Question ?

[mkemse]

And concessions from the unions, which are at least as responsible for the auto makers' problems as the CEOs.

I agree 100% the Union will not concede any more Salary til their currentcontract is over, if they will not do that, they we SHOULD NOT bail them out, Congress wants their salaries on Par with Toyota ect I see nothing rong withthat, NO GOLDEN Parachute for the Execs, no Bonuses for anyone
They need to be watched so closly that they wnder in Big Brother is in the Restroom with them.
The JIg is up, either they Give Congress in Concessions what Congrsss has askedfor, or No bailout. they put off making corrective measures for years, now they see the end result of things
We as Taxpayers be it short term or long Term can NOT keep failing failing Companies out plain and simple, I do not want my Great, Great Grandchildren to have to continue to pay this debt off,
The Big 3 and the Union eeither give Congress in concessions EVERYTHING that Congress as asked for, or let them SINK, fail and go Bankrupt, that simple

Yes Capitalism will return here, thre question is when, probably not in my lifetime

[lucy]

As for bailouts: How much sense bailing out car companies makes is something the brits here should know: None at all, they will fail anyway later, but then of course the money is already spent.
Darwin's theory applies to economics too. If a company isn't fit enough or doesn't find it's niche to prosper in, it's a goner and should be left to die. Throwing good money after bad usually is not a smart thing to do.

Back to the original question:
Capitalism will not have to return, because it won't fall in the first place. I hope it will become a little bit less of a rat's race and that politicians and other decisionmakers will realize that greed shouldn't be the only force that counts.
But let's not forget that the last 20 to 30 years have brought hundreds of millions of people all around the world a better life, and capitalism was what made it possible.