|
Ayn
Rand's broader philosophical view of
capitalism, described below¾which
will be familiar to many libertarian
and objectivist readers¾is
not where I want to go in this
article. Today I prefer to write
about the narrower, more familiar
economic definition of capitalism
and its contribution to political
freedom, a peaceful society, general
prosperity and higher standards of
living around the world.
Ayn
Rand writes, "The moral
justification of capitalism does not
lie in the altruist claim that it
represents the best way to achieve
'the common good'. It is true that
capitalism does -- if that
catch-phrase has any meaning -- but
this is merely a secondary
consequence. 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."
I
prefer the more understandable and
down-to-earth definition of
capitalism provided by
Dictionary.com:
"An economic
system in which the means of
production and distribution are
privately or corporately owned and
development is proportionate to the
accumulation and reinvestment of
profits gained in a free market."
In
order to have capitalism, a nation
must generally have a free-market
type of economy and typically, the
freer the market, the more
prosperous and growth-oriented is
the national economy. Another
nation-state requirement for
capitalism is to also promote and
defend property rights and
individual rights¾for
without both, governments can
destroy the private and corporate
production of capital and commerce
at will. As we have seen through
out much of the world, business will
not flourish or prosper in this type
of environment that is always under
threat of government confiscation
and arbitrary controls.
This was the case in the old Soviet
Union and still, to an extent,
continues even today. The same goes
for much of China outside its quite
free capitalist enclave of Hong
Kong. Sadly, almost all of the
Middle East and Africa have
governments that do not allow either
the free market or capitalism to
flourish, and the purpose of this
essay is to show how this negatively
impacts their society, economy,
political freedom and conversely
ours here in the United States.
Understand, also, that the United
States certainly isn't the
capitalist free-market example it
once was to the world. We have been
subject to creeping socialism and a
galloping regulatory environment
that has hurt prosperity and
economic freedom here in the USA.
The
point I want to make is the clear
connection between capitalism,
free-markets and income. Nations
that practice capitalism almost
always have higher standards of
living to the degree of their
embracement of free-market
capitalism than other less free
countries in a similar geographical
area. This cause and effect
correlation also carries over into
political freedom, the peacefulness
of the society, terrorism, societal
friction and general prosperity.
Link
here
to the "Economic Freedom & Per
Capita Income Chart" and the "World
Map of Economic Freedom" to see the
clear correlation between
capitalism/economic freedom and a
nation's income per capita. The map
shows the connection clearly in
color-coordinated groupings and
categories that is hard to dismiss.
This report is from "FEE Today", a
publication sponsored by the
Foundation for Economic Education in
Irving-on-Hudson, NY. See its
websites
FEE.org and
FEENews.org for more
information.
According to the publication, 81 out
of the 151 nations surveyed received
a negative
grade for economic freedom. Also,
large-population nations like India,
China and the Soviet Union received
a negative grade, which means the
vast majority of the world's
population (over 75%) does not live
in societies or political entities
that promote or allow a minimum
amount of economic freedom. Ayn
Rand's most popular, non-fiction
work, Capitalism: The Unknown
Idea, truly shows the sad state
of most of the world's population
regarding capitalism and
free-markets.
I
certainly am not trying to say that
capitalism and a relatively
free-market economy can do no wrong,
or that it can meet all the needs of
a society. There are corporate
leaders and individuals in
capitalist economies who are just as
corrupt as politicians and dictators
in centralized, planned economy
nations. Witness the recent
shenanigans with Enron, WorldCom and
possibly Martha Stewart, where
questionable business and accounting
tactics were used by corporate
insiders to make many millions at
the expense of individual
investors. Still, most of these
questionable accounting practices
were usually used to move future
earnings to an earlier quarter,
decrease taxes or to hide debt,
rather than the outright theft or
plunder we normally see with
government theft.
For
me, the beauty of self-regulating,
free-market capitalism is that this
kind of activity, although harmful
to investors, is usually of a
temporary nature and is either
discovered, made public and stopped,
or in worse cases, the corporate
entity goes bankrupt and is out of
the picture. This doesn't mean new
capitalists with questionable
business practices will not again
try to rip off the investment
public, but at least corruption or
theft is voluntary in nature and is
not permanently institutionalized
under a system of government, as in
the case of the state.
Compare this short-lived dishonest
plunder with legal, government
plunder that goes on for decades or
centuries. From the world map, you
can see the problem with centralized
state plunder is that it not only
destroys existing wealth and the new
creation of wealth and lowers a
nation's standard of living, but it
also contributes to increased
violence and government controls,
thus making the cycle even more
severe.
In
summary, America and other nations
should choose free-market capitalism
over other political and economic
philosophies. This was the case in
the original American constitutional
republic established by our patriot
Founding Fathers over 225 years
ago. If America had retained its
original laissez fare capitalist
model, then their economic and
political philosophy would not have
been exchanged for the American
Empire's troops and military
intervention in over 100 nations
around the globe. Remember, our
first president, George
Washington's, advice of trade with
all nations and alliances with none
would have meant no 9/11 terrorist
attack on New York City and
Washington, D.C. because we would
not have been involved in the Middle
East. Second, the birth of a
capitalist economy in much of the
Middle East would mean more
prosperous and stable societies
there and at least a measure of
representative government that is
missing from the entire area.
This is why I believe capitalism is
necessary for the growth of free,
peaceful and prosperous nations and
societies around the world. If you
agree with me about the vital
importance of free-market ideas and
capitalism spreading around the
world, especially in Africa and the
Middle East, then give these nations
your badly-needed support for
freedom. Of course, not through
government help that will be
squandered, as all taxes and foreign
aid goes to special interests rather
than the real problems and needs of
society. On the contrary, for real
change and a chance for capitalism
and free-markets to take hold in
these areas, please consider
supporting the free-market
foundations and institutes of your
choice that provide this kind of
education, training and support to
these areas with your tax deductible
contributions. |
