Friday 16 January 2015

Is capitalism exploitation, or liberation?

Tyler Cowan (at Marginal Revolution) pointed out this excellent post by Jonathan Haidt from the NYU-Stern School of Business, where he shares two stories about capitalism in video form, both of which are useful in teaching. First, "Capitalism is Exploitation":


and then, "Capitalism is Liberation":


The longer video (embedded in the post but also available on YouTube) makes an attempt to reconcile the two views on capitalism, and is well worth watching too. Jonathon neatly sums up my view on capitalism in the longer video when he says: "Capitalism is liberation, but the way it liberates is by unlocking the incredible innovative spirit of humanity, and part of that innovation is ever new forms of exploitation". One of the challenges for government policy is to encourage innovation while reining in exploitation.

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