Occupy Canary Wharf

[Mich the Tester]

As long as I can choose to work harder, get trained up at my own time/expense then go on and earn what I want I don't care.

If somoene thinks it's 'unfair' that I earn more than them because I chose to do that and they didn't then I don't think the system should redistribute my wealth to them.

I'm perfectly capable of redistributing my wealth to people who actually need it.

You are absolutely right, with two reservations;

YOU can choose to work harder, etc. Many other people will not have this choice thanks to the financial mess we are now in.

Secondly, you can only redistribute your wealth if you've got some. Millions of people have seen their wealth evaporate in the last few years. They won't be redistributing wealth they haven't got.

[xoggoth]

Human nature is the basic problem in all political systems. Communism was manifestly a failure, the main reason being that if the state is the sole arbiter in everything, there can be no independent check on what it does. However, totally laissez faire capitalism is no better, left to their own devices they will rip you off. We need a free market with much stronger government regulation in my view.

Capitalism is more to blame for some things like excessive and uncontrolled immigration than the liberal left that usually gets all the flack. Student open borders sorts don't really have influence, companies wanting to boost their profits with cheap labour do.

[PAH]

They're all too young to have ever had a job let alone lost one..

Many are professional students with rich parents who run the very system they're complaining about.

This is just their idea of a holiday away from the squat where they're 'trying to find themselves' whilst at the same time being 'rebellious'.

[xoggoth]

Indeed. Youths grasp various ideals without having any real knowledge or understanding of the issues, especially when they have no responsibility for actually paying the cost of their idealistic goals. We've all done it.

[gingerjedi]

Human nature is the basic problem in all political systems. Communism was manifestly a failure, the main reason being that if the state is the sole arbiter in everything, there can be no independent check on what it does. However, totally laissez faire capitalism is no better, left to their own devices they will rip you off. We need a free market with much stronger government regulation in my view.

Capitalism is more to blame for some things like excessive and uncontrolled immigration than the liberal left that usually gets all the flack. Student open borders sorts don't really have influence, companies wanting to boost their profits with cheap labour do.

Why not have a middle way?

The Scandinavians don't seem to have done too badly from a form of socialism, can we have some of that please?

[Jog On]

You are absolutely right, with two reservations;

YOU can choose to work harder, etc. Many other people will not have this choice thanks to the financial mess we are now in.

Secondly, you can only redistribute your wealth if you've got some. Millions of people have seen their wealth evaporate in the last few years. They won't be redistributing wealth they haven't got.

I don't quite agree with the first reservation as I don't see any stopping anyone bettering their work prospects, be it through training, the web, joining the library, open university, the mediums are there.

However I do understand that the self employed/entrepreneurial/contractor 'drive' (for want of a better word) is only in a minority of people. To me putting all my eggs in one basket and expecting 'the system' to look after me because I followed the path I was supposed to seems like madness.

But I'm not taking anything away from people who have lost everything and are finding it hard to get back on their feet. I just get on with it and do what i have to do. In December I'll be benched so I've spent a few £G on courses and exams so that in January I'll be very marketable. last year I took helpdesk work for a rate I'd never consider during normal times.

Anyhoo I know a lot of folks have lost a lot and have a lot of anger toward the cause of the problem. Shame the people I see heckling me on the way to work are 20/21 year old middle class crusties who don't know WTF any of this is actually about..

[Freamon]

So I take it you lot don't think there is anything wrong with the current capitalist system?

Contradiction in terms - the current system is not capitalist.

[GreenLabel]

Contradiction in terms - the current system is not capitalist.