CAPITALISM V. SOCIALISM – SOCIALISM V. CAPITALISM By Lt & Lt. Jr.

It’s time to correct the age old belief that capitalism is all good and socialism is all bad. The fact is there are some things about capitalism that are bad and, some things about socialism that are good. I’ve believed for some time that liberals are at their very best when they convince us that the “chain is only as strong as the weakest link.” And, conversely, conservatives are at their very best when they convince us that the “chain” is most efficient when it’s not all tied up in knots.

A complete free market capitalistic system leads to the “haves” taking advantage of the “have-not’s.” And, complete socialism discourages hard work. The polar opposite of capitalism is democracy, and the polar opposite of socialism is dictatorship. The fact is that this “great experiment” we speak of as the United States of America is a bit of both. It’s not all one or the other.

As I’ve written before the constitution provides for the “general welfare” of its subjects. We need rules in order to promote civil organization. Just picture what our highway system would be without organization. No stop signs, directional signs…everybody just doing whatever they think is right. The highway system would be disorganized, and a disaster. By the same token…we need to encourage and reward those who work hard. But, hard work doesn’t always equal high pay. I dare say the guy who pours concrete to build a highway probably works harder than the CEO of one of the major companies. But, we need to be fair about the distribution of wealth.

It has always amazed me that most of the extremely wealthy seem not to realize that the best way for them to make more money is to have more customers. So…BUILD THE MIDDLE CLASS. That is the best way to create customers. Think how much better off the whole economic system would be if the Wall Street CEO’s who make $100 million a year would redirect $85 million of that treasure chest to create a lot of $100 thousand jobs. The more people work and spend the more products they buy. The old story about Henry Ford (whether true or not) is the best example of this philosophy. Henry Ford supposedly said, “He wanted to pay the workers who built his car enough that they could buy his product.” The larger the middle class the larger the customer base…and let’s face it, isn’t that what capitalism his about? …selling to customers.

But, having had a life time of working with bankers I can honestly tell you they do not get it. They are not capable of any vision beyond their greed. Consequently, if we don’t keep them honest the disparity between the rich and poor will continue to expand until one day this “great experiment” will end in a revolution of the “have not’s.” Don’t believe me…go read about any great civilization and you discover that essentially how they all came to a conclusion. The oppressed will eventual strike back.

It’s time we ended the notion that our democracy is just about free market capitalism. It’s about how we treat the least in our midst. That sounds familiar, “The least of these.” I wonder whether our Christian capitalistic friends will remember where they’ve heard it before.