• gowan@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    They exist in non-capitalist systems as well so long as the economy has growth metrics being tracked. They can be rarer but as economic data from some countries is less reliable due to fraud, incompetence or just sheer difficulty in obtaining said data (eg try getting accurate numbers in a extremely poor country with little infrastructure) so it can be hard to tell.

    They exist outside of capitalism. Im not sure why you would think other systems have perpetual upwards growth.

        • gowan@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          The UK in 1706. It predates capitalism and the economy tanked by ~15% as the result if war with France.

          Yes they moved the goalposts and they still managed to be wrong.

          • 3laws@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Yes they moved the goalposts and they still managed to be wrong

            Well, fancy that.

            Anywho… for a second there I thought your instance was @redhat.com

          • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            How does something predate capitalism? I feel like capitalism happened as soon as one ape had something another didn’t.

            • gowan@reddthat.com
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              1 year ago

              Capitalism, like many philosophies, is a response to a previous system eg Marx was responding to Smith’s works, Mussolini was responding to Marxists etc. Capitalism’s notion that the ideal involvement of the state in private enterprise should be limited was not a commonly held view until the later 1700s.

              Mercantilism was the popular system of the time and it featured a lot of direct involvement from the crown.

          • 3laws@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Since late stage capitalism is imperialism 3.0, I wonder if it still counts. 🤔

            • gowan@reddthat.com
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              1 year ago

              That’s just a more complicated way of you stating you do not understand what imperialism is as that is absolutely not just a capitalist thing eg The USSR.

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I meant currently, today, not historically.

            predates capitalism

            Talk about moving goalposts. Mixed economies include capitalist markets.

      • TanakaAsuka@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        If we exclude mixed economies and state capitalist countries we are left with basically looking at historic record so let’s do that.

        There were recessions in 15the century England, not a capitalist economy at all! There was also a recession in Rome in 33 AD as well if you want to look back further. This is just from 5 minutes of googling.

        It is not possible to have an economy that never contracts, just to have one where it happens nowhere near as frequently as our current systems and with far better outcomes for most people.

      • cassetti@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Name one. Excluding mixed economies and state run capitalist countries.

        History absolutely has examples of recessions occurring in non-capitalist countries. Here are a few instances:

        • Soviet Union (1980s): The Soviet economy experienced a period of stagnation and recession during the 1980s. A combination of factors including inefficiencies in central planning, declining oil prices, and a lack of technological innovation led to economic troubles. This culminated in the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.

        • Cuba (1990s): After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of its economic support, Cuba entered a period known as the “Special Period in Time of Peace.” This was characterized by a severe economic downturn, shortages of basic goods, and a drop in GDP. Cuba’s economy is based on socialist principles.

        • North Korea (1990s): Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a reduction in aid from communist allies, North Korea faced a period of economic decline in the 1990s. This was marked by food shortages, famine, and a decline in industrial production.

        • Venezuela (21st century): While Venezuela has been characterized by a mixed economy with elements of socialism, it’s worth mentioning due to its economic troubles. The country experienced a deep recession starting in the mid-2010s, driven by falling oil prices, mismanagement, and political instability.

        • Cambodia (late 1970s): After the Khmer Rouge regime took control, Cambodia’s economy suffered a massive collapse due to forced collectivization, execution of professionals, and isolationist policies. The country went through a period of severe economic depression.

        • Maoist China (“Great Leap Forward”, late 1950’s): While China under Mao Zedong’s leadership implemented communist policies, it’s important to note that there were periods of economic turmoil. The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) aimed to rapidly transform China’s economy through collectivization and communal farming, but it resulted in widespread famine and economic setbacks.

        • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Thank you for proving me wrong 😑 Although I might quibble over the Soviet Union as State Capitalism, the others are legit examples. Take note people. This is how it’s done.

          I found a comparison of Cuba, North Korea and China’s economies.

      • gowan@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        Moving the goalposts? Still possible the UK in 1706 was in a massive recession as a result if the war with France. Neither country would be capitalist at the time and were mercantilist.

        You can just admit that you have no idea what a recession is and made an inaccurate comment because of that ignorance.

        • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I would if it were true. Recessions occur with economic markets. All economies in the world today use some form of capitalism. Either state run or mixed. Therefore, I still stand by my statement. If you can find a current example of a recession occurring in a non capitalist country, I will humbly apologize. I don’t have to be correct. But I’m not going to bow while you denigrate a correct statement.

          Edit: After discussing this with my son, he said I’m wrong. So I’m sorry and apologize. I didn’t specify the present in my comment. That’s what I meant. But I understand that historically there have been other economies with recessions.

          Edit 2: It seems my apology was premature. After further reading, I found the term was coined in 1929. Which places it firmly under, you guessed it- capitalism.

          The sense of “temporary decline in economic activity” was a fall-of-1929 coinage, probably a noun of action from recess.

          Before then, economic declines were called financial disaster or slumps.

            • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Funny how recessions only exist under capitalism.

              Did I say “disaster,” “slumps” or “extended negative growth?”

                • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  You’re late. Another user did what you couldn’t. I took the L, but not from you.

                  I’m gonna break it down for future reference… My statement:

                  Funny how recessions only exist under capitalism.

                  The other user moved the goalposts by bringing in non-capitalist countries. I excluded mixed economies and state run capitalism because that is still capitalism. They had to reach back in history to find examples. Those examples were:

                  1. Not capitalist.
                  2. We’re not recessions. Because the term did not exist yet.

                  So my statement was still true.

                  Another user gave good examples when recessions did exist. Those examples were socialist (albeit some could be considered mixed economies).

                  This makes my statement fallacious, and therefore, an L. This is not about my feelings, or winning and losing. It’s about logic and truth.

                  Also, from a Linguistics professor:

                  “‘It’s just semantics’ is a common retort people use when arguing their point. What they mean is that their argument or opinion is more valid than the other person’s. It’s a way to be dismissive of language itself as carrier for ideas. It implies that ideas and arguments can be separated from the words and phrases used to encode those ideas. The irony, of course, is that the words and phrases we use are the ideas. There is no way to communicate a complex argument or message without language. Language and thought are completely interconnected. In fact, words shape concepts and can lead to drastically different understandings of the same thing. For example, inheritance taxes can be called ‘death taxes’ or ‘estate taxes.’ These two political phrases frame the same tax law in drastically different ways. Semantics really matters.”