Ok, your linking the irish famine, with 'the current system'? Land ownership laws have radically changed. I think we should remove that from the list!
Then starting with the great depression onwards we can't really say if something is a symptoym or a cause. The analogy I would give is complaining that the woolly sweater doesn't keep you warm because you burnt a hole in it. The question is why did you lean over a naked flame, rather than the jumper not been fireproof.
Its akin to saying airplanes are "broken" because sometimes that fail, yes the system isn't remotely perfect, but lets have constructive suggestions to make it better.
I would instead suggest you look at something like Tulip Mania, and ask yourself is this just a failure of the system or the participants?
I also find it odd that the depressions had little to do with a wealth distribution, and also only caused pain and suffering because of the decline in standards, those higher standards had been a result of the system.The difference is, I don't pretend I could do it better, and also, in hindsight I can suggest that a lot of the failings are in fact entirely due to the tinkerings! Take the current euro hickup, its due to someone giving a nation which can't be trusted, the germanic credit card in simple terms. Its hard to bring in unity in these scenarios, given the complexity of the problems, we're not doing *too* badly.
Please, read something like The Undercover Economist what do you think capitalisim is, its about resources, alocations vs demand. It is however naturally de-centralised, as a engineer that design pleases me, it also has managed to out perform any heavy top down management system ever seen. This is why I don't understand what these peoples goals are!
Now this is where you drift oft in to something else, I'm guessing your not a software developer, because all software developers I know who are worth anything know software is always going to be failing, there are just too many variables, thats why the more complex flight control systems have ludicrious redundancies and sometimes democratic decision making. The problem is you seem to think there is a perfect solution obtainable, that to me just demonstraites you either don't understand software, or the problems been solved. I think that metaphore translates over in to the world, this is not, lolustoopie, this is lol, you really don't understand anything.
Now peoples food supply and shelter been snatched out, I really find that bit interesting. Do you know what us europians (who lets not forget make up the richest quartile of the world, even dole dwellers!) create intresting (i mean that in the sickest possible way!) problems for so many with the CAP? We could so easily solve a lot of world hunger, but alas we don't give a ****.
But that is the rub for me, how do you say stop someone from spending their money on ciggies, which ultimately just kill them in a resource in efficent manner, when they could have spent that money on helping provide clean water to those who have none.
I think the 99 v 1 percent thing is a curious political driver, because of what it is appealling too, that is the greed and selfishness off the 99%, by saying they feel they should have more of the world, which is ironic, because if we had a truely fair on a global basis of allocation system, they would almost certainly have less than they already do. Obviously they are not asking for fair for all, only fair for them.
That is ultimately, why I have no time for these people, and will go back to laughing as people throw mcd applications at them.