Atheists & Believers: can "free market" capitalism be just, stable, & ecologically sane, given human nature?

[tehabwa]

No, I don't.

Uh, there was no capitalism in Biblical times; it's a much more recent thing.

The Smith notion that everyone always behaves in their own best interest has been pretty well discredited. And clearly, completely unbridled capitalism is disasterous.

We DID have a 50 year period of NO economic crises -- it was after the Depression, and before Reagan, when we had the following things:

A progressive income tax;
A strong regulatory system
Strong unions;
and the fastest-growing, comfy, thriving middle class the world had ever known.

This is what "trickle down" and other mantras of the wing-nuts have been destroying. And this is what Obama and progressive Dems want back -- well, a somewhat beefed up version, really.

If you consider all the CIVILIZED countries on Earth, yes, it IS possible to have systems where no one goes hungry, no one is homeless, everyone gets a quality education, and everyone has access to health care.

Thus, the Biblical quote "the poor will always be with us" COULD be made false. We need a strong regulatory system, progressive taxes, and a better safety net.

Oh, and I'm godless.