Making the case for capitalism

Democrats and some Republicans lead us to believe that capitalism is bad, that it leaves some people behind while a few get rich, keeping everything to themselves. That sort of thinking is wrong and should be rejected.

In The Spoiled Children of Capitalism Jonah Goldberg makes the point that capitalism has spoiled us, and now many are rejecting capitalism because it has been so successful in improving conditions for humankind.

Capitalism is the greatest system ever created for alleviating general human misery, and yet it breeds ingratitude.

People ask, “Why is there poverty in the world?” It’s a silly question. Poverty is the default human condition. It is the factory preset of this mortal coil. As individuals and as a species, we are born naked and penniless, bereft of skills or possessions. Likewise, in his civilizational infancy man was poor, in every sense. He lived in ignorance, filth, hunger and pain, and he died very young, either by violence or disease. The interesting question isn’t “Why is there poverty?” It’s “Why is there wealth?” Or: “Why is there prosperity here but not there?”

Try to imagine life without capitalism. There would be no economy. There would be no tax base. There would be no “windfall profits” for politicians to try to tax. You wouldn’t be reading this right now without capitalism because who would have invented the computer without the incentive of profit? Profit is good, it isn’t bad. Capitalism has been a blessing, and we need to remember that.