capitalism news stories on Newser

The Great American Trap: Competition

Kevin Spak — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:01:44 CDT

Peter Thiel spent most of his life competing. He competed to get into Stanford, and then Stanford Law, and then to become a clerk for a federal judge. But it was when he lost a competition—to become a Supreme Court clerk—that Thiel became a real success, founding PayPal...

China Vows Not to Ditch Socialism

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 04:04:29 CST

In case anyone was unclear, China is not planning to ditch socialism. Despite officials' apparent capitalistic canniness when it comes to issues like trade deficits, market competition, global investment, and ravenous retailing, China plans to stay true to its socialist principals, and will eschew Western capitalist systems, said Wu Bangguo,...

Bankers Giving Banking a Bad Name

Kevin Spak — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:29:05 CST

Nicholas Kristof was dumbfounded when, during a recent college lecture, a student asked him if banking jobs were immoral. "I've been sympathetic to the Occupy Wall Street movement, but look, finance is not evil," he writes in the New York Times . It's an essential force, allocating capital to efficient uses....

Hugo Chavez: Maybe Capitalism Ended Life on Mars

John Johnson — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:45:25 CDT

Sammy Hagar was this close to having the day's weirdest quote (it's here ) about extraterrestrial life, but then Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gave a speech. "I have always said, heard, that it would not be strange that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived...

Free Markets Saved the Miners

Kevin Spak — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:38:49 CDT

The Chilean mine rescue was “a smashing victory for free-market capitalism,” writes Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal . “It may seem churlish to make such a claim. It is churlish. These are churlish times, and the stakes are high.” The fact is, this miracle rescue was possible because many...

Cuba's 500K Layoffs a Sharp Capitalist Turn

Polly Davis Doig — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:07:57 CDT

Cuba's announcement that it's looking to whack a half-million workers off the state payroll by March is a significant move toward capitalism, reports the Wall Street Journal. Bearing some 85% of the nation's 5.5 million workers on the government payroll, as well as a ravaged economy, the island nation...

N. Korea Allows Private Food Markets

John Johnson — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:10:00 CDT

North Korea has effectively admitted that it can't feed its citizens by allowing people to buy food and other necessities at private markets, the Washington Post reports. Such markets have existed under the radar for years, but the government order sanctioning what amounts to capitalism "abandons all pretense of a...

Moore's Latest Slams Love Affair With Capitalism

Matt Cantor — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:38:21 CDT

Michael Moore’s latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story , which had its debut last night at the Venice Film Festival, isn't likely to match the “political impact” of Fahrenheit 9/11 , but you might still call it his “magnum opus: the grandest statement of his career-long belief that big business is screwing...

Moore Rips Tinseltown Moneybags at Film Fest

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:26:29 CDT

Lefty gadfly Michael Moore couldn't resist deriding the same well-heeled execs who bankrolled his latest movie at the Venice Film Festival yesterday. "One of the beautiful flaws of capitalism is they will use the rope you give them to hang themselves if you can make a buck," Moore scoffed to...