In Part Three of the We The People 2.0 series, Bill simplifies the mechanics of Capitalism down to a simple, two-person economy, and explains the miracle that drives the success of Capitalism: two people can trade items and they BOTH go home wealthier.
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18 replies on “Capitalism”
Magnificent! LOL
Good stuff, as usual, sir.
“Trevor”. Love it!
I’ve missed these! I sometimes go into the way-back machine and rewatch my favorite Afterburners and Firewalls. I especially loved one you did on George Zimmerman. Bring them ALL back!
Funny funny funny upgrade to the original. How you did that was tricky. Same Haircut as before, and you don’t seem to have aged, and you have not thrown away that original sport coat I see. But the new caveman graphics are hysterically funny, and the dialog was updated. I have to watch again so I can see how you edited in and over the new content. Tricky and effective. Nice parting shot, too.
In a Steve Green “off topic” moment…..Why do they call them sport coats when I have never seen a sport requiring that as part of the uniform???
Well … If you really want to know —
https://www.tomjames.com/blog/difference-between-sport-coat-blazer-suit-coat/
Here’s an excerpt from that page that answers your question —
The term sport coat originated in the 19th century when men wore special coats for outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing. It persists as the most casual option of all the jackets and is the perfect option when dressing professionally in a more casual workplace environment.
Unlike blazers (which are distinguished by a solid color fabric), sport coats are made using a patterned cloth. Like blazers, sport coats are worn with coordinating trousers, typically a solid complimentary fabric. Sport coats also come in different weights and textures for fall, winter, spring, and summer.
What Bill is wearing doesn’t really fit the definition of a sport coat, it’s all one color. It’s more of a blazer or a re-purposed suit coat. You can wear a suit coat as a blazer, that’s perfectly acceptable. I usually wear leather blazers or suits though have not put on a suit in a long, long time. I have a couple leather blazers that I do wear from time to time though. I only have one actual sport coat, I didn’t pick it out and I don’t really like it. My second wife picked it out for a wedding we attended and it really ought to go to GoodWill or DAV. It was expensive as hell so I’ve hung onto it hoping someone in my family might be able to wear it someday.
My nephew inherited my wool tweed sport coat with leather trim and elbow patches. I really, really liked that one but sadly it shrank for some odd reason …
It shrank…yes…yes!…..must have been the humidity….
Now here’s one of the reasons I’m a member in this club, er, website. This answer on the sport coat alone was worth the annual price of admission. After reading your post, of course I just had my definition of Sport enlarged past the 400 M relay, pole vault, high jump or the NBA. My wife loves period piece television shows, mostly on the British channels, and yes, the hunter that’s out on his vast estate…. sport coat.
Last time I donned the dark suit with faint pinstripes , now hanging way back in the closet, was for my Dad’s memorial 6 years ago. Hope I never have to put it on again….
I always have a black suit, they’re the “right thing” and correct for so many occasions. Mostly funerals and weddings these days.
As far as the application of the word “sport” goes …
My family was never big on organized sports and neither am I to this day. I don’t follow games or teams that use any sort of ball or puck or such.
Sports in my family meant hunting and fishing. Shooting sports were something I could practice in my backyard as long as I had ammo. I was deadly with a .410 and .22 by the time I was 8 years old*.
I never had a lot of interest in team sports, in high school I ran track and wrestled (Grecko-Roman wrestling that is.) While those sports still had teams, it was always more of an individual competition. You can’t get much more individual than two evenly matched guys on a wrestling mat.
Those two school sports were very helpful when I joined the military. There’s one hell of a lot of running in the Marines and the aggressive, physical contact nature of GR wrestling meant I was a real killer in the pugil stick and close combat pits. I learned the moves very rapidly and was able to put them to use very forcefully.
So “sport” carries a less urban definition for me than it does for the vast majority of people.
*(A .410 shotgun, contrary to popular belief is not a “kid’s gun”. It’s an expert’s gun. Because of the comparatively small shot load it is essential to get the target dead center in the shot pattern to effect a clean kill. You have to be a very good shotgunner if you shoot a .410 or you won’t hit anything at all. When I was a kid my dad was very proud of the fact that with my little .410 I could hold my own and beat adults shooting 12 gauge shotguns to the target. Usually the target being pheasant, quail, grouse and duck.)
Sadly even Capitalism in itself is like our intended form of government and requires a moral and religious people in order to function for the good. If “the market” is your god then Capitalism can also go astray. Adoption of rampant, unrestricted Capitalism is as bad as any other extreme. Evil lives on the extremes.
Don’t ever forget that the NBA and Hollywood sucking up to China, the advent of the Tech Giants and many other negatives are also a result of Capitalism. America has laws intended to prevent runaway Capitalism in the form of Anti-Trust regulations.
Free Enterprise is a force for good when wielded by good people. Like anything else it can become a force for evil when wielded by evil people. Evil corrupts and capitalism is not immune from that corruption.
Unfortunately the only way to prevent evil people from taking advantage of Capitalism and screwing the rest of us is government regulation. Donald Trump understood this when he implemented his economic policies in regards to China.
So check yourself, if you worship Free Trade you’re adoring the wrong god.
Technically, and I know you know this better than I do, Crony Capitalism and the basic capitalism being described by Bill are not the same. And capitalism functions best in a moral society that respects life and cooperation. That’s why it works best when the spearmaker doesn’t just kill the basketmaker for his wares. With so many well-heeled cronys out there, true free market capitalism is merely a pipe dream.
The spearmaker killing the basketmaker to take his nice basket isn’t capitalism, it’s kleptocracy. So you’re kind of comparing apples and oranges with that analogy but … I get it, I understand what you’re getting at.
Capitalism is chasing the market. That’s all it really is. If there’s no market there can be no capitalism. Crony capitalism or “the good ol’ boy’s network” isn’t true capitalism, it doesn’t follow the market wherever that may lead, it creates a concealed closed market. That’s a hegemony, not capitalism.
The NBA sucking up to China is real capitalism but without the moral elements needed to keep capitalism beneficial to all. It’s not really crony-capitalism because China has a much larger market than we do. If there is no morality or patriotism involved then following that market is the purest form of capitalism.
One example of capitalism gone wrong, and I could give many, is the drug trade. Just because a market exists doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.
My point is that there are examples of capitalism that are not ubiquitously advantageous. Many conservatives are free market fanatics. Even if it kills them. Capitalism, like any other institution devised by man, is dangerous to man in the wrong hands.
That’s not me saying that capitalism is wrong, bad, evil, or anything of the sort. That’s me saying that anything taken to the extreme is likely to be owned and operated by bad people.
This is a lesson the Founding Fathers knew well. That’s why they built a form of government that resisted extremes and rash action.
My overwhelming sense is that the human soul responds better to a truly capitalist system cased in Judeo-Christian morality. The human soul’s worst impulses and fallen nature respond best to crony capitalism and tyranny in a fallen world.
Yeah, we’re in agreement on that. There is no better economic system ever conceived by the mind of man and it’s the best we can hope for. As long as it includes Judeo-Christian morality. I’m merely trying to point out that capitalism in and of itself is subject to the same problems and abuses as any other human endeavor. I’m not being anti-capitalist, I’m being anti-abuse.
Perhaps I’m not making myself clear …
The reason I feel it’s important to point this out is because the world is rapidly forsaking Judeo-Christian morality. Capitalism without that morality is just another false god, it is not a substitute for God. There are many who call themselves conservatives that are happy to worship at the altar of that false god.
Capitalism is a tool of the moral and just, it is not the source of morality and justice. Capitalism without morality and justice is just an excuse to pursue self-interest. Self-interest is fine as long as it stays within the bounds of justice and morality. Capitalism practiced by the moral and just creates a self regulating closed loop.
As the world continues to abandon Judeo-Christian morality, capitalism is used as an excuse to do the immoral and unjust. I gave a few examples, there are a lot more.
There are many, even here on BWC, who call themselves Conservative yet in one form or another deny the Godliness of Judeo-Christian morality and the God who founded it. I’m speaking to them more than to someone like you.
exactly
Ha ha what a great explanation of Capitalism. You’re the best man.
I’ll buy that for a dollar! Thank you for the best punch line I’ve heard today.
My all time favorite Firewall was Wealth Creation, which Bill made a few years ago. This one is a very entertaining nod to that.