Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Capitalism?

I was once asked by an elitist academic about the role of capitalism in our current economic malaise.
I immediately challenged the premise of the question because I was sure that the person who asked the question didn’t understand what capitalism is. Capitalism has become a dirty word among a select few on the left, but I ask our friends on the left, “What component of capitalism has failed?”
When you leave ideology at the door and boil it down, capitalism is simply economic freedom broken down three ways.
First, it is the ability to price a product or service without coercion.
Second, it is the ability to trade your labor or intellect for value.
Third, it is the ability to acquire private property.
For those who argue against capitalism I ask, “Which component do you wish to take away?” Do you want the government to determine the price for products or services? The failure of ‪#‎Obamacare‬ has shown the absurdity of that idea. Do you wish to report to work and have the government determine what you can earn? And, finally, do you wish the government to determine what you can and cannot own? If the answer is no, then I ask you to take a deeper dive into how we got into this economic mess. You will quickly find that it was not capitalism that did it but the lack thereof.
Always remember, economic freedom is political freedom.
-Dan

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