7 thoughts on “[photo:] Capitalism”

  2. Just a few days ago a friend was lamenting lack of consumer choice in America: no colored toilet tissue! She wanted to buy a Mermaid-printed one for her daughter’s bathroom, a sci-fi-themed for her son’s and something in the “elegant tones of black-and-silver” for her own…and she could find none of it! Such a tragedy.

    Other items that apparently are in deficit here: fire-red electric kettles (there are only white available) and “round porcelain sugar bowls with lid and a hole for a spoon.” An offer of a small soup tureen was rejected.

  3. Tatyana – Your friend should have googled custom made toilet paper. Several providers exist in a competitive market. There’s even one in Illinois. Fire-red electric kettles are available at amazon, a fact I also found via google.

    Some people do seem to confuse “not available at my local retailer” and “not available at my preferred price” with “not available in the country”. This is a profound breakdown in basic education home economics education. But that usually isn’t a capitalist enterprise in this country.

  4. TMLutas: this is what I was trying to explain to her, in about 50 comments’ conversation.
    When I give her a link to google search for the sugar bowl, with all the accoutrements she wanted, I got a new batch of specifications: it shouldn’t be plastic/it should be taller than 4″/it should not be white/it should be in my preferable price range/it should have the spoon in set/do you have a coupon for that? I’m sure if I send her the fire-red kettle link, I’ll get more complains re: form/price/delivery inconvenience…
    The word “custom” and especially “custom-designed” was met with contempt (if not outrage). And pointing out that tastes and demand markets in every locale vary didn’t seem to register.

  5. Tatyana – Sometimes defenders of capitalism strive to show how it is so good that we forget that the task is not to defend capitalism as a utopia but merely as the best of available systems. This is a friend of yours so I will not speculate on motivation, though the situation cries for it.

    I would suggest that gathering up the various specifications and comparing capitalism to any other system would only leave magic unicorn fairyland standing higher. If your friend can find magic unicorn fairyland, they should immediately relocate and hopefully send back directions on how to arrive in this utopia. Until then, capitalism remains closer than anything else available and one should be happy for its ability to supply material goods.

Comments are closed.