Can 'Class' become 'Caste'?

[ck4829]

What would happen if the Rich got too rich?

We all know what Capitalism is all about, people go out and get money and assets and build up their wealth. That is all fine and dandy, but what would happen if too much of this happened?

Imagine, the Rich getting richer, and richer, and richer, and richer.

Money, like anything else, is a good that is subject to the Law of Supply and Demand. It is limited, but the demand for it is always there.

So, imagine a world where money almost belonged exclusively to the Wealthy. They would be the Ownership Society, because they would own Everything.

Is this possible?

[dretceterini]

1. It pretty much

has already happened.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. When yuo get to taht point

and the rest of society has no oportunities left, but one, revolutions happen

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Sounds rather like France in 1779, nt

[johnaries]

4. or the USA after 2000. n/t

[Armstead]

5. The bar is already being raised for participation in the economy

Technologies like data mining, plus the climate of deregulation plus the general mindset of greed and blind ambition has already put us well on the road to a caste system.

I wouldn't just blame it on the rich though. We're all at fault for supporting and buying into a system of values that has become inctrasingly centralized, monolithic and anti-human.

If you don't fit a specific financial profile or have ever made a mistake or don't satisfy otehr rigid formulas, you're shut out from a lot of necessities.

Look at what's happened with healthcare for example. It used to be easier to get health insurance, and if one didn't have health insurance, doctors were usually amenable to arrangements to pay the bills on an affordable basis.

But today, if you have ever had a cold you're disqualified, or if your employer isn't willing to pay increasingly exhorbitant rates or you work for yourself, you're shut out of basic healthcare.

[Jara sang]

6. Concepts like "capitalism" and "free market" are pointless.

where does government subsidies for corporations fit into the definition of capitalism? free market, the most vital component in the infrastructure of our "free" market is the highway system. Who pays for that? Taxpayers. I laugh whenever I hear those words to describe our economic system.