Is capitalism reformable

Dear Richard:
In one of your recent postings you first try to prove, that capitalism
cannot function without growth, saying:
"Investors who bought stock in a small, growing enterprise could multiply
their capital many times over by selling their stock when the enterprise
achieved major success and expansion. Dividends and profits were not the
most effective way to accumulate wealth - growth investments were.
As a result of tendencies such as these, a capitalist economy is always
dependent on continual economic growth. If corporations generally stopped
growing, then investors generally would try to sell their holdings-markets
would collapse and the whole economy would come to a grinding halt."

My comments:
Many investors might prefer capital growth, but they could continue
thriving through receiving dividends. Furthermore the relentless pursuit of
capital growth might not be due to investors themselves, but to the paid
executives of corporations, who - if successful in this pursuit - receive
enormous bonuses.

You then try to prove that it is impossible to reform capitalism, saying.
"Presumably, 'significant reform' would include things like major
reductions in global warming, radical elimination of toxic pollution of
food, air and water, prohibition of near-slave labor and child
exploitation, a fair deal for poor countries, major reductions in our use
of fossil fuels, etc. etc. What we must recognize, however, is that all of
these 'bad things' are happening precisely because they each contribute in
some way to economic growth. Carelessness with toxins, if permitted,
reduces costs. High energy consumption is coupled with increased auto
sales, and increased employment. Exploitation of labor in poor countries
enables transnational manufacturers to decrease their costs and expand
their markets. And so on."

My comments:
Though such tendencies do exist, GROWTH does not depend on such harmful
exploitation. Lately opportunities for growth have come mostly from quite
different sources, they now depend mostly on the enormous technological
progress (communications, computing, biotechnology, genetics, etc)

My conclusion: you have not succeeded to prove through your arguments, that
CAPITALISM cannot be reformed.
Furthermore societies based on reformed capitalism do exist and are quite
successful economically and socially.
Therefore I do insist that
CAPITALISM CAN AND MUST BE REFORMED:

Regards                 Paul