[Buddha-l] Karma and capitalism

[Chan Fu]

On 10/3/05, jkirk <jkirk at spro.net> wrote:
>
> >>
> >>
> > You might want to reconsider taking up this gauntlet. The nature of
> > Capitalism as a uniquely modern phenomenon that was completely
> > inconceivable prior to the industrial revolution is not some kind of "ad
> > hoc" theory based on "questionable distinctions". Marx and Smith (who
> > agreed almost completely on matters of "pure" economics) were both quite
> > clear in their belief that Capitalism was a new thing that had never
> > existed before in human history - and that it was limited to those
> > nations in which the industrial revolution had completely transformed
> > "the means of production". India - like most of the world - has only
> > experienced the pointy end of Capitalist stick - and that only as a
> > result of its engulfment into the British Empire (and that, as
> > previously stated, more than 10 centuries after the the spread of
> > Buddhism along the Silk Road).
> >
> > - Curt
> ==========================
> Quite right--the evidence is rather incontestable.
> Joanna


I beg to differ.
Capitalism is no more than a revitalization
and reorganization of the feudal system. I believe
Vic Stenger (http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/)
in one of his papers referred to the "self"ishness that's
inherent in it.

Looking back into early American History, we find an odd
mix of agrarian and feudal operatives that the industrial
revolution used to create monopolies and exploited
the very individualities that supposedly formed the
idea of capitalism. Evolutionary economics is great
fun. :-)