Economic competition results in numerous innovations that improve all of our lives

Apple can put as many fancy adverts about apps for buying bananas as they like, but if the iPhone turns out to stop working after a day then who is going to believe the advert for the iPad? The company must provide a good product and the advertising will reflect this." If this argument were correct, the strongest products would almost always be the most popular. The N64 was arguably a stronger product than the PlayStation, but Sony certainly won that generation of gamers. If this argument were correct, products with major faults would stop being bought (XBox360 anyone?) --------------------- "The only possible reason for a shortage of supply in a truly capitalist system would be if it was a finite resource." What resource is infinite? Name one. The capitalist system works on the idea of infinite growth, yet the Earth has finite resources. "...The only countries I can think of where there is ABSOLUTE poverty and ABSOLUTE starvation are countries which have refused to adopt capitalism as a system..." "...China is by far no longer a communist country. A real communist country would be North Korea, who are now allowing some private enterprise due to the large scale starvation caused by centralised economic policy..." We are not talking about ABSOLUTE poverty and ABSOLUTE starvation. We are talking about ABSOLUTELY everyone benefiting from a capitalist system. We are not debating whether Capitalism works better than Socialism or Communism, which is clearly doesn't (Look at East and West Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall). We are talking about whether Capitalism makes every persons life better. If I can prove that it makes even one persons life worse, I win this debate. However, I feel strongly that the Capitalist system doesn't work at all, which is the point I hope to prove. ---------------- "...It means that your governemnt and the New Zealand government had price controls, regulations and minimum wage laws that have driven companies elsewhere..." "...Not true. Wal Mart is the largest company in existence - it is powerless..." "...Again, money does not automatically equal power..." This literally made me laugh out loud. Sure, Wal-Mart doesn't have any power, but the company is one of the worlds largest according to revenue. How can you honestly say that Mike Duke (1) and I have equal power? I am a lowly worker bee with credit card debt and rent to pay. Mike Duke is the CEO of WalMart, a multi-billion dollar company. If he wanted he could arrange for a piano to fall on me. Money IS power. You cannot get one single thing in this world without money. The more money you have, the more access to health, comfort and security you have. ------------------------ "...Money can only buy power when the government abandons capitalism and starts interfering in the economy by imposing tariffs, high taxes, regulations and subsidies, which cause the problems you have described..." I think you have it mixed. Only when a government abandons DEMOCRACY and one man has more power than another does money start buying power. The little man loses his rights because he doesn't have the power (ie. money) to fight, while the Stratton Oakmonts (2) of the world flourish. He was caught, but how many individuals profit from other peoples misery every day? How many individuals profit from loopholes in economic laws? ------------------- I am really a nobody. No-one will listen to me. I don't have a better plan. The world is too full of Margaret Thatcher types (3) sprouting "T.I.N.A" (There is no alternative). Even with a world wide collapse of economic stability, like the recent G.F.C, still no-one is saying "Well maybe our system needs a tinie tiny bit of reform." I just feel we need an upgrade. Some kind of Capitalism where the gap between the poorest and the richest isn't so huge, because as it is the gap is only going to get bigger. The poor suffer under our Capitalistic system. There are certainly many more poor people than rich people. So under the current Capitalistic system, more people suffer than prosper. Capitalism as it is, doesn't work. RESOURCES: (1) http://en.wikipedia.org... (2) http://en.wikipedia.org... (3) http://en.wikipedia.org...