There are many in the political and intellectual world now discussing the failure of capitalism. Once one of capitalisms staunchest allies, former head of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan has openly admitted to what he claims are the faults inherent in capitalism. This one time defender of capitalism claimed “capitalism is dead” in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. Contemporary intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky claim that we must not put people in charge of their own assets, for this eliminates the need to look after each other. President Barack Obama has outwardly claimed a war on energy producers, and thusly free trade, when he has said “We’ve got to go after the energy producers.” As if the men and women who provide American’s with heat, electricity and more should be punished -rather than rewarded- for their hard work.
The criticism touted towards capitalism, and conversely property rights, is the fact that it enables men to act in a selfish manner. Karl Marx has said that “the right of man to property is the right to enjoy his possessions and dispose of the same arbitrarily, without regard for other men, independently from society, the right of selfishness.” The men and women who call themselves the defenders of capitalism usually do more harm than good by their method of ‘defense’, which is to espouse the immorality of selfishness but condone the practicality of capitalism and the benefit it brings to all people.
These defenders are normally half hearted and scared witless that they will be called out on their ‘evil morality.’ Republicans and Libertarians alike have often repeated the mantra that capitalism will save us all. But, when it comes down to the actual implementation of any real capitalist ideals, they back out, like a man afraid of heights attempting to bungee jump for the first time. These “defenders” of capitalism claim that their ideals are in the best interest of everyone; that capitalism really starts with charity
In a recent article in The Objective Standard, Craig Biddle quotes an advocate of capitalism George Gilder who claims that selfishness is simply not the essence of what makes capitalism, and that “capitalism begins with giving.”
These pretend defenders not only fail to understand what capitalism is, but fail to acknowledge that capitalism has never been attempted in the history of mankind. There have been a few laudable defenders of capitalism, Adam Smith and Ludwig Von Mises and Murray Rothbard to more contemporary men such as Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and Dominick T. Armentano but they solely defend the practical economic side, not the moral. These men have effectively proven both in theory and with voluminous empirical evidence how capitalism can improve all avenues of our lives: the standard of living, health care, the energy crisis, and the infamous socioeconomic disparity. However, they usually fall short in their ethical premises of capitalism, leaving this to some of the lesser minds who fumble and destroy the core of capitalism: rational self-interest.
Capitalism needs to be understood not just as the most practical system, but as the only moral system for man qua man to live by. It has been chortled out many times that although capitalism is selfish; it taps the creative flux of the sinners among us to create more abundantly for the rest of the population. This ignorance is the real destroyer of capitalism. The moment these intellectuals concede the immorality of their own supposed philosophy they condone the opposite side of their argument.
Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned. Our current mongrel system is nowhere near what true laissez-faire capitalism should and could be. The reason for our present prosperity in America and the world is simply a result of our traditional, capitalistically leaning ideology.
For life to be sustained all living things must follow a certain course of action required by that creature’s nature. In human terms, survival of the fittest is determined by the quality of the reasoning mind. To disable or stifle the reasoning mind in order to produce freely will inevitably cause moral and physical demise. Production, whether farm or industrial, is the application of reason to the problem of survival.
Production is the fruit of the principle of individual rights. Freedom is essential for survival. Since Laissez-Faire capitalism allows everyone to consistently act selfishly. The problem lies in the dominant philosophy of our time, one of selfless sacrifice to others, altruism. The misconception of altruism is that it means simply to help others. But in actuality, it is the worst case of illogical martyrdom.
Contrary to popular belief Bill Gates and Sam Walton embody the truest morality. They raised the standard of living, employed millions, provided meaningful products at cheap prices etc. Yet these men, are denounced as being evil profiteers. Who then are we to idolize? Juxtaposed with the commonly understood moralist Mother Theresa, Gates and Walton’s selfishness fostered the utilitarian society. Mother Theresa served by sacrificing her time and energy, while Gates and Walton selfishly traded value for value.
Thus, we come to the major problem in our battle for capitalism. The general consensus is that sacrifice is an equal exchange of choices. The reality is that a sacrifice surrenders something of value for a lesser or non-value. For example, it is not a sacrifice for a married couple to forgo movies and restaurants in order to save for a home. It is a sacrifice to give up those things so their neighbor may have a house. This is what happens when you pay your taxes. Life is made happier by forgoing lesser values for higher values. A sacrifice always results personal loss. If a student wants to become an architect because of their passion, and ability to transform raw materials into whatever they envision, but gives this up to ‘do the right thing’ by becoming a mediocre social worker instead, they have then perpetrated a sacrifice. But, by pursuing his or her passion for architecture they are trading a lesser value for a greater value. Capitalism allows each and every individual to pursue autonomy for passion.
In a truly free society government is forbidden from initiating force, except against those who initiate it, i.e. crime. If an automaker develops a new model he or she is not required to go through government channels to do so. This also means that if the model is not wanted or needed by the public, they must suffer the consequences. No bailouts. This company would be allowed to go bankrupt while other more efficient companies, all acting in a selfish manner, will emerge and prosper upon satisfying the needs of consumers. This process allows consumers to choose and freely influence the marketplace.
Altruism is completely incompatible with capitalism. Altruism forbids people to act in a self-interested way. Under an altruistic ideology, a property owner has no right to use and dispose of his own property as he sees fit.
Capitalism depends on its moral consideration beyond that of its economic counterpart. The point must be conceded that every human has a right to live by their own rational judgment. Our seemingly capitalist practices is immoral because it protects people’s rights inconsistently, and violates everyone’s rights perpetually. With our current ideology we are given a choice between food and poison, poison always wins.
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To learn more about how to morally defend capitalism click the link above (The Objective Standard) and read, for free, Craig Biddles great article, which inspired mine.
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