[arakyd]

What about if nearly everyone is worse off? Putting the burden of responsibility on the actor is fine, but Swoopo is not in the same category as Starbucks and EA, and claiming that everyone participating in a capitalist economy does so at the expense of others is pretty disingenuous.

[cellis]

Claiming that everyone participating in a capitalist economy does so at the expense of others is pretty disingenuous.

Perhaps not everyone, but it seems to me that a large portion of firms in a capitalist economy prey on some human weakness or another, to varying degrees.

[DanielBMarkham]

* it seems to me that a large portion of firms in a capitalist economy prey on some human weakness or another, to varying degrees.*

Wow.

I take it you have a really, really broad definition of "human weakness" for this belief system to continue working for you.

Car broken and I can fix it for 20 bucks? You have a weakness for not knowing how to do auto repair. Need a good resume and come to my resume service? You have an inability to write and a lack of work, due to a weakness of the system. Need a program to balance your checkbook? You obviously have a problem with math, could be lazy in your account habits, etc.

This kind of definition will work anywhere -- suggesting that perhaps a new one would be better.

[shard]

You don't have to stretch that far, just think about all the psychologically manipulative tactics used in advertisement.

[nazgulnarsil]

advertisement falls under freedom of speech as long as no spurious claims are made. people have free will. the evil advertising box doesn't force people to do anything.

[shard]

I noted that DanielBMarkham didn't have to stretch that far and use examples such as a resume service as preying on the "weakness" of humans not being able to write as an reducio ad absurdum argument that cellis has an overly broad definition of human weakness when cellis stated that a large portion of firms in a capitalist economy prey on some human weakness or another. I continued to note that the psychologically manipulative tactics used in advertisement are used by a large portion of firms in a capitalism economy in order to prey on some human weakness or another, implying that it is not as broad a definition of human weakness as DanielBMarkham makes it out to be.