Capitalism seems to be a word that even conservatives are afraid to utter.It has been impugned so often by so many that people seem to shy away from it so they won’t seem to be monsters, idiots, or ignoramuses. But, if you are willing to agree with me that freedom is essential for a human being to lead a happy life, then Capitalism is the only possible way to go.Let’s start off by defining it: Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individualrights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.
The only way that Capitalism can work is with the elimination of physical forcein human relationships;rights can be violated only by means of physical force.That means, no man or group of men can initiate the use of physical force against others. The only function of government in such a society, is the task of protecting men’s rights, i.e. the task protecting him from physical force; the government acts as the agent of man’s right of self-defense, and may use force in retaliation against those who initiate its use.
Then, there is Capitalism as an economic system. It is an economic system in which the means of production are privately held. The other prevalent economic systems are socialism/communism, and fascism/Nazism. in socialism, the means of production are held and fully controlled by the state. In fascism, the means of production are privately held , but controlled by the state through regulation. There are various mixtures of these systems leading to a confusing mish-mash of economics that work the same way a dog chasing its tail would. In the case of the USA, we have devolved into a mixed economy, part free and part controlled. A sort of capital-fascist state in which the two systems fight one another causing progress stagnation. The more one part of the mix prevails the less stagnation there will be. The only question is, should the free part prevail or the regulated part prevail? Food for thought.
Herb the Crank 