Capitalism 1A

8 thoughts on “Capitalism 1A”

1. I thought you were going to post about the Boots theory of economic justice.Report

   1. The Boots theory is probably my favorite.

      It neatly sums up a very common trap for poverty — and the last line “And still has wet feet” really hammers it home. That not only do the poor pay more, but what they get with that money is inferior.Report

      1. Then there’s the “Crab Bucket” idea from Unseen Academicals, which has been kicking around in development economics (though not under that name) for a while.Report

      2. A lot of liberals use the crab bucket analogy to explain non-wealthy people opposition to the welfare stateReport

      3. The development economics version is that cultures or subcultures can develop norms that are valuable in the environment that produced them, but impede efforts to develop the country economically. One common culprit is a social expectation that someone who is doing well has to help out their extended family. This is a good idea mostly, but it makes capital accumulation very difficult (because every time someone makes a surplus they end it giving it to their cousins) and it promotes corruption (you’re a bad person if you don’t use your government job to channel funds to your relatives).Report

      4. I’ve seen this applied to poor people living in developed countries as well. People living in tight-knit but poor communities are generally expected to help out others similar situated that they know, making it difficult to acquire savings and get out of poverty. If you have some extra money and somebody needs your supposed to let them borrow at least a few bucks even if it won’t get paid back directly but only when you might need some extra money.Report

2. https://what-if.xkcd.com/6/Report

3. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwLBFeuLx2U/T4BGSEJDg_I/AAAAAAAAAis/nUYMFlz3yyg/s1600/PS_0317_REALISTS.jpg&quot; Report

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