Capitalism would work fine if it weren't for greed and corruption.

That's where the problem basically starts. When Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations he envisioned an idealized world of private entrepreneurs striking out for freedom from the aristocracy, something Europe had never really known before. In that world self interest wasn't greedy or corrupt. It was liberal in a most charming Enlightenment way. And Smith was among the first to voice those new advantages.

But then Marx came along, and pointed out all of Capitalism's failings. No small matter, considering how much the working man suffered in the industrialized world. This was a mere half century after Smith.

But the struggle between capital and labor is founded upon these ancient issues. In the US capital has won, in more ways than one. It has even co-opted the loyalty of millions of working men. Many believe in laissez faire even if it is to their own disadvantage because they believe in the capitalist myths. Listen to the resonant arguments against universal healthcare today: that it will lead to a loss of individual freedom.

A guarantee of good healthcare, tax supported, is a loss of individual freedom? Only in America.

Well, to make an extremely long story instantly short, government regulation protects consumers, workers, the environment, minorities, many good things. Those who would like to exploit such resources - labor, natural resources, etc. - cry out their freedom is abridged by tyrannical government whenever they are blocked.

It is truly sad that capital has won the propaganda war here in the US. Capitalism has its attractive aspects. But unchecked it is a monster.

Free-market capitalism? How can people be dissatisfied with something they have never seen or taken part in? We have not had free-market capitalism in any of our lifetimes. We have corporatism aka fascism as our government/economic system. Mussolini, the father of fascism, said that it should be called corporatism because all fascism is is a merger of government and corporate power. Now with all of our elected officials on the payroll of corporate America, doesn't that sound to you like what we have? Stop ripping free-market capitalism until we've actually tried it.

Can liberals and progressives ever beat conservatives at their own rigged game?

CAPITALISM at the TIPPING POINT

As Jean Jacques Rousseau said in his "Social Contract" in 1762, a social system can become so corrupt that it cannot be changed without a great catastrophe. That is what has happened to American capitalism.

This process can be understood as a series of positive feedback loops leading to a tipping point. Climate change and capitalism evolve in a similar way.

In the case of climate change the feedback loops are fairly well understood.
1) As arctic sea ice melts back, more sunlight is absorbed into the dark ocean rather than reflected into space by white ice, and the warmer ocean causes more ice to melt, absobing still more heat. A positive feedback loop.
2) As arctic tundra melts, underlying organic material releases CO2 and methane (23 times as potent as CO2) causing more tundra to melt. Positive feedback.
3) Rising temperatures encourage beetles which are killing millions of acres of sub-arctic forests, which then rot and release more warming CO2.

When the loops have gone on long enough a tipping point is reached so that NOTHING CAN BE DONE to stop them. Within 10 years, say most climate scientists.

Within capitalism, the elements of the feedback loop are unequal wealth, power and public opinion. As the rich get richer they use their wealth to buy more power, both in government and in the mass media. More power allows them to rewrite the laws and control the executive which gives them more wealth, which in turn allows them to buy more power. A spiral of wealth to power and power to wealth becomes unstoppable, especially as the organized power of the poor simultaneously declines (think unions and independent media).

The positive feedback is systemic. Thus Obama, regardless of what his intentions may have been, cannot "reform" the banking system without enriching and concentrating the banks, and cannot "reform" the health system without a huge windfall to the insurance companies.

Eventually, mass impoverishment leads to greater and greater debt crises and the system begins to unravel. And since human beings have more consciousness than polar bears, more and more of us conclude that capitalism, "is fatally flawed and a different economic system is need," and that it CANNOT be "addressed through regulation and reform."

At the point of breakdown, however, consciousness of a flawed system will not be enough to lead us into a better one. The only way to escape the "man on horseback," of the right or of the so-called "left," is to build up our habits of co-operation and solidarity. The storm is coming. Feedback loops lead to a tipping point. We have to start to prepare, NOW.

They'll still crash the world just to think they still can increase the profits to minimize the costs, and we still can't get them put in jail because in fair( and I mean legislatures, courts and 'officials' that aren't bribed) capitalism there are regulations, oversight and repercussions that are suppose to stop just exactly what is happening now, greed running rampant.

How can anyone possibly believe there is or ever has been a free market? Corporations exist to maximize profits. Corporations buy legislation to ensure regulation that will benefit themselves at the expense of others in that market. Competition is not conducive to profit hence the monopolization of the market place. That was the reason the antitrust and racketeering laws were established. Free markets and corporations are the exact opposits. Reagan set in place breakers to cease trading when the market collapsed. How can that be called free? The plunge protection team was established at the same time to manipulate the market when collapse was inherent. How can that be called free? When finance collapsed the taxpayers bailed out the capitalist-no strings attached. how can that be free? The fact that markets require regulation to keep from collapsing proves they aren't free. The whole idea of free markets is pure mythology. There has never been one and there will never be one.

Capitalism needs democracy to keep it in check, but capitalism has corrupted democracy through legalized bribery. Buying Congress is likely the world’s best investment, paying off at 1000 to 1, according to several sources, including Jack Abramoff, in the 3rd paragraph of http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/30/AR2005043000783.html

We should let citizens legislate in parallel with Congress, as the Swiss have since 1848 via NATIONAL ballot initiatives. Sen. Gravel has the best plan for here: http://Vote.org

Ballot initiatives are the origin of most reforms, such as women's suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), direct election of Senators (4 states), publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states with them), medical marijuana ( in 10 of 13 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006). See http://Vote.org/initiatives for more examples and references. The media have seized on the problem initiatives. They generally kiss up to politicians.

You can discuss governments all day and night. The problem with the u.s. is in the composite spirit. The Sioux Nation was the best for individual freedom and the purest type of socialism without words on paper, jails, or standing armies. The cream rose in respect through deeds. People were revered for generosity/sacrifice to others, the polar opposite of the perverted hierarchal capitalist americans where it matters not how the wealth is attained and the leaders are scraped from the bottom of the barrel.

Really, if you want to learn about a system based on individual freedom get "The Sioux" by Royal B. Hassrick.

"Free market capitalism" is a contradiction in terms, because the free market relies on unrestricted trade between all countries. If one World currency existed, and there was a universal code of rights for workers everywhere, then a better system may be possible. As it is, the rich nations of the World, simply protect their financial institutions, whilst ignoring the fact that their industrial bases are suffering, or in the case of the UK, have vanished completely. Capitalism allows the rich elite to travel the globe in search of cheap labour, whilst ignoring the plight of the worker at home. Because of the advances in technology, the processes involved in manufacturing, have seen vast cuts in labour resources.
As long as there are humans on this planet, there will always be that most undesirable character trait - greed.
Capitalism by its very nature is fuelled by greed, a desire to beat the competition at all costs, irrespective of the damage caused to economies or people.
Even now, our leader, Gordon Brown, does not want to step in to regulate the financial sector, insisting that a loose grip on the reins is vital for it to function efficiently. We are also being told, that consumers must spend again, and presumably use credit to obtain goods, all this to get the great juggernaut Capitalism on the move again.

Kaboom.

Proponents of free market capitalism do not understand the irrationality of greed. Wall Street talks of recovery while Main Street experiences growing unemployment, loss of homes and Hoovervilles.