What economic approach would actually work?

[CrossLOPER]

I am told that supply side thinking fails.

I am told that the free market fails.

I have seen directed economies fail.

So what works? Or is it just a matter of who is raping whom at the moment and nothing can be done?

You can have whatever system you want, so long as you have proper oversight to make sure that the system works as its supposed to work. Some systems are easier to implement than others, usually those that function naturally with minimal guidance. Capitalism is favorable in this respect, but there is always some jacka** that wants more for less. The key is to apply just enough pressure to make sure that corruption stays down. The best way to do this is to decentralize oversight as much as possible and make sure to pay those in charge very well. It's easy to bribe one guy. It's simply not feasible to bribe everyone.