Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private property and free enterprise.

Stealing billions of dollars from people in order to give it to bankrupt
bankers is not capitalism. It's the very opposite.

You are a true disciple of Klein.

The phrase “Free market capitalism” is like saying “snake with feet”. Capitalists love big government precisely because it tends to shield them from the fallout of crap decisions. That these corporations even exist to beg for bailouts in the first place shows how much meddling there has already been in the market, since they clearly couldn't have survived this long without it.

I agree libertarians have largely been used as propaganda cover for corporate statism. That's why we need to throw off this tendency to want to fit in with the social circles of big business boosters.

“I use to describe the political strategy of deliberately using a crisis—not deliberately creating a crisis, but deliberately using the fear, panic, and desperation that is induced by a cataclysmic event, whether it's a natural disaster or war or terrorist attack or an economic crisis, to very rapidly push through economic shock therapy. And so that's what The Shock Doctrine is—using one shock to push through an economic shock.”

You mean like nationalizing financial institutions and the auto industry.? Isn't this more about governments/politicians reacting (and over-reaching) in a crisis: “Don't just stand there, DO SOMETHING” Her soft-peddling of FDR interventions was weak. “Populist shock therapy”? I'm not sure how “populist” an auto bailout is?

Ironically, she seems to be appealing to a classic conservative sensibility: “Beware of governmental over reaction.”

If rhetoric should be held responsible for reality, then every tin pot dictator who's made references to the “people's will” or other vague, generally warm and fuzzy sounding b.s. ought to be strung up along with their lame, super nice ideology.

A Trotskyite would likewise argue that “although Stalin claimed to be a strong defender of Marxism he put an elite few in charge of industry who enriched themselves on the backs of an opressed labor force, not unlike western capitalists, therefore Stalin is the ultimate vindication of Marxism”

I don't buy it, but there we are. Your free market ideas will continue to be used to justify dening assistance to the poor and middle class and conviently ignored when the wealthy get themselves into trouble. Perhaps, just perhaps , we could try it the other way around for a while?

The last 8 years have seen an incredible increase in government assistance, including Bush's “ownership society” nonsense, which contributed to the current problem. The claim of a hugely interventionist Bush administration is a widely recognized fact at this point. Increased spending on discretionary “nice” stuff like education, etc.

And actually, there are many communists who'd claim that communism hasn't been tried, only authoritarian undemocratic versions. I'm not that familiar with their train of thought, so I'd best be humble. This sort of reminds me of the argument that Nietzsche was responsible for the Nazis, that Marx was responsible for Stalin.

Dain,

you have to deal with the free market you have not the free market on Big Rock Candy Mountain. The wall street bailout is a fact, admittedly supported on both sides of the aisle. And it was demanded by the very people who have spent the last 8 years or more extolling the vitrues of Milton and telling us how their hands off policies would unleash the wonderous powers of the free market and vigorously opposing any sort of government assistance (Hi Welfare Reform!) to those not part of the financial aristocracy.

Once again how does this differ from the sad bitter Trotskyites complaining that Stalin wasn't a real communist and real communism hasn't been tried?

Once again I fail to see how this is not unlike to those sad, sorry trotskyites bitterly complaining that real communism hasn't been tried.

I heard that John Stewart rant about a “useful” product too…

If you guys want to be the useful idiots for the financial aristrocrasy, go right ahead. But don't tell me that the 700 billion for wall street parasites is all very regrettable but less than 5% of that amount for industry that actually produces a useful product is A BRIDE TOO FAR!!!!!!!ONEONEELEVENTYONE!!