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Good quote: On capitalism
  • Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.

    John Maynard Keynes

  • 2 Replies sorted by
  • Well first of all, tell me: Is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed? You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? Of course, none of us are greedy, it’s only the other fellow who’s greedy.

    The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re talking about, the only cases in recorded history, are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade.

    If you want to know where the masses are worse off, worst off, it’s exactly in the kinds of societies that depart from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear, that there is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by the free-enterprise system.

    Milton Friedman

  • @firstbase

    It is very bad quote by very bad man who stands behind misery of tens of millions.

    Greed comes from innate property of class society where changing distribution (money you get by any means) can bring you much more compared to work towards improving products, making more of them or doing better service.

    I personally saw how traitors dismantled USSR by introducing capitalism, it all started with nice idea of "best workers must get more money" and "who has more orders must get more money". It ended fast with speculations, with bosses getting almost all money, instead with good workers put into misery and finally by privatizations where bosses or their friends got all means of production for free.

    Friendman quote is about horrible idealism where bad people want to throw out history of socialist societies that showed elements of communism. Elements without any greed where parts of societies worked for the common good and got that they wanted from society.