Good that you write this document, but in my opinion we're dismissing the important question, which you clarify your post doesn't address:
"I am not arguing for or against the proposition that capitalism creates incentives for people to be selfish, or makes people more selfish than the socialist alternative. This is a distinct empirical question."
Gathering empirical data for this topic is difficult, but I would like to see a discussion on how people's selfishness are transformed in either communism or capitalism -- and most importantly, whether it's possible to expect these selfish agents to eventually make benevolent actions despite their previous (or still present) selfish actions.
Good that you write this document, but in my opinion we're dismissing the important question, which you clarify your post doesn't address:
"I am not arguing for or against the proposition that capitalism creates incentives for people to be selfish, or makes people more selfish than the socialist alternative. This is a distinct empirical question."
Gathering empirical data for this topic is difficult, but I would like to see a discussion on how people's selfishness are transformed in either communism or capitalism -- and most importantly, whether it's possible to expect these selfish agents to eventually make benevolent actions despite their previous (or still present) selfish actions.