this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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This completely and utterly ignores the capitalist pressures that also hit building materials. Just look at wood prices in the US. Prices have skyrocketed outside of the housing supply as well.
TL;DR: Capitalism is cancer on anything required to live, including the vast supply chain for such goods.
That doesn't explain why some nations are functioning better under capitalism than others though.
Because they put limits on capitalism.
It is not all or nothing.
Here in Denmark we rank higher than the U.S. in ease of doing business. We don't have a minimum wage and it's super easy to fire people. We capitalism harder than America. On the other hand, we offer great safety nets and social services (paid for with high taxes), because we acknowledge that businesses do different things to the state.
I don't think the issue is limiting capitalism. If anything, unleashing capitalism results in competition and amazing products and services. Our tiny nation is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and shipping. Where I think we get it right is ensuring people don't fall through the cracks. Being temporarily unemployed can be hard to navigate and we help people when that happens. We provide free healthcare so no one needs to try to work while sick. We provide free education so that we can specialise in a competitive world. Because people aren't desperate for work, they're able to better negotiate with employers. They can turn down shitty offers and shitty employers. This leads to great workplace conditions for most people and high wages.
High taxes is limiting capitalism.
I disagree. Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and its use for the purpose of obtaining profit. Taxes are not antithetical to capitalism. Neither are unions, public healthcare, unemployment benefits, etc. Capitalism is really good at allocating resources efficiently, but it's not good at helping the vulnerable. That's where government needs to step in.
Sure but what are the specific policies that explain this specific pattern? That's what I'd like to know. Just writing it off as capitalism bad doesn't help, even if it's true.
If that's what you wanted to know, why didn't you ask what the specifics were? All you made was an open ended statement that could be interpreted any number of ways, most of which (in modern colloquial conversation, and this particular context) are going to be viewed as a defense of what the commenter was criticizing.
If you want to have an explicit discussion, ask explicit questions, dont just assume some rando on the internet is going to know your intent.
I thought it was sort of implied but you're right I could have been more explicit.
Okay, what's your alternative supply chain design that will make more wood available, without ruining forests? It's not like the prices are actually stopping the wood cut down from being used.
If you drop the prices of wood right now, they just sell out of wood and somebody at random can't get it.
My guy, you're commenting after someone has already offered another source.
Where? All I see is something about ease of doing business in Denmark.
OP is just about relative house supply in Anglophone vs. non-Anglophone OECD countries, which has nothing to do with building supplies, since that varies tremendously just within the Anglosphere (tree-rich Canada vs bare Britain), or capitalism, because nobody's arguing Japan or Italy is a socialist paradise.
They’re welcome to buy wood from us Canadians.
Though we are pretty terrible at housing too. Every affordability measure is met with generations taught that their home will be their retirement, who do not want to see prices go down.