# Why Republican capitalism better **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 29, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639 "2022-04-29T01:45:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/1 "2022-04-29T01:45:34Z")
Because it is competitive, the capitalism must provide the best jobs and products in the world just to survive. It is a race to the top, to improve our standard of living at the fastest possible rate. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/2 "2022-04-29T02:01:28Z")
Ain’t that a view through a pair of industrial strength rose tinted glasses! When you are talking survival, and mean for longer than the next episode of Seinfeld, you need to revise your aims. Whilst Bush I claimed it was not negotiable, the American way of life is not sustainable. It’s the socio-economic version of Hagar the Horrible’s “I got mine … and his too”. There are other models around almost as good but even those need to work on their sustainability ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/3 "2022-04-29T02:08:13Z")
I agree with the OP. That said, if the President blocks foreign corporations from competing with American and threatens countermeasures against businesses who go against the Presidents political goals then…that President would not be a Republican, would he? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/4 "2022-04-29T02:15:41Z")
Unfettered capitalism degenerates into a survival of the fittest mentality. The question is not whether capitalism should be regulated against its worst instincts, but rather by how much. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/5 "2022-04-29T02:18:33Z")
So, if NIke decides they can make their shoes cheaper, and just as good, by producing the shoes in Vietnam and importing them to the U.S., is that Republican capitalism? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/6 "2022-04-29T02:50:06Z")
> [@TedBaiamonte](#): > > Because it is competitive, the capitalism must provide the best jobs and products in the world just to survive. It is a race to the top, to improve our standard of living at the fastest possible rate. What you’re talking about is the free market, not capitalism. Look at Standard Oil, Bell Telephone, Microsoft, and Walmart; plenty of capitalists have succeeded by working to eliminate any free market competition. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/7 "2022-04-29T02:57:31Z")
Cornelius Vanderbilt wasn’t interested in raising the standard of living. He was interested in obtaining a stranglehold on the shipping and railroads feeding NYC, and the people who lived there had to pay his prices. “Screw the customers.” Resolved by competition? Vanderbilt’s competitors inked-up a printing press and ran off reams of counterfeit Vanderbilt stock certificates. “Screw the investors.” And screw the employees, vendors and contractors. If they go to the competition for a better deal, just make a secret deal with the competition to mutually screw them. The only way to prevent this is government regulation. But screw that: just pay journalists to bemoan the taxes that fund those government watchdogs as “lost down a government rat hole.” ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/8 "2022-04-29T03:02:48Z")
Republican capitalism is basically “privatize the gains; socialize the losses”. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/9 "2022-04-29T03:25:28Z")
Is this a homework question? ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/10 "2022-04-29T03:32:19Z")
Why not try to be a little more specific by responding exactly to what I said rather than with generalized gibberish. If you have some thing against capitalism tell us exactly what it is please. ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/11 "2022-04-29T03:35:06Z")
A Republican president might restrict international capitalism for strategic reasons. Obviously we don’t want to be dependent on China for our critical needs given that they might turn into an arch enemy. Does that make sense? ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/12 "2022-04-29T03:36:40Z")
Unfettered capitalism means unfettered competition to provide the best jobs and the best products in order to raise our standard of living at the fastest possible rate. Capitalism is survival of the fittest in the others go bankrupt when I cannot provide the best jobs and the best products in the world. Now do you understand? ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/13 "2022-04-29T03:37:31Z")
Yes that is Republican capitalism just like if they decided to make them in Iowa rather than Florida. Can you tell us what your point is please? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/14 "2022-04-29T03:38:22Z")
Yes, if he targets only China and if we ignore the second item mentioned. If he also goes out for Canada, Germany, Australia, etc. and is threatening to punish CEOs who fire their employees then that’s basically a union leader who took control of government. You might want to take a mental note if the average union worker starts voting for him. You might also take a note if the party that believes in voting, instead of protesting, starts holding protests; and if the party that believes that if you didn’t want to land in jail then you should have thought of that before you committed a crime, starts trying to convince you that it’s okay to commit crimes if that other guy did something similar once - according to rumor - well, you might want to note that, too. ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/15 "2022-04-29T03:41:32Z")
When capitalists try to beat the competition by offering better jobs and better products and better prices we are the beneficiaries of that. John DeRockeffeer for example was a God who turned night in to day by offering kerosene for lights at affordable prices For the first time in human history. His quest to beat the competition was a quest to improve our standard of living as a fastest possible rate. ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/16 "2022-04-29T03:45:20Z")
Yes Cornelius Vanderbilt was 100 years ago and both sides have agreed to anti-trust for almost 100 years so why are you bringing that up 100 years after the fact? Yes Vanderbilt printed counterfeit stock. So white people break the law all the time with or without Capitalism 1+1 = 2. making secret deals as you describe them is illegal under the rules of capitalism. Do you have any idea what points you are trying to make? Yes we are in favor of lots and lots of regulation as long as it is in support of capitalism. Now do you understand? ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/17 "2022-04-29T03:47:47Z")
I don’t know why you say that. 10,000 businesses a month to go bankrupt in the United States. Republicans don’t try to change that. It is true that Republicans and Democrats Made loans to failing banks in the 2008 financial crisis but those loans were paid back with interest and they saved the economy from collapsing and millions of people from losing their jobs. It was a brilliant idea actually. Socializing failed individuals with lifetime welfare that never gets paid back is truly some thing that is heinous and objectionable. I hope you understand now? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/18 "2022-04-29T03:50:19Z")
> [@TedBaiamonte](#): > > When capitalists try to beat the competition by offering better jobs and better products and better prices we are the beneficiaries of that. John DeRockeffeer for example was a God who turned night in to day by offering kerosene for lights at affordable prices For the first time in human history. His quest to beat the competition was a quest to improve our standard of living as a fastest possible rate. You’re missing the point. You acknowledge that Rockefeller’s motivation to offer better jobs, products, and prices was due to wanting to beat the competition. But when there was no competition, Rockefeller was free to pay low wages, sell shoddy products, and charge high prices. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/19 "2022-04-29T03:50:57Z")
> [@TedBaiamonte](#): > > capitalism must provide the best jobs and products in the world Ideally Capitalism supplies the minimum acceptable product at the maximum tolerable price. Ideal Capitalism would use robotics to eliminate jobs. ---
**Author:** ![TedBaiamonte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TedBaiamonte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TedBaiamonte)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639/20 "2022-04-29T03:52:15Z")
Well if you could help me with the answer I would be very appreciative. Thanks [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-republican-capitalism-better/963639.md?page=2)