A couple of months ago, I was with a group of radical anti-capitalists. They thought that government was the answer to life, the universe and everything. They thought that businessmen secretly cheat on their wives and beat their children, whereas the poor starving individual was heroically beaten down by the brutal financial leaders. Maybe I’m stretching it a bit. But when I announced to them that I was a capitalist, they just gave me a blank stare.
“Why on earth?“, was the simple question.
Here’s a paraphrase of what my answer was. First I defined capitalism as being a simple idea. It’s where the government leaves the corporate world alone, and doesn’t try to do business work in a senate committee with people who have never done business. Capitalism is economic freedom.
There are six reasons I like capitalism. They are as follows:
6. I like big business
Restrictive economic policies target big business. No, this doesn’t mean it’s good for the workers. Think about it. Hurting big business hurts the whole business — workers are part of the business.
Every restriction for big business ends up trickling down and hurting their workers, either through fewer pay upgrades or through laying people off to increase efficiency. Restricting big business is restricting the little guy.
Oh. And big business is actually good. Why? Because they became “big”. How did they become big? The market — or, for the socialists — society liked them. Big business only gets that way by offering the people nice stuff. If the people like it, then they aren’t evil.
It’s really not complicated. But we’ve been told by the restrictive forces of the world that big is bad, that little is good. I propose an alternative: both are good. Speaking of which, that brings us to reason number five.
5. I like small business
I work at a small business. My family runs a small business. This business is based on our family working hard. We’re not evil. We’re good. We help other business by helping them market their products and advertise to increase their profits.
By working hard, we only succeed through helping others succeed. Capitalism allows us to do that unhampered. But restrictive policies severely restrict our ability to do business.* Restrictions that might not seem like much to us on paper can be devastating in real life. Real people go under every time we pass another law. Every restriction destroys lives.
4. I like rich people
Rich people aren’t evil. I don’t care what Hollywood wishes me to think about “The Capitalists”. I won’t buy the commie propaganda. I like rich people. I don’t like snobs. There’s a difference. Poor people can be snobs. Rich people can be snobs. Rich people can be jerks. Poor people can be jerks.
The rich that I’ve met in my life are the hardest working individuals I’ve ever known. There’s a reason they are rich. And I appreciate their work, and recognize that their hard labor paid off both for them and the countless people who gained from the micro-economic impacts of their labor.
3. I like poor people
Liberals paint themselves as loving poor people. So they increase government programs, welfare, restrictions on the rich, etc. But their restrictions on business cause unemployment — liberalism causes poverty. Their welfare encourages dependence on federal aid, psychologically keeping the poor in their poverty. I am a capitalist because I hate poverty.
I am a capitalist because I hate poverty. I am not a liberal because I care about the poor enough not to buy into emotional arguments that realistically destroy the working class. Freedom brings prosperity.
2. I like justice
Capitalism is where everyone is allowed to unleash their minds in order to produce and achieve. You don’t get rich being a moron. You have to use your mind or muscle. Or, for most, a mixture of the two.
Capitalism rewards the hard-working and punishes the lazy. It’s the only economic system on earth that does this. This is why it works.
As Ayn Rand said:
“The moral justification for capitalism lies in the fact that it is the only system consonant with man’s rational nature, that it protects man’s survival qua man, and that its ruling principle is: justice.”
1. I like money
I know. I’m supposed to pretend like the only thing on earth important is people and puppy dogs. But guess what? I like nice stuff too. And so does the liberal. And Obama. And Edwards. Especially them. See, they like being commies in theory. But in reality, they like “capital”. They like money. They like private jets, private islands, nice food, nice clothes and $500 haircuts.
And you know what? That would have been fine, if only they didn’t pretend that it was evil. In their hearts, they know there’s nothing wrong with working hard and establishing a fantastic house, expensive car and great lifestyle for your kids. They know there’s no reason to think that we should restrict business owners, or try to go against wealth.
But in policy, they stop. They pretend that greed is wrong, because other people want your money (read that a few times, and see what’s amiss). But when it comes down to it, they know that capital is good. They live like rich cats.
Ironically, it’s for the same reason as me. There’s nothing wrong with material wealth. The whole goal of economics is understanding how to get our wealth to be maximized. Well, I have news for the news people and the politicians of the world:
Try Capitalism. Capitalism sets mankind free to work and achieve his values. It lets people barter in peace and choice rather than being manipulated by Washington elites. Capitalism works because it’s based on that age old principle that the human mind works best when it’s set free. Capitalism works because freedom works.
So that’s why I’m a capitalist.
*Our family business is an oldies radio station. The FCC’s policies are often random, restrictive and expensive. They hurt our customers and communities by forcing us to keep prices artificially higher than they would be if we didn’t have the nearly random restrictions.
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Wow. I rarely read a news story that makes me sit up, take notice and feel good about myself, but this one about income mobility did just that.
A kid took 25 bucks, a gym bag, went to the homeless section of a town in South Carolina, camped out, and set a goal. With no outside help or contact, he was going to start over and prove to the world that in America anyone can be well off. In 10 months, he went from having just a bag and barely enough money to buy supper to living in an apartment, driving a pickup truck and having nearly five grand in the bank.
To all the nay-sayers who think it’s impossible for the poor to leave their poverty:
PWNT!
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There is a frightening movement that has existed since man first bartered. The movement views profit (or “greed”) as evil. Self-interest is seen as wrong. The root of the movement is that “greedy” people are evil, that they don’t care about the poor. Because we do.
My family owns a business, and we have dozens of similar friends. We donate to the poor constantly. We donate out of love. Not because the man with the badge has a gun to our heads, but because we are moral. I hate to be over dramatic, but the idea of capitalists seeking profit so they don’t care about the poor is simply dehumanizing. Desiring the comforts of life and hence working to achieve those comforts doesn’t mean we are evil. Wanting to have success doesn’t mean a disdain for others.
The average employee at Wal-Mart works hard for the cash that s/he makes. I know I do. It’s not wrong that s/he works for money so s/he can buy things that most in the world would consider frivolous. There should be no shame in achievement. The reason for this is found in the root of the desire for profit.
The root of a desire for profit is not the desire to destroy or harm — profit is based on achievement, not destruction. A desire for profit is based on a desire to better oneself — to achieve wealth and enjoyment. To create. But not just to create — to create through peace and not coercion or force. Creation through peace.
Unfortunately, millions are confused regarding how capitalism relates to government. They believe that it is capitalism when a corporation is subsidized by government, or when the government uses laws and restrictions to support big business. This couldn’t be further from the truth. This is not capitalism, but fascism. Capitalism is a system of voluntary exchange. It’s a system of economics based on trade. When a business wishes to profit in a capitalist economy, it does not resort to government, but ads and exchange.
Capitalist profit is based upon trade — transaction — peaceful agreement. In a capitalist system, it is never based upon coercion. The economic system of capitalism knows no coercion. Capitalism, by definition, is a system where all financial decisions are based upon mutual consent. Capitalism is the economic system of peace.
Business owners who achieve a profit do so, not at the sake of others — but for the betterment of all. Their reasoning is unashamedly selfish, of course. But economically, their profit benefits others. For an explanation, see the section “Wealth and Poverty“.
There have recently been interesting buzz phrases used regarding profit. Members of the media, random people on the street — people in general — often refer to the profits that oil companies make as “extra” or “unnecessary” profit. The idea is that the oil companies are evil, because they want to make more than absolutely necessary.
This, it is assumed, is obviously evil, because the oil companies are profiting at the expense of others. Profit is evil, it is then concluded or implied. This is wrong. Dead wrong. When you desire a food that goes beyond the basic necessity, you desire “excessive profit”. When you want clothes that look nice rather than just cover your body and provide shelter, you desire “excessive profit”. When an employee wants a raise because he thinks he is “worth more”, even if he isn’t starving, he wants “excessive profit”.
When a father wishes to see his children provided with items beyond the basics needed for human sustenance, when he wishes to see them have nice things, when he wishes to see them have a computer or TV — he desires “excessive profit”.
To suppose that these people are evil because they wish to maximize their profit is absurd. Especially considering the only way they can, in a capitalist economy, maximize their profit is through efficiency and voluntary trade.
Rather than being “evil”, those who wish to make a profit are acting in a moral manner. They wish to create material achievements for themselves and their family. This is not evil — this is good. “Excessive profit” is wrong — it represents the achievement of one’s values. It is good on the most fundamental level.
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Capitalism, both morally and pragmatically, is not just justified — it’s dramatically needed. The economic and moral benefit of resorting to the system of financial freedom is absurdly necessary.
I will not pretend to be unbiased here. Though I used to support economic restriction, years of research and contemplation have brought me to the conclusion that anything less than capitalism is not only destined to failure — it’s wrong.
Capitalism helps the poor by raising the average standard of living — this is why the poor in the US would be considered rich in other countries. This is, of course, not to say that the standard of living could be hire — hence the need to stop the economic prohibitive laws.
Capitalism helps the middle class by allowing them to invest to a greater degree — the middle class is disappearing in the US today because they are becoming part of the upper class. Freedom breeds success.
Capitalism helps the rich by not robbing them of that which they have earned. By not squandering the income that had been achieved. This in turn adds to the incomes of the lower and middle classes by turning the rich income into efficient investment and business creation, and not lost through political bureaucracy.
Nation after nation has discovered a simple idea. Government isn’t the answer to our economic problems. In 1680, French finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert joined a group of French businessmen, led by M. Le Gendre. The finance minister asked how the government could help the business owners, and Le Gendre quickly replied, “Laissez-nous faire” — “Let us be.” The economy doesn’t need the state to look over it. Economic restrictions don’t help business, they restrict business. That’s the point of economic restriction.
Freedom works. Freedom is moral — freedom helps achieve. Freedom is not to be shirked, freedom is the responsibility of the people and its government. Rather than seeking ways to restrict the economy, we should be strengthening it through economic liberty — capitalism.
My purpose for writing this series is simple. In the great American classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, actor Jimmy Stewart, playing the role of young statesman “Jefferson Smith”, said something that I have never been able to go a day without thinking of.
He was giving a one-man filibuster, a one man war against a political machine of corruption. At one point during his long monologue, Smith leaned over his podium, desperately tired and friendless. But though his body was tired, his mind was afire and poured hope out of his eyes. Leaning for support, he said, “Just get up off the ground, that’s all I ask. Get up there with that lady that’s up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something.”
My purpose is simple. I want you to see the world through the eyes of lady liberty. I want you to think in the terms of freedom and peace. I want you to see the people who live for achievement as the heroes that they are. This is my purpose. I’m not ashamed to say that this is my bias.
“Look … through her eyes if ya really wanna see something.”
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I’m an active member on a high-school debate forum[1], and the topic of big government was brought up. A fellow user, Caleb Winn, posted a quick summary of why big business isn’t wicked and evil, and in fact is essential and incredibly helpful for everyone, including the middle and poor class. I think he’s dead on.
He based the following on the article “The Problem With Populists” by George Will:
——-
“I have an idea, though. Let’s get rid of “Big Business” and see how we all like a world where food is much scarcer and more expensive, and where the kinds of life-saving medications and medical equipment that have saved the lives of millions of children were never developed.”
“Big business may at times distribute wealth inequitably, but at least there is wealth to distribute, and ultimately everybody benefits even if hard-working entrepreneurs and wise investors benefit more.”
“Frankly, if Edwards really believes everything that he says, he is insane. He screams and cries about the “disappearing middle class” without realizing that the middle class is shrinking because people are getting richer, not poorer. The share of people earning $30,000-$100,000/year has indeed gone down, but the share of the population earning less than $30,000 has not increased. Most of the loss in that “middle class” bracket came because of upwards mobility, not economic stagnation. Edwards is right: there are “two Americas.” There is the America that really exist, and the America that he imagines in his delusional crusade against “evil corporations.”‘
“The liberal dream of a centrally-engineered economy is bogglingly counter-productive. The Great Society was a failure, while deregulation and the limitation of the federal footprint has caused overall wealth, per capita income, and economic mobility to rise even as crime, poverty, and welfare dependency have fallen. Increased government intervention (and the exorbitant taxes needed to pay for it) only weakens productivity and investment, decreases work incentive, limits the competition that spurs efficiency and innovation, and all-in-all strangles real economic growth. The liberal dream of imposing equality through Statist economic coercion and control is successful only by making everybody equally poor. (Though in reality, the liberal ruling elite always manage to live high on the hog even in the worst economic conditions, whether they be Stalin’s Dachas by the sea, or John Edwards’ 26,000-foot home in North Carolina.)”
“If the government really wants to do something about the conditions of the working poor, then it should get out of the way and stop hindering the economic growth that helps everybody who is willing to work.”
——-
Can I get an “amen”?
[1] I’m Irish Man on there. The forum not only for high-schoolers. In fact, some of the best discussions are between college students who are into philosophy and political science/theory. Feel free to join! If you do, drop me a line.
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If I had to describe myself in two words, both would begin with “C”. I’m a Christian-Capitalist. These two words describe everything about what I believe and who I am as a person — my philosophy about reality, life, God, violence, people — everything.
Unfortunately, many, if not most, people are starting to view Christianity as being at odds with capitalism. After all, how could a philosophy of self-interest and profit mesh with a religion of selflessness? The answer is simple: Christianity isn’t a religion of selflessness and pointless-sacrifice — at least not to any literal extent.
I’ll focus on just one aspect of the Christian religion, and make several stipulations based upon one of the most over read stories in the Bible: The Creation story. It’s more than about the chronological order that God put the Universe into existence — like most of the Scripture, it’s much deeper than that.
Usually my arguments for my philosophy are written in a manner that is equally acceptable to both the Christian and the non-Christian. I firmly believe that faith and reason do not contradict each other, but absolutely compliment one another. However, I’ll be deviating from my normal course of argumentation style by looking into a purely Biblical explanation for my beliefs, focusing on a specific passage that is often not read in a philosophical light.
The foundation of the Christian revelation is that God gives us the truth in two forms. The literal and the figurative — sometimes in both ways at the same time. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ told us exactly what he meant in a literal manner. In his parables, he told stories to describe the ideas and principles he wanted to communicate.
Sometimes God tells us two things at the same time. The Genesis account is one of those times. It’s both a true story and a figuration of the role of man, and of man’s basic calling and duty — to achieve and accomplish.
I’m not going to be arguing only for the economic system of capitalism. Instead, I’ll be arguing what I consider to be the life-philosophy of capitalism — productivity, reason, purpose and achievement. This is the foundation of capitalism, and encompasses much more than just economics. It’s about life itself.
In the Bible, the story of the beginning of man is recounted in Genesis 1:26-31. Notice the word usage, and the purpose of man inscribed throughout the passage:
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
What is the purpose of the story? It gives us the most basic purpose of man. God saw that the world was wild, natural and that it should be conquered. So God created man in his image. Man, created in the image of God, suddenly has a basic comand and duty regarding his time on earth. He is to be a creator.
God is a creator — an achiever. His existence is based upon his desire and accomplishment of creation, but the creation of the physical and of his glory. God created a goal, and then created a method for achieving that goal. God achieves, God accomplishes, God creates.
Seeing that reality was wild and empty, God created man in the image of a creator, and gave him a simple command — command nature, have dominion over it. Not to exist for creation, but to unleash creation to exist for us. Not to exist for others or to treat other men as slaves, but recognize that they are created in the image of God, and are deserving of to be treated as creators — co-rulers of the earth. This is a simple-yet-biblical explanation of natural law.
We have been given a universe with a simple command — take dominion over it. Achieve.
This seemingly simple command has far-reaching and beautiful implications, explaining the basic plight of all of mankind. This is not a suggestion — it’s a rule regarding the nature of mankind, and is about our fundamental purpose in existence. Failure to obey this law of humanity will bring dire consequences, as found in societies that reject the principles of achievement and dominion.
How is man to exercise dominion? He is not as strong as the bear, does not have claws like the lion, and does not have fangs like the snake. Man is physically at a disadvantage. Compare him to other animals. He is often awkward, and can’t roll his body up in a ball. He is, relatively speaking, fragile. He doesn’t have a fur coat for winter.
Man has one tool above all others. His productive mind. Animals have their force, man has his reason. Man does not need fur — he can think and unleash nature to create clothes. Man does not need claws — he can unleash nature and create weapons for eating. Man does not have brute force — he can use reason to call others into corporation to unleash nature for their mutual benefit.
The foundational difference between men and animals is in two obvious yet stunning areas — the mind and violence. Man needs his mind to exist and to unleash nature. He does not have to rely upon force and violence — he can reason things out.
Unfortunately, a breed of people has always existed that believes that force is just as good as reason. The foolish group believes that violence is not a bad answer to most problems and that coercion should be used. These people betray that basic idea that makes us human beings — our minds.
The mind is mans greatest weapon and achievement. Without it, he would perish. With it, we can communicate with God and acknowledge the beauty of nature and all of existence.
In the beginning, God created the world, and he created man to fill the world. He created man in the image of the creator, and told him to create, to achieve, to build civilization by the sweat of his brow. The only means man was given to do this was his mind. It is our moral duty to use our mind to help us to achieve our values, and take dominion over creation.
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.”
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I just stumbled across a beautiful video regarding capitalism, freedom and what money really is. It’s fabulous.
“Productive work is the central purpose of a rational man’s life, the central value that integrates and determines the hierarchy of all his other values. Reason is the source, the precondition of his productive work
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