Capitalism’s Biggest Enemies Are Capitalists

by | Jan 24, 2018

Capitalism’s Biggest Enemies Are Capitalists

by | Jan 24, 2018

For most of human history, mankind’s standard of living remained perilously close to a bare subsistence level. Then, a few hundred years ago, capitalism brought with it the Industrial Revolution that has generated unprecedented economic progress. Capitalism is by far the most effective anti-poverty program in the world’s history.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, economic progress was so slow that people would not be able to recognize it in their lifetimes. The goods and services they consumed, the ways in which they were produced, and the overall level of consumption would have been roughly the same when they died as when they were born. Today, we take economic progress for granted. Ten years from now, cars will be different, phones will be different, our lives and lifestyles will be different because of the economic progress generated by capitalism.

Despite the huge difference capitalism has made to our standard of living, capitalism has its detractors. Socialists and progressives want to regulate it, control it, or eliminate it, but capitalism’s biggest enemies are those who claim to support it.

First on the list are business people, who regularly petition government for favorable treatment. They want subsidies, they want tax incentives, they want regulatory protection to deter domestic competitors, and they want tariffs and quotas to protect them from foreign competitors.

Businesses spend lots of resources on politicking and lobbying, but they never lobby for unfettered competition and free markets. They devote substantial resources toward trying to get government to award them special privileges. They don’t want free market capitalism; they want crony capitalism and they want to be the cronies. Small wonder capitalism suffers from a bad reputation.

Read the rest at the Independent Institute.

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

cb0cb1ef 3fcb 417d 80d8 4eef7bbd8290

Recent Articles

Recent

TGIF: Liberty Requires Nationwide Injunctions

TGIF: Liberty Requires Nationwide Injunctions

The government is always a threat. This we must never forget. In that light, I want to examine the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. CASA, the 6-3 decision that sided with the Trump administration's position that a federal district court exceeded its...

read more
Can You Privatize the Military-Industrial Complex?

Can You Privatize the Military-Industrial Complex?

Though it’s rare to hear someone praise the military-industrial-congressional complex, it is only the latter component that masks a praiseworthy feat.  Markets—also known as “people” voluntarily exchanging—have devised the most efficient methods for producing weapons...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This