I just had a conversation with a guy who said, “Yeah, well I’m a capitalist.”
So I asked, “Okay, how much capital do you have?”
Boy, oh boy, does that question put things in perspective. He became a caricature of an old Warner Brothers cartoon character, trying to compose himself as he fumbled for words, all while he avoided actually answering the question.
So I simply repeated the question. I highly recommend.
@MattMerk Is it Stockholm syndrome or something? The US is full of people who act like serfs, talk like rugged individualists, and identify with the very rich.
@MattMerk Not sure what you are trying to get. Who ever answers immediately when asked "tell me your net worth". It's not a polite question.
It could be '$10.000 in the bank, $10.000 for my car, $10.000 more for other itemsI own, finally $120.000 for my house minus the mortgage makes a total of $150.000'.
@Dutchinvestor Is your home a property you rent out to others? How many cars (or “other” items) do you own, and are any of those cars (or “other” items) things you rent out to others? Do you think personal and private property are the same thing? Do you think “capital,” “wealth,” and “money,” are synonyms in the context of a discussion of economics?
@MattMerk so if he'd answered "£3m cash plus a few investments and 4 properties" would that be better or worse than if he'd answered "oh, nothing, just a mortgage and a small credit card debt"
Is there a winning answer? Or is this just some clever way to say capitalism is bad?
@MattMerk are you prepared to tell me how much money you have?
If you are not prepared to answer a question but you expect others to answer the same question then you are being dishonest and inconsistent.
Answer the question. Asking another question in response would be avoiding the question.
@martin_piper@MattMerk Capital implies having assets that contribute to income/profit. It's a great question, because it's not just about money, it's a question of control. How much of the means of production do you have? Do you have an investment property? Do you have stocks? Do you own a factory? My guess is a lot of people who call themselves capitalists are probably at the mercy of people with a lot more capital.
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