty. Marxism and heavy-handed socialism have disastrous records by comparison. But, as industrialization and technological progress spread to Asia (and now to Africa), someday the struggle for subsistence will no longer be a primary imperative, and contemporary capitalism's numerous flaws may loom larger.
Scandinavian style Social-Democracy seems to be working out much better. The Middle Class is the creation of government, forcing the 1% to literally "share the wealth". The means to accomplish this are progressive taxation and government regulation.
ReplyDeleteIs it any wonder that the twin goals of the republican party are to remove both progressive taxation and government regulation. The goals of the Republican party are anti-middle class at the most fundamental level.
Also from Rogoff's piece:
ReplyDeleteSecond, along with great wealth, capitalism has produced extraordinary levels of inequality. The growing gap is partly a simple byproduct of innovation and entrepreneurship. People do not complain about Steve Jobs’s success; his contributions are obvious. But this is not always the case: great wealth enables groups and individuals to buy political power and influence, which in turn helps to generate even more wealth. Only a few countries – Sweden, for example – have been able to curtail this vicious circle without causing growth to collapse.