How long will capitalism last?

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Economics starts with recognizing two points: people have different wants, people have different abilities.

Everything else comes from that.

Capitalism is the economic system of private property and free trade.  Private property not only means having a title to some piece of property (not necessary for smaller items but the sentiment is there) but first and sole use of disposition of that property.  When you tell people what they can do with their property you are deviating from capitalism.  Free trade means that if two people agree to a deal, a third party has no right to intervene.  Based on those two points, there is nothing about how capitalism needs some sort of continual expansion or growth.  Nor is there anything about how it needs to contract either.

[Baruch]

We have entered the US age of the Merchantile Princes.  You have to pay to play, donate to say, and cheat all the way.

Those who reach the financial top are guaranteed a place at the table (er, Cabinet).

China is also Mercantile, see price of Yuan.  Basically in an age of emerging powers, we are back to the early modern period, when Spain, France and Britain did what they could thru economic warfare, and conflict over colonies (see 3rd world dictatorships).  Today we have the natives colonize themselves, and thence we take our cut back to the home country.  International business isn't new .... see British East Indies Company and British West Indies Company (the basis, thru Hamilton, of American capitalism).