But, getting back to the core, I think all of these capitalism vs communism juxtapositions distract us from looking at our collective goals. That is, we often put ideology in front of the desired effect.
Capitalism has succeeded in being a much, much better allocator of resources than large-scale central planning. I think most of us get that. Allowing capital to flow dynamically has allowed resources to flow to where there is most demand, and it has incentivized people to play the resource allocation game.
As a society, we have generally accepted some inequality in the process, as long as the system has generally benefited most people. Traditionally, in the west, this has been 'progress' - the optimism that one's quality of life and the quality of life of their descendants will get significantly better over time.
In countries that have adopted capitalism, it's been great, as long as per-capita grown rates have been high (say > 4% annually). But, when standards of living start to decrease over time, like they have started to over the last 30-40 years, people lose faith in the system. That, coupled with most economists predicting long-term global growth stagnation, it's time to think about novel new models that achieve social goals.
As hackers, I'm surprised that there has been so much focus in HN comments on dueling ideology. Where are the innovative minds that come up with new systems to replace the old ones?