Kapitalism

[SpontaneousOrder]

Totally agree aTw. Capitalism should be about earned merit not exercise of power. Should be limited by government.

You said you were a free market guy only the other day?

[SpontaneousOrder]

What I am suggesting is that supermarkets should have no power (meaning it should be totally jailable to try it) to make suppliers PAY THEM to sell products supplied by said suppliers.

Not a lot is it?

They aren't 'making' anyone do anything. And 'paying them' is just a cash back incentive from a different perspective. Should it be illegal for retailers to offer cash back incentives to consumers?

[SpontaneousOrder]

It is an example of how capitalism morphs into corporatism which is just socialism that is run by corporates rather than governments.

That's retarded.

**edit** bit harsh.

[vetran]

sadly this is quite common with larger retailers & wholesalers.

Only thing to do is make sure they can't ruin you (i.e. you still make a profit on their business) and that when they get too silly you can afford to say no. That means no more than 5-10% of your business should be to one customer.

If you are good enough they will still come to you, just with more fun requests.

[vetran]

That's retarded.

unfortunately its fairly accurate, big corporations control the supply line this is why so many van drivers are driven into self employment the corporations want them to take the risk.

[SpontaneousOrder]

unfortunately its fairly accurate, big corporations control the supply line this is why so many van drivers are driven into self employment the corporations want them to take the risk.

Corporatism is 'fascism-lite'. You *could* argue that government enforced barriers to entry constitute some kind of corporatism. But To suggest that when corporations freely collude to further their own ends is NOT capitalism, and IS corporatism is just dishonest.

The reality is that IF it gets to the point where people value the alternative to the convenience offered by big supermarkets, then competition will arise.

The fate of the supplier is really besides the point. Who cares? All that matters is the customer's satisfaction. Everything else is just people's efforts to exploit the desires of the customer to earn some cash, and they have no particular right to do so in any particular way. This is precisely why capitalism & prices are so great at what they do. Price signals steer growth & failure, free from wonky emotional ideas that might suggest that failure is actually a bad thing (?!), all to the benefit of the general public consumer.

Corporatism my arse.

[DodgyAgent]

Corporatism is 'fascism-lite'. You *could* argue that government enforced barriers to entry constitute some kind of corporatism. But To suggest that when corporations freely collude to further their own ends is NOT capitalism, and IS corporatism is just dishonest.

The reality is that IF it gets to the point where people value the alternative to the convenience offered by big supermarkets, then competition will arise.

The fate of the supplier is really besides the point. Who cares? All that matters is the customer's satisfaction. Everything else is just people's efforts to exploit the desires of the customer to earn some cash, and they have no particular right to do so in any particular way. This is precisely why capitalism & prices are so great at what they do. Price signals steer growth & failure, free from wonky emotional ideas that might suggest that failure is actually a bad thing (?!), all to the benefit of the general public consumer.

Corporatism my arse.

Anything that looks to create and defend monopolies must be looked at very carefully. Today corporatism is encouraged through health and safety, regulation etc much of which comes from the EU (which is why most corporates are so pro EU. Try and start a car manufacturing business or a bank or power company and see where it gets you.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Anything that looks to create and defend monopolies must be looked at very carefully. Today corporatism is encouraged through health and safety, regulation etc much of which comes from the EU (which is why most corporates are so pro EU. Try and start a car manufacturing business or a bank or power company and see where it gets you.

Totally agree with that. And if that's what you meant by corporatism, then i think it's spot on.

Worth clarifying though because a lot of people see big corporations leaning on the little guys in that way as an inevitable evolution of capitalism - despite the fact that it's only gov regulations etc that allow unnatural monopolies to persist.

[darmstadt]

Isn't this a bit like you popping along to your client and they say that you can only work there if you pay them 10% of the rate...oh, we already do that but via a 3rd party

[vetran]

Totally agree with that. And if that's what you meant by corporatism, then i think it's spot on.

Worth clarifying though because a lot of people see big corporations leaning on the little guys in that way as an inevitable evolution of capitalism - despite the fact that it's only gov regulations etc that allow unnatural monopolies to persist.

Monopolies grow naturally, corporations buy each other out / drive competitors out of the market until there is only one. Its up to governments to make sure they don't get too big and abuse their position.