The secret within capitalism is the wealth generation inherent in what Adam Smith calls "The division of labor," where, for instance, finished cloth is produced by machines that have replaced labor intensive devices such as spinning wheels and hand looms.
It is that creaton of wealth inherent in capitalism that makes nations wealthy -- that makes nations able to buy more than they sell (a "balance of payments deficit") -- that essentially blesses people within that nation.
Our nation's illusion of wealth is being propped up with irresponsible defict spending and an unfathomable National Debt.
The Outstanding Public Debt as of 01 Jun 2004 at 07:13:27 PM GMT is:
$7,208,201,257,532.02
The estimated population of the United States is 294,199,936
so each citizen's share of this debt is $24,500.42.
I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
~ Thomas Jefferson
"I am one of those who do not believe that a national debt is a national blessing, but rather a curse to a republic; inasmuch as it is calculated to raise around the administration a moneyed aristocracy dangerous to the liberties of the country."-- President Andrew Jackson - (1824)