[Sussex] Linux is capitalism, Microsoft is communism?

[Stephen Williams]

On Mon, 2004-10-25 at 12:46, Geoff Teale wrote:
> Mark,
> 
> I haven't read your post in full (no time, will do so at home).
> 
> To me it boils down to this, monopolies cause a fundemental break down
> of the capitalist system, without competition you create a sick,
> distorted entity that sucks dry the very resources it relies on (in this
> case the customers).
> 
> Microsoft is a publically traded company, the value of shares in public
> traded companies is not (as many people believe) derived by it's assets
> and profit alone, more importanlty the traded value of shares is based
> on the belief investors have that the company can achieve significant
> growth in profits in the future that will allow them to pay dividends.
> 
> Microsoft, as a virtual monopoly, reached a point in the 1990's where
> there was nolonger any room for natural growth in their market.  Here
> they faced three options:
> 
> * Loose value in their shares (not an option under US, or indeed UK law
> if it is preventable).
> 
> * Move into new markets.
> * Make more money from each existing customer.
> 
> So.. in a way their behaviour isn't entirely their fault, legislaters
> should have acted to restrict their control over the market much
> earlier.  In failing to do so (where they had previously suceeded with
> regard to AT&T and IBM) the US government broke a fundemental principle
> of capitalist economies.


Good argument so far...

> In short, Microsoft isn't the issue, the questions are:
> 
> Is the USA really a true capitalist economy?
>  - answer, no.  Further to this you might assert that the US and EU
> economies are the most centralised on the planet today (outside China).
> 

Humph, don't agree with this at all. One could argue that there's mo
such thing as a perfect {capitalist/communist/socialist/whateverist}
model. All display faults, it's just that so far the secular western
capitalist democracy seems to be the least worst way of governing human
affairs.

> Is the USA truely a democracy?
> - Good questions.. right now it's subject to leadership by coup..
> 

Rubbish. A close election result != a coup. It's a hard truth, live with
it.

> Is there anything we can do about it?
> - dunno..?
> 

Not unless you're American - and there's a good chance you'd be voting
Bush anyway.