IN DEFENSE OF CAPITALISM

Capitalism is responsible for nearly everything that makes human existence easy and comfortable. The automobile, the supermarket, the personal computer, the washing machine, the hammer-drill, the iPhone, the airplane, the TV set, the chewing gum, electricity and countless other good things have all been birthed and mass produced by capitalism.

Because of its immense wealth generating power, people who live in capitalist societies enjoy rising standards of living and material affluence. Conversely, those who live in non-capitalist societies invariably experience the opposite. To see this, it is enough to compare the experience of, let's say, the United States, Switzerland and Australia, on one hand, with that of the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea and Saudi Arabia on the other. The rule always holds: Capitalist societies are invariably prosperous. Non-capitalist ones are always poor.

But wealth and prosperity are not the only benefits capitalism confers. Capitalism fosters freedoms of all kinds and affords unprecedented opportunities for personal fulfillment and growth. It rewards efficiency, resourcefulness, originality and inventiveness. Those whose oddness would consign them to marginalization in less free societies often excel under capitalism. Capitalism rewards good ideas regardless of who their authors are. Thomas Edison was a hearing-impaired eccentric while Bill Gates is a well-known nerd. It is inconceivable that these men could develop their gifts in the way they did under any other system. Mankind has benefited greatly from the fact that they were born under capitalism rather than under a communist or Islamic regime. Andrew Bernstein was right when he said that capitalism is, among other things, “the system of liberated human brain power.” Capitalism uniquely encourages individuals to realize their talents and pursue their dreams no matter how far-fetched they may seem.

Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of capitalism is its ability to transform the pursuit of self-interest into the general good. In the process of pursuing profit, people satisfy the needs and wants of their fellow men. This is because success under capitalism is tied to one's the ability to provide something – a product or a service – that benefits other people. In a very real sense capitalism is the most effective and successful welfare program ever implemented. In the process of becoming the richest man on earth, Bill Gates provided a product which tens of millions have found immensely useful. This is the story of nearly every successful capitalist. John D. Rockefeller provided the masses with cheap oil, Henry Ford with affordable cars, and Steve Jobs with ingenious gadgets.

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