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On Feb 7, 10:37 pm, Hawke wrote:

As George Will likes to say, in capitalism there are winners and losers.
Capitalism, I would say, is a zero sum game. For someone to win someone
else has to lose.

And that is where we disagree. I do not think that Capitalism is a
zero sum game. The standard of living in the US has gone up a bunch
and other countries have also had an increase in their standard of
living. I have things that no one had when I was a kid. Computer,
calculators, microwave oven, refrigerator with a freezer compartment,
Truck with anti lock brakes, LCD TV, internet access, CD player, DVD
player, cheap long distance, email, word processor program, spell
checker, spreadsheet program, laser printer, scanner, fm radio, cell
phone, GPS, digital calipers. If everyone in the world had these
things, it would not change the value of them to me. So I see
everyone can gain, and it does not hurt anyone.



you seem to think "stuff" is proof and evidence of success. it's all crap
we don't need to be happy. were there happy people in 1965? were people
bitterly complaining they didn't have LCD tv's? i think that's capitalistic
hoodwinking.

b.w.

On Feb 8, 5:18*am, "William Wixon" wrote:

you seem to think "stuff" is proof and evidence of success. *it's all crap
we don't need to be happy. *were there happy people in 1965? *were people
bitterly complaining they didn't have LCD tv's? *i think that's capitalistic
hoodwinking.

b.w.

Wrongo. You do not need stuff to make you happy. But Hawke and I
were talking about standard of living. You measure standard of living
by stuff.

Dan

wrote:
On Feb 8, 5:18 am, "William Wixon" wrote:

you seem to think "stuff" is proof and evidence of success. it's all crap
we don't need to be happy. were there happy people in 1965? were people
bitterly complaining they didn't have LCD tv's? i think that's capitalistic
hoodwinking.

b.w.

Wrongo. You do not need stuff to make you happy. But Hawke and I
were talking about standard of living. You measure standard of living
by stuff.

Dan



Yep, and since everyone's wealth, as measured by their investment
portfolios, retirement plans, and their houses, are all less then they
used to be then so is everyone's standard of living. Americans have
suffered a dramatic decrease in total wealth. Living standards cannot
stay up when everyone's wealth is less. Happiness can have nothing to do
with wealth but it's a fact that when people see their standard of
living decline it tends to make them unhappy.

Hawke