Capitalism is a scam: Cosatu

Growing poverty, unemployment and equality around the world indicate capitalism is a scam and must be scrapped, Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini said on Thursday.

"The world is looking for a way out," Dlamini told delegates attending the sixth Presidential Council of the World Federation of Trade Unions in Johannesburg, according to a copy of his speech.

"Cosatu is a scam"

-Capitalism

Why don't they move all the unemployed to Russia or china and try whole communism thing again, see how it pans out second time round.

Capitalism is not something someone thought up one day and decided now this is a great system to scam the people. It has grown and morved over time into the system that it is today. It's not even pure capatilism but a system somewhere just right of centre. The more we move left the less people are inclined to produce and excel.

The only thing equal about communism is the equal poverty amongst the peasants, while the political elite becomes rich.

Union Bosses Define Capitalism: A flop?
by Vivian Atud
http://www.freemarketfoundation.com/...ticleType=AOTW

Union bosses are preparing to get together at an “all-expenses paid by workers” conference in South Africa under the umbrella of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) from 8 to 12 February 2012. The theme for this gathering is “Capitalist Barbarism, Crisis and Imperialist Wars or Socialism”. What a shocking contradiction!

What do union bosses mean by capitalism? Are unions classless organisations? Can socialism provide a better life for workers whose interests are represented by union bosses? I will not attempt to answer all of the questions that can arise from the above theme but will try to illustrate a few scenarios that can logically and empirically explain some of the concepts.

Firstly, “capitalism”, “free enterprise”, “free markets” and “economic freedom” all mean the same thing: voluntary exchange between individuals free of third party intervention. This should be the same principle under which WFTU operates with its affiliated South African members: the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), the Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) who, with WFTU, are all hosting the conference.

On looking at each of these unions’ websites there is a call for members of the public working in the given sectors to voluntarily join the respective union. In doing so, such a worker accepts to pay an annual membership fee and in return will receive all the benefits offered by the union. As it stands now, this is a voluntary transaction. If the union bosses go ahead with recent proposals and convince union members to support a state controlled socialist system, this current voluntary exchange will be overthrown and replaced so that everyone working in any sector will be forced by the government to become a member of a trade union, even if they do not choose to do so. Alternatively, or additionally, unions will be banned or heavily controlled, as they have been in all socialist or communist countries.

The call by union bosses for the capitalist class society to be overthrown infers that the unions are classless organisations where everyone associated with them are equal and receive equal earnings. All other organisations, businesses and entrepreneurs for whom the majority of union members work for are portrayed as anathema.

A classless society has never existed and can never exist for logical reasons: every individual on this earth has different skills, potentials, abilities and interests, and every profession pays a different reward. For example, even if an economics professor would like to earn the rewards of a football star, the market does not allow for that to happen. Instead of calling for the overthrow of the capitalist class, the union bosses should be calling for the proper maximisation of the skills of their individual worker members and that they should be adequately rewarded according to their skills.

Socialism has already been tried and it has failed in many parts of the world. For union bosses to now propose socialism as a solution to the current world crisis is short-sighted and misleading.

Today, South Africa grapples with the plight of the unemployed. More than 6-million individuals of the economically active population are currently unable to find work. As the Union bosses meet under the watchful eyes of their political partner leader and President of South Africa, President Jacob Zuma, we will be curious to see whether the President will be critical of the solutions proposed by union bosses in the interests of the unemployed.

The theme of the conference would be more apt if it was turned around to read “Socialist Barbarism, Crisis and Imperialist Wars or Capitalism”. If this was so, union bosses could, instead of wasting their workers’ contributions and the country’s time and money calling for a failed system to be re-introduced, rather be showing government that, as already evident from their very own operating structures, voluntary trade and transactions are the most efficient method to use to allocate resources.

All proud South Africans would prefer to earn a dignified income from work rather than depend on a socialist state government grant. Jobs would quickly become available if union bosses pushed government to focus on unlocking the entrepreneurial potential of the unemployed even if it means decreasing statutory protection for the unions and reducing labour market regulation. They could go even further and demand that the government improve the economic climate of SA by taking proactive steps such as decreasing trade regulations.

If, instead of gathering at their members’ expense to beat a broken drum, union bosses displayed the courage, wisdom and foresight required to lead the workers, whether currently employed or unemployed, to a better and more rewarding future, calls to unleash this country’s entrepreneurial potential would go a long way towards increasing employment opportunities in the country and giving back to all South Africans dignity and hope for the future.

Author Vivian Atud is an economist with the Free Market Foundation. This article may be republished without prior consent but with acknowledgement to the author. The views expressed in the article are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the members of the Foundation.

Well socialism & communism has been a resounding success to date...

let's cosatu pays for their striking members' salaries.

idiots, you must ask your beloved cosatu who will pay your salaries after your employers lost their jobs.

Communism and pure socialism may make everyone equally poor...

....but capitalism only 'works' by having enough middle class bound in employment to make very few rich. We think it is the ideal system because we have a job, a car etc in a hum drum existence- but go ahead, quit your job, tell your bank to get stuffed- that's not so easy for 99% of middle class is it? So it is just a different form of enslavery that gives 'just enough' to most so that very few become disproportionally and filthily rich, and is dependent on the majority of the planet being poor and a form of cheap labour.

I see our SA schooling is doing wonders again. Bejasus are there still so many morons around.

Next they'll be telling us the earth is actually flat.

Cosatu is full of idiots.

Originally Posted by mici

Next they'll be telling us the earth is actually flat.

Our earth is hollow

I thought capitalism was designed to frighten the lazy ineffective and the useless.
Perhaps its working . .

Originally Posted by OzzieCapie

Communism and pure socialism may make everyone equally poor...

....but capitalism only 'works' by having enough middle class bound in employment to make very few rich.

Nonsense.

Originally Posted by OzzieCapie

We think it is the ideal system because we have a job, a car etc in a hum drum existence- but go ahead, quit your job, tell your bank to get stuffed- that's not so easy for 99% of middle class is it? So it is just a different form of enslavery that gives 'just enough' to most so that very few become disproportionally and filthily rich, and is dependent on the majority of the planet being poor and a form of cheap labour.

Zero-sum fallacy. (Please look up the zero-sum economic fallacy)

Working hard to earn a living is not slavery. You have a choice not to work and live with the consequences. No one is putting a gun to your head or threatening to kidnap you and take away your freedom.

This is different from any government/welfare/socialist action.

Well, capitalism is a better scam than the communism scam.

The communism scam makes the politburo and their relatives rich, and f'all to the poor masses.

The capitalist scam makes cabinet, their relatives, bankers, CEO's rich, and provides porn and broadband to the poor masses.

Communism:
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

I wonder if Cosato know that China is only growing because they use capitalist economic system governed by a single party state. The companies in China are privately owned and run. They only started to grow when the capitalist saw its cheaper to use China's labor for their goods. if it wasn't for that they still would have had the poverty they where in 50 years ago.

Communism like in Russia fell on its ass and now they took on capitalism to actually grow out of the mess they where in.

Capitalist creates 10 jobs.

10 Workers breeds 50 children.

10 of the 50 children can eventually be employed by Capitalist. (Replacing current 10)

40 Children will live in poverty.

Why is this Capitalism's fault, Cosatu?

The right to breed should NOT be a human right.

Originally Posted by DrYes

Communism:
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Actually, it's "each according to how high up in the communist party you are, how far up someone's ass who is high up in the communist party you are"

It might not be perfect but if history is anything to go by, it is the best that we currently have to work with.

Cosatu, if you're in a position to call it a scam, then surely you're in a position to propose a workable framework/system? History has shown us that convoluted, large, controlling governments are not the solution...

Originally Posted by OzzieCapie

....but capitalism only 'works' by having enough middle class bound in employment to make very few rich.

"Bound in employment?" You make employment sound like a bad thing...

Capitalism thrives in an environment where education, employment and a free market system are important. By its very nature it will thrive. To date, no country has truly given capitalism a real try and no country will until their government relinquishes its power to its citizens.

This notion that government knows best is an absurd one and is continually punted by uneducated individuals; thick individuals; and lazy schits.

A truly capitalist government would operate in the same way that a holding company would - by providing a framework in which its citizens and companies could operate successfully. Not by imposing itself in every single step of the operational aspect. Another issue is that governments attempt to "compete" with other countries, whereas they should stay the hell out of it and leave it to their citizens and companies to do so. By trying to "compete" with other nations, you impose a form of involuntary social and economic pressure on your own citizens. It's ridiculous...

Originally Posted by DrYes

Communism:
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Needs defines demand, and ability defines supply.