‘Capitalism, it turns out, needs a debate’ Nationally syndicated columnist Larry Elder began his commentary “Capitalism needs no debate” by asking “Given the evidence of the superiority of capitalism in achieving prosperity, isn’t it astonishing we still debate its merits?” However, we, as a society, do not debate the “merits” of the capitalist system. We debate the merits of the healthcare system, the public education system, the criminal justice system, the transportation system, etc., but seldom if ever are the so-called merits of the capitalist system debated. During presidential debates, as an example, never do the candidates of either party question the efficacy of capitalism, for both parties are pro-capitalist parties. Therefore, given that, globally, 2.8 billion people exist on less than $2 per day, 1 billion people lack access to potable water and, domestically, the standard of living of virtually all Americans has steadily declined throughout the past forty years, it is the near total lack of debate respecting the capitalist system that is astounding. Capitalism is a system full of inherent fatal flaws. Its economic laws - which create massive wealth for capitalists at the expense of workers - gave rise to one of Marxism’s three founding principles: the class struggle. As such, much of human history has been a story of people standing up against their exploiters in order to demand at least a larger portion of the wealth that they produce. For their part, Karl Marx and Frederick Engles uncovered the laws of capitalism, where economic profit is derived by the way in which societies are organized. And it is an unspoken task of the likes of Larry Elder to steer workers away from an understanding of capitalism’s laws - to falsely assert that “we still debate (capitalism’s) merits” when, in reality, no such debate exists simply because capitalist culture does not allow for it. Ultimately, the message of Larry Elder and other thought regulators is the same as that of the late Margaret Thatcher: “There is no alternative to capitalism.” Oh, but there is an alternative ( slp.org/pdf/statements/siu_chart.pdf ). --Guy Marsh, “Capitalism, it turns out, needs a debate,” Letters From Readers, AV Press (Lancaster, California), 10.28.13
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:08:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015