World's eight richest people have same wealth as poorest 50%

[Intell]

Capitalism is right!
Capitalism is moral!
Capitalism is just!

[Intell]

Capitalism is right!
Capitalism is moral!
Capitalism is just!

Indeed.

50% of the planet is just lazy, needs to pick themselves by the bootstraps, and stop looking for handouts.

/sarcasm

Well Of course, they'd rather die from being poor, than actually go out and get a job!.

[Intell]

Nice, reasonable conclusion, guys.  The answer is that capitalism has gotta go!!

Capitalism as of how it's structured now, has to be gone, and the anti-social natures of capitalism needs to get rid it's self through socialist values in a society and social democracy.

[Intell]

Uh... am I missing something in this thread? Most of the poorest 50% of the planet are not living in first world capitalist countries, but in fake socialist economies where corruption and nepotism rule the roost. In which Western capitalist country does the average person have $118 worth of savings? Maybe we should blame the idiotic politicians in most of these countries, instead of rich people?

No, they're living in third world countries, run by a rich (capitalist) elite. You can blame politicians, for allowing this to happen, yes.

[Intell]

Uh... am I missing something in this thread? Most of the poorest 50% of the planet are not living in first world capitalist countries, but in fake socialist economies where corruption and nepotism rule the roost. In which Western capitalist country does the average person have $118 worth of savings? Maybe we should blame the idiotic politicians in most of these countries, instead of rich people?

No, they're living in third world conturies, run by a rich elite.

Let me ask you a question. Who should be blamed for the sorry state of those countries? Bill Gates? No, you could distribute all of the money of all of the richest people in the world to these 3.6 billion, and it would hardly make a dent. Also, they would end up spending it within a few months, since they have to spend all of their income on life needs.

The problem is their governments, their culture and their lack of technology.

Bill Gates, of course cannot be blamed. The anti-social natures, and the negative consequences of a capitalistic economy that allows the 8 richest people to have the same wealth as the poorest 50% as a problem. If the wealth of the richest people, were used to aid people, counturies, infrastructure, national development in Africa and Asia, it would help a great deal, it would more than just a dent.

[Intell]

Let me make this perfectly clear: of the jobs available in those countries, the Western-owned sweatshops are the best that the vast majority of population is skilled enough to do. In fact, if the Western companies packed up and moved back here, it would devastate those third world economies, while only moderately hurting Wal Mart, Apple, etc.

Uh... am I missing something in this thread? Most of the poorest 50% of the planet are not living in first world capitalist countries, but in fake socialist economies where corruption and nepotism rule the roost. In which Western capitalist country does the average person have $118 worth of savings? Maybe we should blame the idiotic politicians in most of these countries, instead of rich people?

No, they're living in third world conturies, run by a rich elite.

Let me ask you a question. Who should be blamed for the sorry state of those countries? Bill Gates? No, you could distribute all of the money of all of the richest people in the world to these 3.6 billion, and it would hardly make a dent. Also, they would end up spending it within a few months, since they have to spend all of their income on life needs.

The problem is their governments, their culture and their lack of technology.

Bill Gates, of course cannot be blamed. The anti-social natures, and the negative consequences of a capitalistic economy that allows the 8 richest people to have the same wealth as the poorest 50% as a problem.

But are the economies of Vietnam, China, and most African countries even truly capitalist? Aren't there huge restrictions, corruption, and regulations that make it impossible for people to make new businesses? Isn't it basically a monopoly?

If the wealth of the richest people, were used to aid people, counturies, infrastructure, national development in Africa and Asia, it would help a great deal, it would more than just a dent.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't add up:

$450 billion/3.6 billion= $125 per person.

Also, which is better, aid or investment? Aid gets eaten up by shoddy merchandise, pocketing by local officials, and other assorted graft. Investment creates new rounds of spending that makes everyone a bit richer.

$ 125 per person is a lot, if you don't know? Investment is better then ok? Invest the wealth of rich people, in poor countries.

Many third world countries operate under a free-market capitalist economy, with little regulation on business. Other conturies, are capitalist, not free-market, but capitalist, in the sense is that there's private property, and business, that are allowed to run free, while regulations are used to keep wealth in the power of the elite aristocracy/burgoise, this is also capitalism.

[Intell]

Uh... am I missing something in this thread? Most of the poorest 50% of the planet are not living in first world capitalist countries, but in fake socialist economies where corruption and nepotism rule the roost. In which Western capitalist country does the average person have $118 worth of savings? Maybe we should blame the idiotic politicians in most of these countries, instead of rich people?

No, they're living in third world countries, run by a rich (capitalist) elite.

Don't you support protectionism and heave immigration restrictions? Because those things would make it even harder for people in poor countries to get out of poverty.

I do not believe that free trade helps the poor people of the country, it rather keeps a group of poor people "down", while upper poor people move up.

I believe that free trade, does not fix the root of the problem and strengthens the elite in those countries, with trans-national corporations, from other countries, exploiting the countries resources in conjunction with the government elite of those countries, getting rich, while natural resources and workers get exploited, to benefit the rich and capitalist elite of trans-national corporations and the local aristocratic elite..

Immigration Restrictions, I believe also do not solve the root of the problem, making the poor of the first world even poorer.

[Intell]

Ok, so my point is, the best thing would be to knock down the corruption, elect better politicians, try and keep kids in school for as long as possible, and take away some of the red tape. If you do all of these things, and don't do idiotic stuff like let inflation go wild, it will get a lot of people out of derelict poverty.

Can you get rid of corruption, when the corruption is done by the rich capitalistic/aristocratic elite in those countries, without changing the system in itself?

[Intell]

Ok, so my point is, the best thing would be to knock down the corruption, elect better politicians, try and keep kids in school for as long as possible, and take away some of the red tape. If you do all of these things, and don't do idiotic stuff like let inflation go wild, it will get a lot of people out of derelict poverty.

Can you get rid of corruption, when the corruption is done by the rich capitalistic/aristocratic elite in those countries, without changing the system in itself?

Maybe they should institute programs like civil service exams, and try and establish an actual justice system? I don't think anyone believes that capitalists should be able to break the law. Competition is within certain guidelines. It took a long time to defeat corruption in the West, and yet now it's been reduced. I don't see why that can't be the same for the East.

Of Course, but the third-world has been the "third world" because of exploitation from foreign countries, and support for such exploitation by the aristocratic/capitalistic elite of such a country. To fix such a situation one needs to critique the nature of capitalism (not only reform it), get power away from the burgoise and the elite (get rid of the anti-social natures of capitalism), and reform the country, to have a socialist aspect with still some sense of capitalism and markets under strong social(ist) provisions, equality in terms of economic and social power between it's citizens, a strung public sector to help it's citizens, coming with with regulated private business, that still allows for the development of small business, but does not alow the capitalistic and economic elite to reign free.

[Intell]

Capitalism is right!
Capitalism is moral!
Capitalism is just!

Lol the communist countries and socialist countries are usually the poor ones

One there really isn't any "communist and socialist countries anymore (bar some South American, and some african exceptions with socialist orientated governments)". In many cases, former communist and socialist countries (or led by socialists and communists), caused a rise of living standards for the poor and working class than their capitalist counterparts.