Appeal To Heaven » Capitalism

The Ism That Isn’t

djq — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 05:37:38 +0000

Much is made of labels and names, so much so that there is an implicit assumption that any label or name in use stands as either a symbol or a straw man for a group of specific individuals (usually ones distinctly unlike the present company, often on only a few but focused upon traits). So when people speak of capitalism, what is usually meant, and perceived, is Capitalism, the term for fat cat bankers, robber barons, and “the rich/wealthy.” Capitalism and Communism or Socialism are often directly compared as if they are competing theories, when in reality one is a method or implementation, and the other two are theories as created by specific individuals for their goals.

Capitalism is the ism that isn’t, it reflects not an ideology but a prioritization of capital. It is the economic equivalent of eating your vegetables before your desert. In capitalism you seek the maximum value for each action, you expend at the peak moment, you labor for the most gainful fruits. To sell high and buy low is capitalism, to invest your time in study rather than idling in front of the television is capitalism – to do the opposite of these examples as motivated by the rewards or perspectives of your ideology is capitalism. A Christian taking on habits and practices to avoid the occasion of sin is investing the capital of habits and time for the gain of grace in salvation. A Marxist defending Communism, distributing the manifesto and voting for greater state power and social programs is investing the capital of that effort which could go many other places, is practicing capitalism.

This post is the practice of capitalism; your reading it, or quitting mid-way through or stopping in the first sentence is capitalism. Capitalism is acting upon the best path known to us, it is practiced through the advocacy of free human action that does not infringe on other human actions, through seeking out trade and expertise to maximize impact of labor – which leaves us with finding the best paths, through analyzing data and examining incentives and consequences.

So are your actions the best employment of capitalism? Is what your advocating been tried before? How did it perform? Where did you get the information on its performance from? If it performed poorly primarily due to faults of its own character, a good capital decision would be to move away from it, or at least those aspects of its character. If it performed well, a good use of capital is the examination of all contributing factors to enhance its implementation.

We are all capitalists, we all practice capitalism, the real question is whether or not our culture is getting better or worse at it, and what can we examine to help steer us toward the better?

Trade is Made of Win – Art Carden

adc — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:16:52 +0000

Art, droppin’ Econ like it’s hot:

Wealth Creation:

Cooperation:

Conservation:

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged: A Brief Review

adc — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:32:00 +0000

If you want my quick advice: This is an important book, and you should read it. You will probably be better off reading it yourself, and drawing your own conclusions – than reading my evaluation of it, since there is no possible way I can adequately address the many ideas covered.

Instead, I will provide a introductory overview:

Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical social commentary written in fictional form, that challenges many, if not all, commonly held ideologies. I would say that the core criticism of Atlas Shrugged is against the idea of altruism. In other words, the central question could be, does a person has the capacity to act completely and totally without self-interest – and if so, is this a good thing? Should a society of free people be based on altruism? Where does such a concept ultimately lead? Can and should people be compelled to act altruistically?

The book is certainly not without it’s faults – and I can honestly say that I was glad to have finished it. The tone of the writing in places could be described as ‘clubbing you over the head’, and can become tiresome. The book itself is written with a very black and white approach. You won’t really find characters that are a mix of good and evil. However – I think Atlas is a picture of extremes, in order to make valid points. (For instance, I think that it’s criticism of collectivism is complete valid – though I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who fully and openly advocates for the destruction of self, individual identity, and rights.) But none of this should stop you from reading this book. Rand’s arguments are relevant, important, and deserve be considered, even if you do so only to disagree and argue against them.

You can order a copy of Atlas Shrugged from Amazon.

I have included an interview with Rand below where she briefly discusses some of her ideas which she presents in Atlas Shrugged. Again – the point is not to simply agree, but her arguments can’t simply be ignored:

Here is an excerpt of her commentary on Rights:

Jobs, food, clothing, recreation(!), homes, medical care, education, etc., do not grow in nature. These are man-made values—goods and services produced by men. Who is to provide them?

If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are deprived of rights and condemned to slave labor.

Any alleged “right” of one man, which necessitates the violation of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right.

No man can have a right to impose an unchosen obligation, an unrewarded duty or an involuntary servitude on another man. There can be no such thing as “the right to enslave.”

A right does not include the material implementation of that right by other men; it includes only the freedom to earn that implementation by one’s own effort. . . .

The right to property means that a man has the right to take the economic actions necessary to earn property, to use it and to dispose of it; it does not mean that others must provide him with property.

“Man’s Rights,” Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal

Milton Friedman: “Government becoming our Master, rather than our Servant” -on Donahue, 1980

adc — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:47:05 +0000

What I like about Friedman, was how positively and reasonably he presented his arguments. They are worth listening to and considering, even if you disagree. Not to mention, in my view, his ideas and critiscisms of central planning are as relevant today, as they were two and half decades ago.

Many thanks to Youtube user brittle13 for posting this full interview (in 5 parts):

Milton Friedman on Self-Interest, Profit, Slavery, Colonialism, and Principled Business

adc — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:16:54 +0000

The late Nobel Peace Prize winning economist Milton Friedman discusses various issues during a question and answer period. This is a good companion to the Free to Choose post.

On Slavery and Colonialism (Note how the rambling student reveals his hand by referring to “so-called” communist countries, and “so-called” democratic countries…)

Morality and Economic Policy:

On the Ford Pinto, and Principled Business:

I attended a lecture once at the University of Oregon that was similar to this. Lots of sign waving and emotional outbursts over the speaker. The conformity of the shouting mob was only drowned out by their self-congratulation for courageously ‘standing alone’ on their collective ideas.

Common Mistake: Judging Policies and Programs by their Intentions, Rather than Results

adc — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:59:37 +0000

One of the common misconceptions of conservatism is that it does not care about the poor and down-trodden in society. Quite the opposite is true.

For example, most conservatives would agree with the intention of most social programs, such as the minimum wage, or social security. However, the question that a conservative might ask would be, a) does the particular social program achieve its stated goals, and b) does it do this by trampling upon another individual’s liberty?

Milton Friedman discusses many of these misconceptions (still totally relevant today) about capitalism, greed, social security, minimum wage, the free market, etc in the video below: