In article
<ddfr-E27544.07555624072008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, David
Friedman <ddfr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> In article
> <holman-2407081057100001@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> holman@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Eugene Holman) wrote:
>
> > In article
> > <ddfr-625DA6.20304223072008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, David
> > Friedman <ddfr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >
> > > Someone wrote:
> > >
> > > > > > Wouldn't be better to ask people who experienced both
> > > > > > capitalism and socialism, i.e. the citizens of former
> > > > > > USSR and other socialist countries? Do they love
> > > > > > capitalism and democracy they have now, or do they
> > > > > > want the USSR back?
> > >
> > > I don't think people who live in the former USSR have yet
experienced
> > > capitalism.
> > >
> > > Perhaps you should put the question to people in Estonia or the
Czech
> > > Republic.
> >
> > You are a bit confused.
> >
> > Estonia is part of the former USSR, although it is not, technically
> > speaking, a successor state but rather one that was under Soviet
> > occupation.
>
> Correct--I spoke imprecisely. I was thinking of the contrast between
> parts of the former USSR and its satellites that had, and
> those--including Russia proper--that had not, made the transition to an
> economy no less capitalist than the western European or U.S. economies.
>
> > In Russia proper, at least the large urban centers such as St.
Petersburg,
> > Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibersk, and Vladivostok, are booming
centers
> > of industrial-strength robber-baron-type capitalism. If you enter
Russia
> > through Finland, more than fifty kilometers from the border you see
the
> > trucks loaded with Jaguars, BMWs, Mercedes-Benz's, and other luxury
> > automobiles, the same ones that have made the eight-lane Nevsky
Prospect,
> > the main street in St. Peterburg, a case of 24/7 gridlock. The
formerly
> > shabby border city of Vyborg shows clear signs that the money
spreading
> > from St. Petersburg is beginning to have an impact on it.
>
> I don't think capitalism is defined by the im****t of luxury automobiles.
Agreed. It is defined by the ability of a significant segment of the
society to use the economy to earn enough money honestly to cover living
costs and still have enough money left over for such extras as iPods,
caviar, and automobiles, including im****ted luxury ones :-)
I visit and do business in Russia quite often, most recently having
visited there in November 2007. Urban Russia has an economy and lifestyle
that cannot be characterized by any other designation than unadulterated,
unfettered capitalism. For details, see e.g.
http://www.mercer.com/searching/searching.htm?q=Moscow.
Regards,
Eugene Holman
|
