by Glenn Rogers
There is considerable archeological and historical evidence that the ancients believed in the right to own, and did in fact, own private property. They owned the means of production, whether that was land on which they grew crops, or animals they used for meat, milk, or skins. Since they owned the means of production (the land or animals) to have something to sell for a profit, they were engaging in capitalistic free enterprise. For thousands of years, from the beginning of society in Sumer to the fall of the mighty Roman Empire, people engaged in capitalism.
Then, with the fall of Rome and the near collapse of Western society, feudalism developed and free enterprise was minimized. But as Europe emerged from the disappointments and death of the Middle Ages, feudalism was replaced with a new system that was really just a revival of old capitalistic free enterprise of ages past. And as Europe grew and evolved, so did capitalism. When the Industrial Revolution began in England, capitalism was there to fund it and spur it on. That it would evolve and develop into the complex economic system it is today was inevitable.
And while there were many abuses associated with the Industrial Revolution, it is incorrect to associate them with capitalism. Capitalism is simply an economic system. It can be used appropriately or inappropriately. If immoral people use it inappropriately, being greedy, thoughtless, uncaring, and oppressive, that is not the fault of capitalism. It is the fault of the immoral people who used the system badly. A hammer is a tool. It can be used appropriately, to pound in a nail, or inappropriately, to bash in someone’s head. But the hammer is just an inanimate object that itself is neither good nor bad. So it is with capitalism. It is not a conscious entity that makes choices. That some people have used capitalism badly does not make capitalism a bad thing.
Some people today are advocating socialism—real socialism. Some of them are elected officials or are running for office and want to be elected so they can push their socialist agenda. They claim that capitalism is a bad thing, claiming that the only way to have a fair and just society is to reject capitalism and become socialistic. They seem to forget the failure of the great socialistic experiments of the 20th century. They forget about the failure of the Soviet Union, the United Soviet Socialist Republic. They forget that communist China moved away from a socialist economy to embrace a capitalistic market economy. They ignore the fact that the few remaining communistic countries are places from which people want to escape. No one wants to immigrate to Cuba or North Korea.
These modern “socialists” as they call themselves often point to the Nordic countries that are euphemistically referred to as social democracies—Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and others—as examples of successful socialist societies. The problem is that none of those countries are socialistic. They are capitalistic societies. In socialism, the government owns and controls business and industry (the means of production). But the governments of those Nordic societies do not own the means of production. They have vital and successful capitalistic economies. What they do is tax the people and the businesses quite heavily so they can offer free health care and in some cases free education—Robin Hood taxation. But offering free health care and education is not socialism. Socialism is government ownership of the means of production. Socialism does not exist in those Nordic societies. Again we see the importance of careful and clear definitions.
Some will argue, no doubt, that I am confusing communism and socialism. They would say that communism involves the government owning all business and industry and that socialism does not. That is simply incorrect. All one has to do is look up the definition of socialism. Look it up. Socialism and communism are the same things. That is why the Soviet communist regime officially named itself the United Soviet Socialist Republic. Most people who call themselves socialists today do not actually want to be real socialists (communists) where the government owns and controls business and industry. What they want is Robin Hood politics. They want the government to take money (rob) from the rich so they can set up social programs (free this and free that) for everyone. But as Robert Nozick has pointed out, if the wealthy earned what they have legally, it belongs to them. No one, not even the government, can take it from them against their will. To do so is nothing less than stealing. Thoughtful citizens understand the need for taxation. But allowing the government to tax us in a fair and just manner means that we willingly pay our fair share.
Our current tax system is progressive. The more income you have, the higher percentage you pay in taxes. Is this really a fair way to collect money to fund our society? All people deserve equal treatment under the law, even under the tax law. To treat a group of people differently on the basis of income is no different than treating them differently on the basis of their sex, their ethnicity, their sexual orientation, their religion, or anything else.
The Nordic countries that are erroneously referred to as social democracies believe they are helping their people by providing them with free stuff. Are they? In the long run, giving people free stuff is not good for them. The best way to help people is to require self-sufficiency and personal responsibility. Giving people free stuff makes them weak, dependent on their benefactor. Giving them free stuff does not help them develop the traits they need to excel and achieve their full potential as a human being.
There are many reasons why capitalism is superior to socialism. I have listed ten. Number ten on the list may be the most important: Capitalism is better than socialism because capitalism allows people to generate enough extra income so they can help other people. And Americans help more people than any other group of people on earth.
There are people in this country that need help. We should help them. Becoming a socialistic country is not the way to help them. A government takeover of all business and industry would not help. It would destroy our country. Neither is it appropriate for the government to levy such heavy taxes on individuals, families, and businesses that it can then afford to offer “free” healthcare and higher education to everyone. And of course “free” stuff is never really free. Someone is paying for it. Giving people “free” stuff that is not really free does not help them achieve their potential as human beings. We can only be a healthy society when we help people accept responsibility for themselves and become self-sufficient.
Bernie Sanders is wrong. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is wrong. Others like them, who want to make America into a socialistic society, are also wrong. America does not need to become a communistic state. And even if they are confused about what socialism is and are not arguing for straight up communistic socialism, they are still wrong. America does not need to increase taxes on the wealthy so the government can provide social programs for Americans. The best way to help people who need help is through education and job training, allowing them to become self-sufficient, productive citizens.
You often hear critics of capitalism complain that it isn’t working. What do they think it is supposed to be doing? A capitalistic, free enterprise economy allows people to invest, to make and sell products, or to market one’s services or skills in the pursuit of income. Lots of Americans are doing that very thing. From the person who invests in the stock market to the person who starts a lawn care or house cleaning business, everyone is free to use the system to earn a profit. Capitalism allows anyone with a product, a skill, or a service to market it in an effort to make money. They can earn as much money as their product, service, or skill can generate. There’s no limit to how much profit can be earned other than the desirability of what they are marketing. Capitalism is working quite well in America. So the people who are claiming that capitalism isn’t working must think it is supposed to be doing something other than what it is designed to do. What would that be? Perhaps someone will step up and explain what their unfulfilled expectations of capitalism are. The fact is, capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system every devised.
America is not a perfect society. There has never been and never will be a perfect society, for a society is a group of
people living together in a given location. Since there are no perfect people, there cannot be a perfect society. The United States of America, however, comes closer than any other country on earth to being exactly what a society should be. May God bless America.
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