Why do people in capitalist countries complain about capitalism

Its almost as if people are unaware of the fact that almost every country in the world is capitalist. There are only a handful that aren't. So why are we ignoring all the poor capitalist countries?

Also, one of the common criticisms of advanced capitalism, is that it has exported a lot of the poverty that used to exist in the "first world" to the "third world." So the low paid labor that used to be a regular feature of American and European capitalism, now is being done in China, Taiwan, etc. Outside the view of the Average American and European, so we think out of sight out of mind. We tend to care more when it is our neighbor being locked in a sweatshop and dying than we do when it is some random Chinese person (there is no intellectual reason why, we just viscerally do). So pretending like capitalism is only represented by the wealthy "first world" is disingenuous nonsense.

PS. That is ignoring the enormous problems in the rich capitalist countries.

 

You really don't know any economics, do you. Why do you think land near major roadway intersections is 20X as expensive as land a few miles away. Why do you think land in town is 10X or 100X as expensive as land a little out in the country. Government spending on services and infrastructure (such as roadways, schools, police stations, libraries, parks, community centers, etc.) make land more valuable. If government builds a new bridge, am I going to get a raise at my job? NO. But the land on the other side of the bridge might well double or quadruple in value. Landowners pocket the value of all efficient government spending … this is not up for debate, it is a fact proved by the Henry George theorem, which was discovered by Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Government spending makes landowners richer, so landowners should pay for that spending … anything else is thievery.

 

It's a given that the value of property depends on the environment around it, but it doesn't answer my question.

How does my taxes end up in the hands of land owners?

Can you cite the study? I would love to read it.

 

He just explained it to you.

 

Actually no. Their only income is manufacturing, which if push came to shove, we could easily do here. What else do they have to offer? Cheap labor, thats it. Others are lucky enough to have some oil, which we provided the technology for, since they couldn't do it on their own. Minerals, we could just take frankly. How can they stop us? The first world really doesn't need the 3rd world. They're either killing each other or starving.

 

We're not. Why are you ignoring that they're in quite different situations than the west? Firstly, the west has been capitalist for hundreds of years, is that true for the rest of
the world? Have they been colonised? Have they suffered many wars and other instability? With few exceptions, it's no, yes and yes. There are other factors of course, but these three will suffice to demonstrate that you're clueless on this. Nobody is saying that adopting capitalism instantly turns the country rich. To ignore this.. That's disingenuous nonsense. Instead of complaining about that capitalism hasn't given instant prosperity, how about you look at the progress that has been achieved by the rest of the world since they've adopted capitalism, despite the obstacles, mentioned above, that they've encountered?

Common criticism perhaps, no less wrong. No, we're not exporting our poverty to the third world. It's basic economics that voluntary trades are beneficial to both parties. Thus, we're in fact making them richer by trading with them. Consider what would happen if we banned sweatshop products. Would the poor workers be better off? No, they wouldn't. They choose that job because it was their best alternative. Also, you're making it sound as if prosperity is the default condition, as if everyone was rich until capitalism came along. Sorry to tell you that you're wrong there, and that poverty is the default condition. The question is not why there is povery, but why there is prosperity. Thus, we're not exporting poverty, because they were already poor. Reaching prosperity is not a painless process. Look at what the west had to go through in order to come to where we are today: a hundred years of child labour and dire poverty. The rest of the world will have a much easier journey though because us that have already made the journey can assist them. Did we have access to the kind of technology now avaible, did we get foreign aid etc? no, we did not, but they do.

Pardon, but your post is really a text book example of the economic illiteracy of the left. You (plural) want perfect solutions instead of trade-offs, you harm people with your well intentioned acts, you assume 'good' is the default state of the world etc. It's not perfect I'll grant you that, but the point is that there is no perfect solution to anything. So stop pointing out the already obvious imperfections and be amazed of this system which has proven itself to be the least sucky out there!

 

How? Where?

All he said that the taxes we pay are used for government services and that makes land more valuable, which is not entirely true, because society as a whole makes land more valuable.

He didn't explain how my Taxes end up in the pockets of my landlord.

Are you going to example it for your friend, here?