Wherever I happen to be, I advocate capitalism. The liberals, and conservatives, forced a negative stigma on capitalism. When we are in a recession it is capitalism's fault, not over-regulation. When a company fails, it is capitalism's fault, not their poor business practices. It's no wonder that when I speak pro-capitalism, the response is invariably, "The problem with capitalism is..."
...it doesn't take into account minorities.
Capitalism takes into account everybody. Under capitalism, everybody would have an equal opportunity for success. Communism and socialism try to do away with class, race and status by employing a No Child Left Behind policy. Communism and socialism set the economic standard as the poorest citizen, and then aspire to drive everybody to that level of poverty. Communism and socialism use pity as their measuring stick. Capitalism uses ability as its measuring stick.
Nobody was created equal, at least, not in the sense the government would have you believe. My talents are different than your talents. I look different than you, I act different than you. You and I are not the same. I enjoy different activities than you. We don't make the same amount of money. What communism and socialism aim to do is to make everybody equal in the sense that we all make the same amount of money, all have the same number of cars, all have the same number of kids, all have the same job, and so on. The government believes that we are all entitled to happiness and success. That is not the American dream, and we don't have to look further than our own country to see the failings of this mentality.
When you have an economic system that 'takes minorities into account,' you end up with racism under the guise of affirmative action. Affirmative action breeds racism because it is racism. Affirmative action mandates that companies look no further than skin color when selecting their employees. Companies should only hire those most qualified for the job. They should not hire the blackest applicant, or the whitest applicant. They should hire the most-able applicant. Giving somebody handouts because of their skin color only encourages laziness and a sense of entitlement. You are entitled to what you can earn, nothing more. The concept of earning has been systematically dilluted with this concept of entitlement. Now we don't have to earn rewards, we are entitled to rewards. This mentality is being taught in our schools; you are rewarded for your faults and are told to hide your attributes.
I don't remember a time when a report came out that said America was on top in terms of world education. The No Child Left Behind act effectively hindered smart children by forcing them to advance at the same pace as the slowest children. When I was a kid, I read every book I could get my hands on. I don't remember the last time I saw anybody under the age of 40 reading a book. It amazes me how uneducated people as a whole are. It's not just that they are uneducated, it's that they don't even care to be educated. Part of this is the fault of our education system, part of it is the standards our society fosters, and part of it is the fault of those individuals who do not value knowledge.
In a truly capitalistic economy, there will be classes, there will be poor and there will be wealthy. The difference is that under capitalism, everybody has equal opportunity according to their ability, whereas under communism and socialism, everybody has a hindrance applied so that their ability matches those least-able. It's the pursuit of happiness we have a right to; we don't have a right to happiness.
...people who are greedy will continue to exploit the system and keep others down.
The first thing to remember is that currently, America is not a capitalist country. America has never been a truly capitalist country. Greed is not a bad thing, in the sense that you want to earn as much money as possible for your labor. In capitalism, corporations who employed evil practices (blackmail, bullying, shady accounting, etc.) would not be able to sustain themselves. We need to examine this on a more practical level.
Let's say you have a group 5 friends. Let's say that one of your friends is manipulative, bullying, and cheats, and you and your other four friends can't stand him because he takes advantage of you. We are going to examine two scenarios. The first scenario will be under our current government/economy here in America. To top off this evil friend's behavior, let's say that your mom absolutely adores him (either because she approves of his methods, or maybe because he is bribing her). Now, you and your friends can't stand him, and want to tell him to leave you guys alone. Before you are able to do that, your mom sits down and has a talk with you about how you should give him another chance, and that he's really a nice guy, if you could just see past his faults. She also says that if you don't get along with him, she will decrease your allowance, ground you, or take away some other 'privilege.' After the talk, you make the effort to get along with him because you love and trust your mom. Or, maybe she doesn't talk to you before. Maybe you and your friends tell this bully to go live his own life. Then he goes and talks to your mom and tells her that you have been treating him unfairly, so ultimately you are pressured into apologizing to him and giving him a second chance.
Under capitalism, you and your group of friends tell this cheater to leave you alone. Your mom doesn't say anything, regardless of how she feels, because she knows that you are an individual and can make your own choices and decisions. Or, she is still being bribed and tells you to give him another chance, but you aren't under any pressure from her because she doesn't hold any power over you (your allowance cannot be lowered because it is directly in proportion to your skill at executing your tasks, you can't be grounded because she has no right to your life, and she can't take away any privilege because that would be theft).
What happens to the bully? He ends up with no friends and nobody to bribe.
In order to be truly capitalist, there would have to be a drastic change in the mentality of our country, but I have a feeling that if we quit socialism cold-turkey and went to capitalism, that a majority of people would catch on pretty quick. In capitalism you don't get rewarded for failing, you get rewarded for achieving.
So what is the true problem with capitalism for its opponents?
The problem with capitalism is that the only person you can rely on is yourself. And that is a frightening thing for those who loath themselves, are fearful of their abilities, and embrace death. For those of us who are confident, able, and embracers of life, all we need are ourselves and the freedom to achieve.
© Nate Phillipps 2010
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