Colonialism and Imperialism, part 1

Please bear with me - I've just made a connection between this topic and spread of "industrialization" activities. Probably not a new idea for you. But one more example of the limitations of my history education. This connects to arguments against phrases like "Columbus discovered America". That phrase reflects a certain point of view - and attributing it to the natural expressions of "Western Civilization" seems to mask the nasty side of things. Dare I connect this "industrialization" to capitalism?


Shut the Front Door: I've just now had a shudder, and understand more than ever before, and in my bones, what all the bru-ha-ha is about capitalism. I do tend to agree with my dad who declared it far from good but it is the best we humans can do.

 Capitalism without restriction leads to something like a dictatorship. And this gives me pause - as Trump is still leading (among which people I always wonder) and Carson still going strong (but slipping due to his recent nonsense). In looking for current rating info - found these charts: and Rubio is not pulling out ahead as much as his standing is improving:
HuffPost: current political polls    fascinating

I agree  that fiscal responsibility (one of the generalized Republican positions) is important. I learned through practical dorm governance work that free things cause disruption and waste. Ridiculous low prices instead lead to responsibility among the vast majority of the crowd. Two examples.
Sunday Brunch (whole dorm)
Back in the day, dining commons were closed weekends and getting some breakfast on Sunday meant a long walk on Sunday morning, not what we all wanted after our weekend fun. Tried various options to meet this need on a break-even financial basis (it was to build community as well as solve a practical need). The best was to charge a flat fee for a hot breakfast (usually coffee, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon). And we required all customers to bring their own plates, cups, etc. Only want coffee? Sorry one fee. What we found - we had no mess to clean up (folks took their stuff with them, lots of customers as the food was decent. And because we were subsidized by food service, we made money. I think we charged a dollar to reduce making change to simplicity. We made a lot of money. Because we had so many customers.
End of year party (3 large dorms+)
To get rid of the money (any left over funds at the end of the year rolled back to the university), we hosted a movie night, with hot dogs and drinks. We did provide the cups and all that. Some of us wanted it all to be free. Some of us had learned that to reduce waste we had to charge something. So, we sold tickets. The movie was free. We hung a sheet out of some windows, I think. Borrowed a projector? This was back in the mid seventies. So, hot dogs were a nickel, drinks maybe a dime. Out of the hundreds that came, we had no issues with destructive, messy, or wasteful behaviors. We all had a blast - enjoying a party with such cheap food. Almost no food was wasted. If it had been free? I'm guessing there'd be lots and lots of half eaten hot dogs all over. Free stuff, unless in times of crises (which should be of short duration) isn't as valued.