The first chapter of Glenn Beck’s book “Arguing With Idiots,” the subject of capitalism is brought up.
He starts out with the typical American dream anecdote: Sam Insull, who co-founded Edison General Electric, worked under Thomas Edison for a several years to learn as much as he could to one day start his own business. Sam did and his business thrived. (The actually story is quite amazing.) To sum up the story, because of his business, Sam’s net worth exceeded $100 million in the 1920’s after bring electricity to millions of people, practically making it a necessity. When the Great Depression hit, Sam’s company tanked like thousands of others and left stock holders in shambles. The government charged him with fraud, was acquitted, but nonetheless, fled to France because of the public outrage. This is just an example of what capitalism can do.
Truth is not all entrepreneur experiences are like this. That was an example of what happens when the government unfairly steps in to the private sector. What capitalism does is allows opportunities. A quote I liked from this chapter stats it very clearly: “Capitalism can’t get you a job, a bigger house, or a better retirement–you have to do all of those things for yourself. But what capitalism can do is foster an environment where those with the will to succeed have a better chance of achieving their dreams.” It can’t be said any better than that.
Fact is, capitalism is the only economic system that is proven to stimulate growth and increase standard of living the fastest. However, that is “democratic capitalism.” This is what was intended for when our framers created this great nation. With all the government regulations, unions and such, this increases our prices on products, thus making them less desirable to the rest of the world. Some government regulation is good, what we have currently…not so much.
Another valid point that is missing out of capitalism these days is generosity. As citizens and people for that matter, it is our duty to help our neighbor when he/she needs help. Greed has taken over too many people’s lives. Sure, America is the wealthiest nation in the world, and contributes the most when called upon, but still more can and should be done to help our fellow Americans.
There is plenty more to be read and explained in this chapter, but that should cover the basics. I’d hate for someone not to buy Glenn’s book on my account!
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