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I think it was good to get our country to it's most prosperous point, but there are obviously some huge flaws now causing a smaller middle class. It seems that a form of evolution is needed, and we are at a point where some change is needed, but capitalism was great at creating a large middle class before digressing from that.
Yep. I am not an economist, but I do read a lot of history and it seems to me Keynesianism worked quite well for most people at the time (1940s-1970s), and perhaps going back to it would help the middle class. Neoliberalism/Austrian-school/individualism have caused monumental inequalities since the 1970s. Sure, GDP growth has been spectacular (number goes up), but most people have not benefited. I don't think this is a flaw of capitalism per-se.
Still, I also hope something better comes along and we won't have to live under some future dystopian corporatocracy... Weyland-Yutani appreciates you
The levels of privilege and selfishness it takes to see the "benefit" for the American "middle class" (not a thing), while so willingly ignoring the cost that that came with to everyone else on the planet is both staggering and quite nauseating.
I am aware of the ugly side of capitalism. But I'm also a realist and I have not seen a better alternative for organizing industrialized economies than a market economy. It's fine to shout "socialism!" but actual Socialist planned economies have not done well (and it is well understood why) while the many, many ideas for various utopian-sounding decentralized systems are so-far totally unproven.
Of course if you think we should give up on our lives with electric vehicles and PlayStation 5s, sure, you don't need capitalism. There's simply no need to exploit other people if everything you need is made locally with simple tools. But I'm not sure how many people will want to go back to this kind of lifestyle, though it would arguably be better for the planet and humanity.