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ezstlast Tuesday at 12:55 PM1 replyview on HN

Maybe what you're calling capitalism is just oligarchy, in which case the nuance really doesn't matter.


Replies

HPsquaredlast Tuesday at 4:01 PM

I think the standard argument is that capitalism inevitably develops into oligarchy. Even the most basic setup of property rights protected by a legal system, presupposes a central authority of some kind who makes the ultimate decisions. Where there is law, there are courts, executive and legislative functions. More complex structures like joint stock companies introduce their own dynamics but also depend on a central authority to enforce contract law. Everything is downstream of security.