Re:The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble
by zipwitch on Thursday February 15, 2018 @11:44PM
(#16389930)
You are making the completely unwarranted (and demonstrated false by modern history) assumption that decisions coming from capitalism are made objectively and rationally.
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Re:The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble
by ryanwaggoner on Friday February 16, 2018 @12:23AM
(#16390076)
"Capitalism" doesn't make any decisions. It's emergent behavior. People make all kinds of decisions and bets and tradeoffs, some of which work better than others and "win".
That doesn't mean we always like those outcomes, hence the need for regulations, social safety net, etc.
Overall, it's a pretty shitty system, since it means that some people are always losing, but it also seems to be the best we've got.
Re:The unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble
by yock on Friday February 16, 2018 @12:57PM
(#16394250)
> "Capitalism" doesn't make any decisions. It's _emergent behavior_. People make all kinds of decisions and bets and tradeoffs, some of which work better than others and "win".
> Overall, it's a pretty shitty _system_, since it means that some people are always losing, but it also seems to be the best we've got.
_Emphasis mine_.
Is it a system or emergent behavior? I'd argue that these are mutually exclusive and that capitalism falls squarely in the latter category. It is the result of individuals being free to exchange whatever they find valuable.