Can anybody brainstorm a good alternative to capitalism/communism?

Question

In todays world, we have really, in my opinion seen the culmination of what capitlism can bring us- in the end, as Marx observed, capitalism will always perpetuate a system in which wealth will be concentrated into the hands of the few- those who own the means of production will always be wealthier than those who produce- and the value of the workers skills will always be exploited based on the degree of supply of these skills -therefore poverty looks to be an unending phenomena under this economic system. This system is horribly inefficient- every day we lose productive people to horrible situations, potential scientists and engineers starve to death or are murdered in ghettoised areas.

Is there a better alternative to Capitalism? Communism has never been successful at redressing the issues it was theorised for, but in a world of almost infinite possibilities, are these the only economic systems that are viable in a globalised world for the prosperity of our species?

Answer 1

I was asking myself the same question today.  As far as I can tell, we are living that right now in the U.S.  If we were a purely Capitalistic society as we claim we are, then the Government would have no say as to what businesses do, and there would be no Labor Unions to do a part in keeping businesses in line.  However, there are still the filthy rich and the filthy poor.

It seems lately you have to be either a Socialist or a Capitalist, doesnt' it?  And if you aren't Capitalist, you are not patriotic.  Could one be Communtalist? LOL

It's a great question and I look forward to seeing the other responses.

Answer 2

The European-style "welfare state" kind of is a compromise between the efficiency of capitalism and the "niceness" of (theoretical) communism.  It ensures a minimum standard of living that keeps body and soul together for people at the bottom, while those who can aspire to better get to do that aspiring in an almost-capitalist system (but with higher taxes).

It's not perfect by any means, and people can argue about the tradeoff between the height of the minimum standard of living and the taxes payed by those in who could support themselves fine under pure capitalism, but it's something that's not one or the other.