If advocates of capitalism want more sympathy, it’s past time to expose and shuck many so-called capitalists whose self-interest undermines capitalism.
Objectivist Richard Salsman cries for capitalism in Forbes, Where Have All The Capitalists Gone?
The collapse of socialist regimes two decades ago didn’t mean capitalism was finally being hailed for its many virtues; the historic event only merely reminded people of capitalism’s productive ability–an ability that already long-proven and long-acknowledged even by its worst enemies. Persistent animosity toward capitalism today rests on moral, not practical grounds. Unless rational self-interest is understood as the one moral code consistent with genuine humanity, and the moral estimate of capitalism thus improves, socialism will keep making comebacks, despite its deep and dark record of human misery.
All true. And, misses much.
After all the manifest advantages of capitalism are appreciated, the inclination of some who are unproductive to take from the productive is discounted, and the false bravado is revealed of some who are wealthy – protecting their own with expensive lawyers – to suggest higher taxes, there’s great and increasing unease and anger at many of the biggees of capitalism.
Most of the biggees of capitalism have become “rent-seekers” (“In economics, rent seeking occurs when an individual, organization or firm seeks to earn income by capturing economic rent through manipulation or exploitation of the economic or political environment, rather than by earning profits through economic transactions and the production of added wealth.”) in unholy alliance with big government to line their own pockets and stifle competition from smaller firms and entrepreneurs.
It is not the socialists who are capitalism’s, and individual freedoms, worst enemy but the biggest companies themselves.
The invaluable muckraker Tim Carney provides us some examples.
The largest health insurers cozied up to ObamaCare, seeking protections and opportunities from the legislation, until too late in the game they awoke to find themselves, and Americans, screwed.
So the insurers are and have been crucial allies to Obama and the Democrats on health care reform, just as they were allies in Obama's first major action, expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. And similarly, big business has been an ally in all of Obama's major pushes -- cap and trade, the stimulus, and even tobacco regulation.
The largest food companies cozied up to enlarging the regulatory power of the Food and Drug Administration:
The lobby for large food retailers and processors spent two years championing the big-government Food Safety Enhancement Act, while small farmers and processors said the bill's "one-size-fits-all" regulatory requirements would kill Mom & Pop, helping the big guys….Increased regulation crowds out smaller producers, causing industry consolidation -- which makes us less safe.
The biggees of government and capitalism enrich themselves and their clients through the revolving door.
The largest industrial companies fed at the trough of the trillion dollar “stimulus.”
Tim Carney’s recent book, The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money, is must reading.
The revolt of the little-guys in the 2010 Congressional and state elections is our response. Most Americans did not replace Democrats just to enrich Republicans. Instead, most Americans stood up against capitalism’s evil-brother, the rent-seekers.
