Comment 33080

By A Smith (anonymous) | Posted August 30, 2009 at 19:42:28

LL >> urban densification, transit projects and the like could play a similar role in the reorginization of the economy. This could stabilize the capitalist system,

All people that earn money should have the right to do what they want with it. If people CHOOSE to spend their money at Walmart, that's their choice. If, as a result of many people shopping at Walmart, Walmart chooses to invest their profits in building more stores, that's also their choice. The key is that all economic transactions should be based on voluntary agreement, never utilizing the threat of force.

>> Poverty will still exist (maybe not downtown) and the capitalist economy as a whole will still outgrow the support system of the biosphere.

The countries where poverty is the worst, also happen to be where private property rights are the weakest. Look at China, as it has moved from public ownership of resources, to one in which individuals are allowed to accumulate capital, tens of millions of people have been lifted from the threat of starvation.

In contrast, China's neighbour, North Korea, holds onto the idea that resources need to be allocated without the use of prices or profits and as a result, it's people are some of the least productive in the world. They work hard, but they don't produce anything the world wants to buy, because they don't have a system that rewards risk taking and success.

As for the biosphere being threatened by economic growth, this is nonsense. If humans consume too many resources, prices for these resources will rise, reducing profits and forcing profit seeking businesses to search for more efficient ways of producing the same amount of goods and services. This has been the history of human kind, at least where prices are used as the means of allocating resources and it will continue to work as long as private property rights are respected.

>> well-designed streets, parks, convivial transportation are of direct USE VALUE to people.

How do you know what the value of public parks, transit and well designed streets are? What specific unit of value do you use to measure it?

>> I see structural auto dependence and other forms of waste as creating extra work for wage earners.

People CHOOSE to buy cars and live in the burbs, no one forces them. If everybody wanted to live downtown Hamilton, prices for units downtown would be higher than outlying areas , but this isn't the case. Explain why you think this is?

>> Combined with class struggle, sustainable urbanism can lead to a shortening of the workday and the growth of community.

How do you define class struggle?

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