Comments by "irresistablejewel" (@irresistablejewel) on "Geopolitical Economy Report" channel.

  1.  @takumu781  Socialism refers to all types of left-wing ideologies (of which Communism is one version); while Capitalism refers to all types of right-wing ideologies. Government ownership of state-sector industry (providing needs) and all land; plus a single party political political system means China is Communist and while there are big private sector companies in China, many of these are state subsidized (which isn't technically capitalism or socialism; instead might be described as "protectionism"; or "unfair competition", since the state will cover any losses; or in capitalist countries, tax payers subsidizing shareholder dividends is often referred to as "crony capitalism" or just "a mess"). So China is Communist (politically and economically); Russia is more towards a Social Democracy (politically), but also has a centrally planned economy; state ownership of land and it's own "take" on Capitalism; while countries like Canada; Norway; Denmark and Scotland are examples of Social Democracies (politically) with "mixed economies" (economic sectors either run by capitalist, or socialist rules (best not to mix both in one sector)). America is Capitalist (politically; two right wing parties) and economically, but only supports "free market Capitalism" when it's in it's own interest. (While it should be mentioned that private sector corporate profit is not a healthy national objective; it's the short road to fascism). The most extreme forms of Socialism (Bolshevism) and Capitalism (Fascism) tend to result in a form of "totalitarianism"; which only works for a very select few and so should be avoided; otherwise no form of Capitalism or Socialism will ever work perfectly; but you can see China is Communist at general election time (because there isn't one).
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  2. I don't agree; BTC is not backed by the GDP of a country, or Gold reserves, it's not accepted "over the counter" in many establishments; I don't know what it is (maybe a ponzie scheme?) but it's not money (in the traditional sense) and not really a store of value either as it's quite volatile. It's certainly an invention, I agree with you there.
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  3.  @takumu781  Thanks for saying. I only got snapshots of different cultures; totally different ways of doing things does take a bit of time to get used to, also not being able to read or write anymore... while switching off the hot water a month a year (to clean the pipes); I'm not keen on that. Or Typhoons... in the S China seas. I like what Denmark does: education; renewables; cake. They seem to know what they're doing...
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  4.  monipenny408  I agree with you; the "free world" is becoming prohibitively expensive; while a centrally planned economy is efficient when applied to manufacturing and long term planning (further than just the next election); while many major projects really require to be backed by the state (e.g. 27 heavy-water nuclear reactors; high speed rail; landing anything on the Moon); projects too big for one company, require a lot of cooperation. China often state-subsidizes private sector companies; but this isn't really capitalism, or socialism, and could be viewed as "protectionism" or even "unfair competition"; as the state can cover any losses; China could even produce Steel at a loss as it's required for all kinds of (profitable) manufacture (swings and roundabouts); but exporting this Steel acts like "product dumping", negatively affecting other countries Steel industries. One solution is stop buying it; but that's easier said than done (while tariffs just push up prices). It does seem that building infrastructure (domestic and foreign) is more popular than investing public money into weapons and blowing things up; that there are advantages investing in people (NHS; state-funded education; emergency services); these sectors will never "make money", they "save money"; so profit seekers should look elsewhere. However in the Chinese (and Russian) form(s) of Socialism: the state owns the land; wages are comparatively low; while most of us can't read the writing and since most Western commentators have obviously never been there... it seems they don't know what "it" is; but they know they don't like "it". I used to find this sort of second-hand opinion amusing. With America Trillions in debt; China running a balance of payments surplus; economic advice and criticism about China from America seems entirely unnecessary. Still it fills up newspaper columns; gets clicks; but man cannot live on "nothing-burgers" alone. I liked what I saw of Russia; China and America; they all do things differently and if people don't like that, don't go. While I only guess that the utopian vision of USSR is VDNK and the Chinese utopian vision is what we see being constructed. Anyone know ours? If not it's time to choose one...
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  5. Money is simply a neat way to exchange goods and services, by using some form of "token" that has an agreed face value; unfortunately some people (who should know better) try hard not to understand this useful abstract concept, often because their livelihood depends on this. Money is not "real" (instead it is an agreement based on trust); if money is hoarded, or exported, the economy slows; if the value of the token exceeds it's face value (such as Gold coinage) it's worth more as scrap; negative money (debt) is even less real; currency traders "making money" from money produces nothing; while simply viewing profit as a guide, is a very serious mistake! Money is not a commodity, because commodities have tangible worth and can be substituted (not enough Gold, use Silver; not enough wheat, use barley etc) Money is not a real thing.
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  6.  @whatabouttheearth  I think you'll find Marx was talking about Gold (as money). He also argued that the money form of value can obscure the true nature of social relations of production... It can make it seem as though commodities possess inherent value, rather than being the result of human labor. ....In a non-commodity economy, the general human labor does not manifest itself as value, and there is no contradiction between use value and value, concrete labor and abstract labor, social labor and individual labor, so there is no money. (In the West, it's a paper economy; unlike Russia and China)
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  7. There's a limited quantity of Gold and Silver (and a known amount mined each year) and it doesn't rust; so it's a fairly reliable "store of value". It's not ideal as a coin; pure Gold is quite soft; people would clip coins, or melt them down... these days a $100 Gold coin would be tiny, so instead it's now a paper promissory note.
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