SNIP
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>The system needs to be changed back to where it was when capitalism still had its most important component: competition. With the fall of communism, it has none, and it feels it can revert to its true nature, which may, in due time, give birth to a new set of social theories, movements and, who knows, revolutions. Rather than seeing that happen, I'd prefer seeing capitalism more fit for humans. I know we're exploited, but there needs to be some measure to it. And exploiting third world countries to keep the local workers at peace is not a solution in the long run.

Today I watched "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street" and he had Milton Freidman on.

With reference to the many corporate (greed) scandals recently he admonished that the (capitalist) system had worked perfectly and exactly as it should - it was detected and corrected by the economic system - so governmental regulation was not called for and would only impede the system.

Personally I found this to be a remarkable opinion. While I understand that he is a major player in the architecture of the system that is in place today and so is undoubtedly correct, it seems to me that his conclusion pertains only to the theory and totally neglects the impact that it has on people and their wealth.

People value their money more than they value their health. Yet there exists a multi-billion dollar FDA and EPA and inspections for all foods, as well as other entities government funded to assure our health. He (Freidman) would virtually eliminate governmental regulation/oversight so that the mechanism of capitalism could operate in its natural state.

It is apparent to me that the natural state of capitalism has no regard for people. But people do have regard for their own money! Given that they do have more regard for money than for health it follows in my head that they might well expect more regulation of capitalism than of factors affecting their health.
When less than 8% of the population played in the stock market, and when (at that same time) CEO compensation was roughly 42 times the wage of the average workers in their own companies, the players may well have known and accepted that fact of capitalism. And any negative effects encountered were confined to a very small minority (acknowledged as gamblers anyway) of the population.

One thing is certain, though, and that is that as the ranks of the players grew beyond 50% of the population the new players were NOT 'informed' of this fact of capitalism, nor would they have jumped in if they had been.
And it cannot be that CEO compensation ratios (of own average employee wages) well exceeding 400% is part of the natural state of capitalism. If it is then capitalism truly is obscene and most deserving of change.

All this just to say that change is needed and will come because the "experts" are recommending based on theory while people are seeing greed and mis-deed erode their wealth and being put in uncomfortable situations that are none of their own doing.

cheers