When did you grow weary of Capitalists?

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Capitalism works when enough workers are sufficiently militant-and principled to frighten the rich into allowing capitalism to be modified so as to produce more egalitarian outcomes. The problem is that once a decent standard of living is achieved through militancy, over time the conditions that gave rise to that militancy in the first place won't be there and the workers will no longer be in a position to protect their gains.

Nothing prohibits creating worker-owned and/or managed enterprises in most countries. Actually many of the smallest companies (like 2-5 people, othen a family) are owned, managed and staffed by the same people. If there are few larger companies like that, then it probably doesn't work out in practice with more than a dozen people as well as it sounds. Or maybe they would work, but professionally managed companies are more efficient and out-compete them - then my opinion is the same as about outsourcing: forcing self-management would force less efficient companies, and ultimately lower wages for the workers too.

I think capitalism means very little in isolation.

Of course capital and ownership are an essential part of an economy, and you could not dispense with them. However I think we are way too bowled over the idea or concept of capitalism, rather the other economic concept that are just as important that we are quite bad at.

We like to pat ourselves on the back simply for being a supposedly capitalist society.

I'm an economic liberal, and competitionist. For me capital is simply necessary, competition is where it is at. There is no guarantee of competition, under capitalism. They are independent concepts. In fact it falls entirely on the conditions of the particular sector. Some sectors are diverse some stagnant. Some markets you could not stop the competition even if you wanted to, in other markets there is history of "industry standards" which is usually code for protectionism. When a company claims to be competitive, most often it is talking about the opposite. I don't mind that, in itself, you want here to be a race, you just want to prevent the race being skipped altogether. A big part of business strategy is look at legal way (or illegal ways) to limit competition.

Mussolini believed the corporation is King, he promoted the idea of collusion between companies and governments. Parties across the political spectrum, time and time again, when they get in power they want to attract these sort of inefficient lumbering companies as an easy answer to jobs and regeneration. Putting all the eggs in the one basket, then crying foul when it goes tits up.

If Mussolini was alive to day he would surprised that he got what he wanted.

Many of companies only exist becuase of the legal framework in the countries that that operate in, that define them, make it possible. Without that they haven't got a foot to stand on. On the other hand they are bigger more powerful than countries and play countries of one another, for the best collusion deal.

This isn't genuine competition. What does bleating on about capitalism really get us in the face of this? Other than blowing our own trumpet?

I'm against ever more vague and intangible form of property, which really has nothing to do with capital, and are merely protectionism by another name.

Think how often we support collusion, lazy business, corporate protectionism in the name of capitalism. It would be better if we had actual liability, and a much more limited and rational patent system (and don't pretend to believe in the misnomer of "intellectual property") so we would be promoting real innovation, talent and most of competition.

There is nothing sweeter that taking someone's idea, and coming up with something even better. As a opposed to a company that tries to block that, and doesn't come up with anything new in decades just evergreen their protectionism, not mention all the patent burring, trolling, and all the other nonsense we allow legally.

It is almost got to the point where people think there is a fundamental right not to be have to compete.

I'm also a big fan of "undercut" markets. People b***h about it all the time, "oh no they are coming over here undercutting our market, you must stop this!" But think how inflated the top end of the market would be if there wasn't this economic activity. It benefits consumers, it even benefits new business that need competitive services and goods to start up, including businesses that would not otherwise able to raise enough capital for the otherwise inflated resources.