"Smithers, give all the employees a 5 dollar bonus this Christmas, that should get them a pint of Egg Nog"
Morality and capitalism are separate but not exclusive of each other. A good capitalist has more to give and he does give. He gives not because someone takes it, he gives because it's the right thing to do.
Interesting article. I have something further to add. Today, Hillary Clinton professed that the oil company profits need to be taken away and given to the little companies. I say: if you believe in redistribution of wealth, then why don't you take away the profit from Comcast corporation for their record 3rd quarter profit (today's paper alongside the Exxon article...Star and Trib.). If you further have disdain for capitalism, then take away Bill Clinton's profits from his speeches.
I have come to the conclusion that the libs don't know diddly squat about economics!
BUMP TO A GREAT ARTICLE!
It is amoral like gravity.
And like gravity it cannot be ignored.
Also, like gravity we can put it to work for us or try to deny it exists and be crushed by it.
Compared to the immorality of every other economic system, capitalism looks pretty good. It is consistent with human nature and is inherently fair if unforgiving.
Taking from those that have money simply because they have it is not just socialism, it's the morality of Willie Sutton
bttt
In my opinion, we are a lesser nation because we do not require the reading of and testing on the following documents:
The Republic
The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution
The Federalist papers
The Wealth of Nations
The Prince
NONSENSE.
But even if so capitalism is certainly more moral than big government socialism.
Taking from those who produce at the point of a gun to give to the nonproductive is patently immoral.
Capitalists are neither skeptical by nature nor into 're-distribution'...Liberals are selective capitalists for themselves and socialists for all others.
Liberals and conservatives do not agree on capitalism.
To take from earners to give to shirkers is actually a form of slavery..
If you do not own what you earn then you might as well be wearing a slave collar.
The real question is "How moral is liberalism?"
great article, and right on!
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24
"Smithers, give all the employees a 5 dollar bonus this Christmas, that should get them a pint of Egg Nog"
Having travelled through Scotland a bit and being of Scottish ancestry, I noted that the Scots are a very tribal bunch.
I would argue for a capitalism with a bit of regard to 'helpin mah wee mates in the clan'.
"Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, [emphasis mine] including property rights, in which all property is privately owned." [Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal, "Theory And History, 1. What Is Capitalism?"]
"'Rights' are a moral concept [emphasis mine]—the concept that provides a logical transition from the principles guiding an individual's actions to the principles guiding his relationship with others—the concept that preserves and protects individual morality in a social context—the link between the moral code of a man and the legal code of a society, between ethics and politics. Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law.
"....
"The most profoundly revolutionary achievement of the United States of America was the subordination of society to moral law.
"The principle of man's individual rights represented the extension of morality into the social system—as a limitation on the power of the state, as man's protection against the brute force of the collective, as the subordination of might to right. The United States was the first moral society in history.
"....
"The United States regarded man as an end in himself, and society as a means to the peaceful, orderly, voluntary co-existence of individuals. All previous systems had held that man's life belongs to society, that society can dispose of him in any way it pleases, and that any freedom he enjoys is his only by favor, by the permission of society, which may be revoked at any time. The United States held that man's life is his by right (which means: by moral principle and by his nature), that a right is the property of an individual, that society as such has no rights, and that the only moral purpose of a government is the protection of individual rights.
"A 'right' is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man's freedom of action in a social context. There is only one fundamental right (all the others are its consequences or corollaries): a man's right to his own life." [Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal, "Appendix: Man's Rights"]
I become very impatient by those who presume to defend Capitalism as thought it needed some other "moral" basis; this kind of defense is worse than a direct attack. The American Capitalist system is the most moral system in history and all its faults are in those aspects which have compromises the principles of individual liberty and property rights on which it is based.
Hank
The key is that the caller illustrated one of the greatest differences between conservatives and liberals.
Conservatives believe that one should live by higher standards, and they trust people to do the right thing. Liberals believe that people are just talking apes, and are unable to rise above their base, animal instincts. And therin lies the key difference. Conservatives believe that people can be trusted to do the "right thing," as long as they subscribe to a general morality. Liberals believe that people will never do the right thing on their own (with the exception of THEMSELVES) which is why they have no problem with telling people how they should live, and more importantly, why they need to live a certain way, and they depend on the government to ensure that people are forced to do just that.
Mark
This article is moronic. It is not well thought out, other than the concept that everyone should have everything and no one profits. Why produce anything then? Simplistic socialism, communism,liberalism.. whatever. Name one place this works other than in the liberal's dreams? this writer would be dumpster diving if Forbes wasn't a profit making operation. How this halfwitted socialist gets paid is beyond me.