Does capitalism promote wasted human energy?

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Robert_Sock said:
Perhaps the government. Perhaps banks.

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There is an incentive problem if the government does it. If the government bureaucrat invests in the wrong stock it is no skin off his nose since it is not his money anyway. In the stock market the only way I will buy a company’s stock is if I think the company will be profitable in the future and therefore reward my stock purchase with future dividends and stock price growth. But how would we reward the bureaucrat to make similar decisions?

Second, if the stock market is gambling, then why would we want banks gambling?
 
stinkcat_14 said:
There is an incentive problem if the government does it. If the government bureaucrat invests in the wrong stock it is no skin off his nose since it is not his money anyway. In the stock market the only way I will buy a company’s stock is if I think the company will be profitable in the future and therefore reward my stock purchase with future dividends and stock price growth. But how would we reward the bureaucrat to make similar decisions?

Second, if the stock market is gambling, then why would we want banks gambling?
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Before any money is handed over, a team of ‘experts’ should agree that the product or service being offered is indeed needed to promote the common good of society, and therefore that the business will most assuredly be a success.

This may sound like very wishful thinking, but a higher-ordered form of love must be pervasive in society. This sort of LOVE must be contagious, which I believe is possible. It would result in a worldwide revolution, and promote a super-strong cooperation. I believe that this is within the power of God, and that it is bound to take place at some point in human history. The song, Imagine, by John Lennon, comes to mind here, less its anti-religious lyrics. Maybe this will have to wait for the Messianic era, but it will happen.

LOVE! ❤️
 
stinkcat_14 said:
Actually you can invest in the whole market. Look up symbols spy or VTI to see an example. If a person could easily get 32% and they only got 15%, then they lost an opportunity to earn an extra 15%. That opportunity cost that they gave up is a waste.
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The whole market is every stock listed on the stock exchange. How many of us can afford a share in Berkshire Hathaway at a single share value at $189,900 as of today?

Furthermore even if one can invest in the whole market the fact that making a 20% ROI is something you would consider a waste because there are other investments that earn a higher ROI is odd from an Economics Professor.

BTW where do you teach at?
 
Robert_Sock said:
If you are buying the house as an investment, then yes, it is a form of gambling.
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Following your logic, buying anything is a form of gambling.

And government holding all means to capital? Can someone explain to me how this is not straight out communism?
 
saintjohnxxiii said:
The whole market is every stock listed on the stock exchange. How many of us can afford a share in Berkshire Hathaway at a single share value at $189,900 as of today?
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You can invest in VTI, the vanguard total stock market etf, its ninth largest holding is Berkshire. VTI sells for about $102 a share, well within the reach of almost everyone.
Furthermore even if one can invest in the whole market the fact that making a 20% ROI is something you would consider a waste because there are other investments that earn a higher ROI is odd from an Economics Professor.
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Actually, it would be quite odd if I thought any differently than I did. It is just the concept of opportunity cost at work.
BTW where do you teach at?
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What relevance is that to the discussion?
 
Robert_Sock said:
How so? How often do we ever buy anything as an investment?

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stinkcat_14 said:
What is your definition of an investment?
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Exactly my point. I’m no stock market junkie but a language major like myself knows enough about plain English to say that investment is no more a fancier term for ‘spending money in exchange for something.’

I refer Wikipedia’s own layman’s definition to prove my point:
Investment is time, energy, or matter spent in the hope of future benefits actualized within a specified date or time frame. Investment has different meanings in economics and finance.
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Robert_Sock said:
I never gave this too much thought, but investment is the shelling out of money in the hope of gaining monetary reward.
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When does investment become gambling? If you know that the odds of winning are extremely low, then it is gambling. Buying a lottery ticket is gambling.

Buying a blue-chip stock can hardly be considered gambling.
 
stinkcat_14 said:
And why should that be discouraged?
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It ultimately results in much wasted human energy, such as that of the stock market.

People may certainly think that capitalism, and all its mechanisms, is the best economic system available to us, but I believe that there may be a better system that promotes love and cooperation. What this system may be, I have not given much thought.

LOVE! ❤️
 
nmgauss said:
When does investment become gambling? If you know that the odds of winning are extremely low, then it is gambling. Buying a lottery ticket is gambling.

Buying a blue-chip stock can hardly be considered gambling.
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Are you suggesting that blue-chip stocks cannot lose money?

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nmgauss said:
Is running a marathon wasted human energy? Is exercising at the local gym wasted energy? Is mowing your lawn wasted energy?
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I fail to see your point. Whether or not these things are a waste of human energy in no way changes the fact of whether or not the stock market involves wasted human energy.

LOVE! ❤️
 
Robert_Sock said:
It ultimately results in much wasted human energy, such as that of the stock market.
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In what way does it waste energy?
People may certainly think that capitalism, and all its mechanisms, is the best economic system available to us, but I believe that there may be a better system that promotes love and cooperation. What this system may be, I have not given much thought.
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So you want to get rid of the system that works reasonably well in favor of a system you haven’t even thought up yet?

Second, suppose we get rid of the stock market, how would that really help things? After all, I have quite a bit of money in the stock market and if investing in the stock market is banned I will just take my money and put them in stocks traded in Canada, Asia and Europe. How is that going to help the poor here?
 
Robert_Sock said:
I fail to see your point. Whether or not these things are a waste of human energy in no way changes the fact of whether or not the stock market involves wasted human energy.

LOVE! ❤️
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If running a marathon, which produces nothing for the participant or society as a whole, isn’t a waste of energy, then how is investing in a company to become successful, employ people, produce goods for consumers while causing the initial investment to rise in value a waste? What is being wasted?
 
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