# "People don't go hungry in a capitalist economy" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 29, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058 "2014-01-29T18:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/61 "2014-02-05T02:06:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I’ll raise you what King Leopold did to the Belgian Congo. Probably why the DR of the Congo is such a shithole now. Absolutely, the notion capitalism is always a force for good is an obscenity. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/62 "2014-02-05T22:59:16Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Absolutely, the notion capitalism is always a force for good is an obscenity. And imperialism **is** a form of capitalism, though perhaps not its “highest stage” as Lenin called it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/63 "2014-02-05T23:05:20Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And imperialism **is** a form of capitalism, though perhaps not its “highest stage” as Lenin called it. Are you saying that the Communist Imperialism didn’t happen? :dubious: You can have imperialism without capitalism. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/64 "2014-02-05T23:06:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I’ll raise you what King Leopold did to the Belgian Congo. Probably why the DR of the Congo is such a shithole now. From the Sudan to South Africa, _Africa_ is a shithole, so altho Leo was a Asshole of the First Order, that can’t be blamed on him. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/65 "2014-02-05T23:07:58Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Absolutely, the notion capitalism is always a force for good is an obscenity. I don’t know anyone who’s ever made such a claim. That nearly all the world’s economic systems are capitalist to one degree or another, and that contrary systems (e.g. Soviet communism) tend to slide into a capitalist model despite all attempts to enforce things otherwise speaks volumes, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/66 "2014-02-05T23:46:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > From the Sudan to South Africa, _Africa_ is a shithole, so altho Leo was a Asshole of the First Order, that can’t be blamed on him. But the DRC is a shithole by **African** standards. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/67 "2014-02-05T23:49:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Are you saying that the Communist Imperialism didn’t happen? :dubious: You can have imperialism without capitalism. Very different form of it. The Soviets did not colonize or economically exploit or profit from the other Warsaw Pact countries – to the contrary, they were a drain on the Soviet budget, from all I’ve read. It was all about **security** to them; they wanted a defense-tier against invasions from the West. And also about spreading Communism, of course, they really were True Believers for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/68 "2014-02-05T23:59:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Very different form of it. The Soviets did not colonize or economically exploit or profit from the other Warsaw Pact countries – to the contrary, they were a drain on the Soviet budget, from all I’ve read. It was all about **security** to them; they wanted a defense-tier against invasions from the West. And also about spreading Communism, of course, they really were True Believers for a long time. Many Colonies were a drain, even during the colonial era. And the USSR exploited _the crap_ out of the eastern block. Imperialism is Imperialism. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/69 "2014-02-06T00:40:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Very different form of it. The Soviets did not colonize or economically exploit or profit from the other Warsaw Pact countries – to the contrary, they were a drain on the Soviet budget, from all I’ve read. It was all about **security** to them; they wanted a defense-tier against invasions from the West. And also about spreading Communism, of course, they really were True Believers for a long time. They colonised to an extent the three Baltic countries. I don’t know about elsewhere but I suspect they colonised some of the Central Asian SSRs too. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/70 "2014-02-08T08:17:50Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t know anyone who’s ever made such a claim. Peter Schiff, “people don’t go hungry in a capitalist economy”, quoted from the beginning of this god damn thread. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/71 "2014-02-08T14:18:00Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Peter Schiff, “people don’t go hungry in a capitalist economy”, quoted from the beginning of this god damn thread. I don’t think that is the same as “always a force for good”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058/72 "2014-02-08T14:21:49Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Peter Schiff, “people don’t go hungry in a capitalist economy”, quoted from the beginning of this god damn thread. Maybe post #1 is written in a different language on your planet… 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-dont-go-hungry-in-a-capitalist-economy/680058.md?page=3)