ANSWERS: 20
  • does anyone claim they are aside from self identified communists?
  • I don't know what you mean by "dirty words." I assume you mean people think that they are bad things, and they can be. After all, both of those things are about competition. Someone will win, but the rest will be destroyed. However, they aren't evil things in and of themselves.
  • you are damn right they are not. profit is a good thing. businesses dont survive without profit, and america wouldnt' be great without profitable businesses.
  • Nothing wrong with pure capitalism. The healthy, natural "survival-of-the-fittest" type of capitalism that Ayn Rand used to speak about. The problem is when capitalists start gaining a hold on government though bribery and blackmail..basically holding government hostage or having them in their back pocket. Government is supposed to keep an eye on the capitalists and keep their greed in check and make sure they give something back to society... if they are clever they will do this by their own volition for their own survival in the "eco-system" but government should keep a check just to make sure the shit doesn't hit the fan like it just did. When unscrupulous capitalists control the government they will always create an artificially sheltered type of capitalism. Thats corrupt. That's bad. That's unsustainable.
  • Considering that capitalism and profit have been the catalyst for most of the wonderful technologies we enjoy today, how anyone can view them as 'dirty words' is beyond me. Even things that some may argue are not results of it (the Interstate Highway system as it was originally initiated to give the military a speedy grid of roads to move forces anywhere in the country in the event of Soviet invasion, some of the technologies the space program has devised, etc.) actually are results of it. The massive government spending that created those two things in particular would not be possible without a healthy market economy and the prosperity that brings. However, like anything else, it can be abused and taken too far. I think it has, in the case of large global corporations, gone far beyond the 'individuals acting in their enlightened self-interest' that Adam Smith wrote of and is today rapacious. Today such corporations seek to use the power of government to crush all competitors, leaving themselves unchallenged to perform their global agenda as they see fit. Mostly they do it under the guise of 'progressivism' or 'environmentalism' (green is the new red, comrade!) to fool the sheeple into thinking its all for their own good, give us your rights and we'll change your diaper and wipe the drool off your chin for the rest of your life, let Uncle Sugar take care of you from cradle to grave. This is fascism and the progressive movement never lost their love of it even after Mussolini and Hitler demonstrated how evil it could be. For these people the collapse of the USSR was the biggest tragedy of their lives.
  • I don't really know anybody who thinks they're dirty words. I do know people (including myself) who aren't completely hypnotized by the belief that unrestrained profit-seeking is a sufficient basis for an entire society. As long as that narcotic hasn't taken over the mind, there's plenty of room for discussing the appropriate role of profit motive and capitalism in our complex world.
  • Agree!
  • With the the lack of existence of those who are at the expense of these bold terms and the successes these words indicate, than they solely are words, until interpreted through the factor of experience.
  • I agree as long as the words "honorable shared and attained" are retained. There are companies out there that are not honorable. See this link: http://eco-chick.com/2009/05/07/profits-before-people/
  • I agree, they aren't necessarily dirty words. In fact, they are kind of important words to have if you want to have a fully functioning society. I don't think socialism and communism are inherently dirty words either. I think society needs a little profit, a little capitalism, a little charity and a little socialism. On a personal level, I don't want anything to do with profit. The thought that scares me more than anything is that one day I will work for a company which aims to make a profit. I want no part of it.
  • They criticize profit and capitalism until their pay check doesn't clear or they get laid off. All of a sudden money's not such a terrible thing after all.
  • agree, there are many honorable businesses supporting their employees and customers in honorable ways and means.
  • Agreed. However, seldom does 'honorable' get honestly mixed up with the word "capitalism". As we are both well aware.
  • Fact from fiction, truth from diction. Anyone who would look at the words "profit", and "capitalism" really don't have an understanding how this nation was able to forge ahead of all the other nations who have been around way longer. Most of the gadgets people use to make their lives better and their chores easier came by way of a free market system aka capitaliam. Those 2 words are no more holy or evil than any other word. People hate them because they represent a system they have not benefitted from directly. I agree they are not dirty words and have never been.
  • Agree.
  • Anything honorably shared and attained aren't dirty words and capitalism has a lot going for it; sadly however, there are a greedy few that exploit the freedom that capitalism offers through its very nature and give the whole ideology a bad reputation.
  • It amazes me how some people think capitalism and profit are dirty words. Where do they think things they take for granted came from?
  • uhmm they are just words the ppl who think they are dirty words, don't survive well in a capitalist system. they bitch and moan about the system that provides a free structure that regardless of title, birth, etc. allows anyone to attain what they want. no doubt there are greedy ppl who take advantage of the the system, but I feel as a whole it works, (not dirty words) if it didn't I wouldn't live in America
  • I am curious as to why they could be considered dirty. The only people who object to the words are people who are not capable of succeeding on their own efforts. Their only choice is to demand a system that enslaves the self sufficient. The words are not dirty. They simply describe what happens if individuals are left undisturbed by government.
  • "Honorable shared'... does that mean I should give away all my money. . After all, I made big profits when I sold my company.

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy