Comments on: Pictures of the Socialistic Future

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 01:07:32 +0000

“The Main Street banks were never in danger.“ – this statement makes me question a lot of the article even though I agree with the premise. I worked at a Community Bank in 2008. It had a pristine credit rating and it almost went under. Without the TARP it would have failed because we needed to pull credit from the big banks to sure up deposits. Without TARP there were no credit lines for community banks , which were hemorrhaging deposits. That’s my experience. This statement is wrong

By: Drastic climate action needed now. Let’s Ban Private Jets. – Out Of The Cave

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:11:41 +0000

[…] The top 50 countries in the world in terms of private jet ownership have a total fleet of nearly 18,000 jets. According to Statista, private jet ownership is soaring in most countries (as wealth inequality accelerates thanks to central bank interventions and 10 years of Cantillon Effects). […]

By: John Merryman

John Merryman — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 21:05:46 +0000

Mark,

I posted this essay on medium recently, as an analysis of the financialization of the economy;

https://medium.com/dialogue-and-discourse/the-worm-in-the-apple-of-modern-capitalism-a46081000d5a

I think there are some deep conceptual issue which need addressing, but it seems the conversation is mostly polarized between capitalism and socialism.

By: James M. Daisa

James M. Daisa — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 02:57:06 +0000

Just finished the audible version of Pictures of a Socialistic Future. I thought it was an amazingly insightful view given the period it was written. It foreshadowed Orwell’s 1984. Thinking it could never happen in America but I might just be surprised….

By: fn0

fn0 — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 07:25:15 +0000

Those who think that Socialism is unamerican are deluding themselves. With Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans care costs constituting over 50% of health care spending, health care already is mostly socialist. Public education and highways that are not toll roads, and public police forces are but a few of the many examples of socialism that are in place. The idea that democracy and socialism cannot coexist is belied by some countries with Democratic Socialist type governments. It’s oversimplistic and short-sighted to view capitalism and socialism simply as either-or alternatives. Reality is a combination of both most of the time.

By: [AxisOfEasy] Russia Passes Law Against “Fake News” And/Or Criticizing The Government

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:42:24 +0000

[…] Pictures of the Socialistic Future […]

By: Mark E. Jeftovic

Mark E. Jeftovic — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 03:12:04 +0000

In reply to David Barnett.

My deep dark family secret is that I’m distantly related to Otto Von Bismark….

https://rebootingcapitalism.com/2011/09/07/you-cant-kill-capitalism-its-already-dead/

By: Mark E. Jeftovic

Mark E. Jeftovic — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 14:47:32 +0000

In reply to Leonarda Fibonacci.

It may be tempting to make that argument, but a cursory look at the dynamics show they are somewhat inverted:

“Not real socialism” is always levied after the disaster, in retrospect.

Critics of crony capitalism make their criticisms (“this isn’t capitalism”) before the inevitable crises and are usually ridiculed, even penalized.
After the crisis, the same intellectuals who are enamoured with socialism before it implodes, then refute their endorsement after, are the ones calling the financial crisis “capitalism run wild”.
Meanwhile, those who were criticizing the system as “not real capitalism” before the crisis, stick to their criticisms after it. “We told you so” – (i.e. search up “Peter Schiff was right” on Youtube.)

It isn’t a double standard, they are mirror images of each other. This is because socialism is failed unworkable system and it was capitalism that enabled you to even visit this website and leave your comment.

By: David Barnett

David Barnett — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 13:36:52 +0000

At the time that Richter was writing, Bismarck’s Prussian welfare state was well underway. For those who don’t know, all modern welfare states are modelled on what Bismarck did. He was known as the “Iron Chancellor”, and hated the liberals with a passion. His idea was to extend the bonds of patronage to the lowest levels of society (just as the loyalty of the ruling classes was secured by patronage). The programme was spectacularly successful in its aim – creating a loyal working class. However that very loyalty made the world wars (and all the other didasters following from state aggrandisement) possible.

By: David Barnett

David Barnett — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 13:30:23 +0000

A version of the Cantillion effect applies to organisations that use a centralised funding model. Although the money is not newly printed, it is noticeable that it sticks disproportionately to the administrators while the operative workers are relatively disadvantaged. I think most Universities (which benefit from taxpayer finance and large private donations) suffer this disease. Ditto the National Health Service in the U.K. I am sure the reader can think of many such examples where the administrative tail wags the operational dog, purely because it is closest to the incoming funds.