but if the average standard is higher, surely that moves the people at the botom up a bit. it might move those at the top up a great distance, but most people get something.
[Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by _strat_ from Saturday, May 02, 2009 10:33:01 AM)| |  | _strat_ wrote: | | It would be, yes. But... We are an economy of some 2 million people. Germany is of 100 million. Germany has been a capitalist country for a century and more, we for 20 years. Their middle sized companies dwarf our big businesses. And most importantly, we already depend on them. And even if we were at their standard, we would still encounter the same problems that any capitalist society does. The pyramidal structure of society, corporate greed, lack of social security... All problems that we already have, to be sure. The point is that just an overall higher standard wouldnt solve them.
For better or for worse, we will never be like Germany. Infact, leaving socialism and attempting to compete in caplitalism with the old capitalist countries, was probably the single most stupid decision in our history.
| | | Head banger wrote: | | well, if you were on an equal footing with say germany, wouldnt the standard of living be higher?
| | | _strat_ wrote: | | Hardly. And, why would we want to compete in an open economy?
| | | Head banger wrote: | | didnt knwo they had a different name for the economic and military aliance. good to know. do you think your country could grow its economy in a closed setting to be able to compete on equal footing one day as an open economy
| | | _strat_ wrote: | | Well, first of all, the word youre looking for is COMECON. That was the economic union, Warsaw pact was a military alliance. But, since fmr. Yugoslavia wasnt a member of either, there isnt much that I can say about them.
Now, a closed vs. open economy... You see, I dont necesarily favour closed economies. I think that it would be better for us at this point to have a closed economy, since we are a small economy, that has a hard time standing up to the big ones. Like I said before, if the paricipants were more or less equal in strenght, than it would be different.
Now, to your question. Yes, you can have all four, at least thats what I think. A capitalist country can, potentialy, close its market, and remain capitalist on the inside. A socialist country can engage in trade with other countries, as COMECON countries did, and as we did, even though on a very small scale.
And thats another thing, too. Its not a black and white issue, open vs. closed, and nothing in between. Like I said, our economy was very closed, with a lot of protectionism. Did it mean that we did not trade with other countries? No. There were still excesses in our economy that were sold, and there were materials and products that we imported. We had to import oil, for example, as well as certain consumer goods (like coffee), simply because there was no other way we could get them.
But, trade is only a part of the story... The reason why I advocate a closed economy is primarily because of the ownership of businesses. You see, in a socialist economy, no matter how open, businesses are state owned. No one can come from abroad and buy the business, and bag the profits. In an open capitalist economy, that is not a problem.
| | | Head banger wrote: | | | so strat, since we agreed in another thread, perhaps we can in this one. you favor a closed economy vs an open one. the warsaw pact was a group of socialist or comunist countries that had open trade with eachother. would you agree that you can have a closed socialist economy an open socialist economy, a closed capitalist or open capitalist. not which is beter, just their existance |
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