i think that we - the western world - need to stop muddling around and swing further one way or the other when it comes to capitalism.

are we economic darwinists or aren't we? i thought, and i suppose i was wrong, that if a company can't survive with it's business model it needs to fail. looking through american history i can find you a thousand examples, up till truly recent history, of major companies - large percentage market holders - failing and our economy swallows it like a hiccup and moves on. what i believe happened is that as pampered westerners we've grown accustomed to a certain lack of discomfort in our lives. yes the big three going under would hurt, but it wouldn't end us, and i feel that by taking a stance solidly that as a country we won't bail out incompetent businesses we will be forcing true competitiveness. i feel there is a complacency that has been festering in capitalism, which stifles innovation.

but the airlines got their bailouts, because as a nation we cannot deal with inconvenience. so the automakers will also, and it will get worse. we must resign ourselves to becoming secondary players in the world market; we do not even now innovate at the level the more vicious 'asian tigers' do.

as a mechanic i can give you an example of how i see capitalism. capitalism at it's best is a machine that runs in perfect tune, streamlined and efficient above all else, because there is no room for dead weight. and as new processes avail themselves, new technologies, new thought patterns and business models, so the engine strips away what was good before but is now obsolete. and it becomes efficient again! the big three represent western capitalism in the way their products represent them; they are beautiful institutions, full of power and tradition, but their technology is old, dated, and inefficient.

ask any hp junkie if he'd rather ride/drive american or japanese.

evolution and change are key. they're willing, we're not. so we'll slow fade - i think there are a lot of comparisons to be drawn, for you brits, to the end of the Empire. stagnation....

wow i thought really hard on this. thank you craven for an excellent topic, i hope this response was what you were looking for.

-matin