The Secret Ingredient: Why Capitalism Will Always Be Successful.

The U.S.S.R., China, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Nazi Germany. These are just a few of the big names on the endless list of Socialist/Communist failures.

If I were to list every example that comes to mind, you would be reading an article full of nothing more than an exhaustive list of the failures of Collectivism wherever it has been implemented. However, if you attempt to have a conversation with a modern-day Socialist about how Socialism will always inevitably fail their response is always some variation of “Well, you see that wasn’t true Socialism and if only we could have more control we could perfect the system and create a utopia.”

As libertarians, we can go back and forth with those ignorant of economics all day long, and while that is still very much needed, I believe there is a fundamental issue that we overlook when advocating for Capitalism that is essential to its success, that being the moral foundation of the system.

One of the primary reasons I believe Capitalism will always inevitably succeed and Socialism and other Leftist economic systems will ultimately fail because Socialism lacks a moral foundation. Capitalism has a firm moral foundation because it is based upon a voluntary exchange between individuals.

To put it simply, an individual will only benefit from putting forth his or her best product or service in exchange for the product or service of their fellow man. Free-market economic philosophy is therefore morally superior to all other economic systems because it doesn’t require force to maintain itself, free-markets would exist even without any form of government at all, on the other hand, Socialism requires violence and a big intrusive State even to try to maintain itself. The government in a Socialist State in its “omnipotent wisdom” determines when someone has made enough profit and forcibly gives it to another, effectively “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” No matter what a someone may say their desired goal is, this is not and never will be morally acceptable.

I have always found it rather amusing that people say you pay your taxes when in reality you don’t pay taxes, the government takes taxes. Think about it, if you don’t “pay” your taxes what happens? Men with guns show up and take your property or throw you in jail. If anyone else did that we would call it extortion. I don’t see how that is any different when the government does that very thing without the consent of an individual. For this reason, my dear reader is why you will often hear the phrase taxation is theft when you talk to a libertarian about taxes.

Now, the critics of free-markets will tell that Capitalism is greedy, but I ask you which option sounds more greedy? Someone becoming wealthy because he or she provides the best product or service possible to their consumer and as a natural byproduct elevating the level of wealth of not only the company owner but also his or her employees or someone taking wealth to give to another because the taker determines that the person in question has too much?

Greed is one of the worst plagues in the human heart, and no economic system in the world can eliminate that, only a strong sense of morality is the remedy. As the golden rule says, “do to others as you would have them do to you.” Capitalism is moral because when it’s done right, the attitude is how can I do my best to better the lives of others and myself?

Socialism says, how can I better the lives of myself at the expense of my fellow man and society as a whole?

I believe that if we want to advance our ideas further, we must hammer this point hard because I am confident it is a primary reason why capitalism is and will always be superior to all other economic systems.

Watch my video on the topic here.