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Why Do We Call It Capitalism?
As Americans we generally believe in capitalism as a superior economic system, and are typically convinced that our country is run on capitalistic principles.
But I’ve been wondering lately: If these things are really true, then why do so few Americans actually possess any capital?
If we really believe that the means of production should be owned by ordinary citizens, and not by our government, then why is it that the bulk of our country’s capital is owned by so few of us?
It makes for an odd picture: it’s as if we were all strongly convinced of our right to gamble, and were all living in Las Vegas, and every one of us going out to the casinos every night after work — but only a few of us being given any chips. Instead we seem to spend our free time on Facebook, telling each other how wonderful it is to live in a country where we all have the right to gamble — and then being forced to earn a living by cleaning the ashtrays.
Of course, one of the wonderful things about capitalism is that it’s supposed to be an economic meritocracy, in which everyone gets to compete in free and open markets, and the cream is allowed to rise to the top, in terms of the best products and services and companies and workers.
But, again, I’ve been wondering lately: if we believe so strongly in fair competition…
