Posted on 01/27/2019 8:15:51 AM PST by Kaslin
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week, Rock Star Bono said, “Capitalism is not immoral — it’s amoral. It requires our instruction. Capitalism has taken more people out of poverty than any other ‘ism,’" While he praised the system, he also cautioned about it needing to be managed. “It is a wild beast that, if not tamed, can chew up a lot of people along the way,” he added.
On both points, he is exactly right. He has long advocated free market capitalism as the best way to bring more human beings, especially in Africa, out of grinding poverty.
Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan understood this.
This view was reinforced recently by HumanProgress.Org. They said,“When Ronald Reagan became President in 1981, 44.3 percent of the world lived in extreme poverty (i.e., less the $1.90 per person per day.) Last year, the number living in extreme poverty was 9.6 percent. That’s a decline of 78 percent.”
How did that happen? In a word, Capitalism.
President Reagan understood that government managed economies could never compete with free market Capitalism. He boldly predicted the ultimate collapse of the Soviet system. It did. The Chinese were paying attention. Fearing the same plight, they embraced dramatic reforms, allowing more market principles to guide the allocation of capital. It can be more accurately described as crony Capitalism and has been fueled largely by foolish American trade policy. Yet, it helped lift hundreds of millions of Chinese peasants out of extreme poverty.
We see in Venezuela one more example of the long record of the failure of Socialism. Promising more economic “fairness”, the socialist leaders managed to turn one of the wealthiest countries in Latin America into one of the poorest. Proving once again, it doesn’t work!
So why is Socialism making a political comeback here? There are two primary reasons. First, the proponents on the Left (and their fellow travelers in the media) have never let facts or history get in the way of their opinions. They have no interest in learning or sharing the truth about Venezuela. It doesn’t fit the narrative. Second, too many of us on the right have turned a blind eye to the abuses that happen when market power combines with political power to allow certain companies or individuals to defeat competitive regulators.
Teddy Roosevelt understood that left to their own devices, Capitalists would abuse their market power creating monopolies that would then abuse American consumers. He pushed back against the trusts. He believed in Capitalism. Teddy also believed that governments needed to make sure that there was adequate competition.
Over the last twenty years we have witnessed merger after merger. From the airlines to pharmaceuticals to banking we’ve seen the big get bigger and the little guys get run over. After the merger, too often good people get laid off, prices go up and service is reduced. Our Commerce Department and DOJ act as if our antitrust laws have expired. These mega mergers are almost never challenged. When they are, a couple of minor accommodations are made and the deal goes through. Top managers get huge payouts and we all pay.
Karl Marx predicted that Capitalism would ultimately destroy itself. Without rules that enforce free and open competition, Marx could be right. We need look no further than how the pharmaceutical industry has used its market power to acquire more political power to impose its will upon sick Americans. Or how two large office supply Goliaths used their market power to drive thousands of Mom and Pop shops out of business. Only to then merge into one office supply colossus. Too many of our fellow travelers simply shrug and say, “That’s Capitalism.”
That may be Capitalism. However, it is hard to defend. It is not free market. Furthermore, the abuses leave conservatives defending the indefensible. And it gives a platform to those who despise free market capitalism and want to impose Venezuela style Socialism on Americans.
God forbid!
If we are going to continue to advance the enormous benefits of free market capitalism, we need to be honest. Where there are abuses, we need to speak out. Whether they be drug companies, social media giants or big banks we need to insist that they are indeed competing in real, not rigged markets. Where they are not, where they are abusing their power, government must put on striped shirts and play the referee. We cannot allow the Marx prediction to become reality.
Bono has it right. Will we be wise enough to heed his advice?
Enforcing Anti-Trust laws would be a good start.
It sure would be.
What used to govern capitalism in this country was the Judeo-Christian ethic. Even though many of the plutocrats didn’t respect those constraints, the general populace did.
Then with the promise of globalism companies saw untold billions from other countries.
What made these companies great is they catered to the American ethos. Now they're catering to a world ethos which has different values.
To cater to the world you have to be all things to all people and then you have no core value. There is 'The American Way' but there is no 'World Way'.
No man can serve a hundred masters without losing his soul.
Ask AOC. She seems to be all the popular rage.
Capitalism produces EVERYTHING socialists/Communists/Democrats/etc. wish to “redistribute.”
Without capitalism socialists/Communists/Democrats/etc. have nothing to “redistribute.”
Any questions?
As Milton Friedman, the famed economist repeatedly said (paraphrased),
"In the only cases in recorded history where the masses have escaped grinding poverty is where there is capitalist system and free trade....There is no alternative way so far discovered of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a capitalist, free enterprise system...."
Those who choose to ignore history are destined to repeat it.
Break up Alphabet/Google!
“They said,“When Ronald Reagan became President in 1981, 44.3 percent of the world lived in extreme poverty (i.e., less the $1.90 per person per day.) Last year, the number living in extreme poverty was 9.6 percent. That’s a decline of 78 percent.” How did that happen? In a word, Capitalism.”
Kinda. It came from the fall of Soviet communism and then strip mining American manufacturing and moving it to Mexico, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, etc. Then changing America from the largest creditor nation on earth to the largest debtor nation. Guess where all that money went?
Lets hear a discussion on the middle class in America. Raising the rest of the world by hurting America is not progress, no matter what a crooner from the 80s thinks.
He is literally wearing rose colored glasses. Also, has he given away all of his money yet?
I get the authors point but cant help but to notice that when "conservatives" are "reasonable" about trusts, they always somehow seem to accidentally miss companies that should be shattered first like Microsoft/Apple which makes the entire conversation an obvious sham.
politicks=polyticks
Pretty funny coming from a FRAUD that Belongs in PRISION!!!
https://www.ft.com/content/ba43be5a-2534-11e8-b27e-cc62a39d57a0
Bono apologises for abuses at One charity
Tax rogues like Bono are harming the world’s poorest people
Try googling Bono Charity Fraud and see what you get
That may be Capitalism. However, it is hard to defend. It is not free market. Furthermore, the abuses leave conservatives defending the indefensible. And it gives a platform to those who despise free market capitalism and want to impose Venezuela style Socialism on Americans."
The article was indeed an interesting read. Thank you.
Bono is not right; he is 100% wrong.
When government interferes with the free market things go wrong. The more intervention the more horribly things go wrong.
There is a difference between rules regarding pure food and drinks and government interference in the market.
Not exactly. these behemoths would be highly vulnerable to smaller, nimbler competition...except that excessive government regulation makes it easy for them to stay on top and hard for challengers to emerge. Who promulgated those regulations? Not the behemoths, but the socialists. In the name of “protecting the public.”
Capitalism is indeed amoral - like a firearm. It is humans who use it morally or immorally.
That makes it preferable to all tge inherently immoral alternatives.
We need a different term: Capitalism is a Marxist term.
A single word that expressed the free market concept would do nicely.
“Free Enterprise”
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