To put it crudely, capitalism works and makes us all rich. Communism/Socialism is about equal sharing of misery [and control of everything by the government]. Years ago I did Friends Service Committee work weekends in darkest Philadelphia. That neighborhood was poor by American standards, no doubt about it. But everyone had decent clothes (important in a Philadelphia winter) color TV, plenty of heat in their homes, and nobody looked undernourished. Some years later, on duty over seas, I saw plenty of people who were a lot worse off than that Philly slum. In short, capitalism produces better living conditions in city slums than either Thailand or the Philippines did thru out the country.
What makes capitalism so productive? Answer: Bunches of entrepreneurs who build factories, housing, electric grids, aircraft, telephone networks, trade commodities, buy and sell everything and anything, open mines, drill oil wells, irrigate desert lands, build railroads, and in general create wealth.
What does a society have to do to get capitalism working for them? First off, the society needs to create a rule of law that protects private property from seizure by warlords, political bosses, competitors, gangs, the EPA, and other assorted nogoodnicks. Entrepreneurs are motivated by the money they can make, and the social standing that successful entrepreneurs enjoy. If everything they create can be swiped in a few hours by some thugs, it is intensely discouraging to the ripped off entrepreneur. He/she is likely to be discouraged and give up trying, or to pick up stakes and immigrate to America. So, the society that wants the benefits of capitalism has to protect the capitalists from all the various sorts of bandits who will otherwise rob them blind.
Next comes defense. Nothing wipes out more capital and capitalists than an invading army. It took the American South a hundred years to recover from the devastation of the Civil War. One thing that allowed capitalism to flourish in England was the English Channel and the Royal Navy. They have prevented invasion of England ever since 1066. And effective defense requires enough patriotism in military age citizens to enlist in the armed services, or at least, not resist draft notices with violence.
And now we come down to freedom. Freedom to set prices and wages in response to market forces. Freedom of workers to change jobs for better wages, and move about the country to take the best paying jobs available. Freedom to form unions.
And probably a few other things. I am not an economist and so a few things probably escape me.
It would help if we taught our children that capitalism makes everyone rich. I note that a couple of recent surveys found that millennials prefer communism/socialism. What kind of schools did they go to?
No comments:
Post a Comment