In Defense of Capitalism
by Senator Brent Hill
Speaking to a young American visiting her country, an elderly Bulgarian woman described the four decades of Communist oppression she had just survived. “When they first told us about Communism,” she lamented, “they made it sound so good.” For over 160 years, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels has seduced the masses with comforting phrases like, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” The weak were promised political power; the laborer was promised freedom from labor; and the poor were promised their neighbor’s undeserved riches. The people were assured freedom from oppression—oppression generated by capitalism, individualism, and faith in God.
Echoes of such claims were heard again in Karin Lund’s editorial in Sunday’s Post Register. “I believe socialism is about helping people in a way that maximizes individual freedoms,” she writes. Joining Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, she condemns capitalism as an evil god—all powerful, all knowing, and all bad.
It is both disheartening and alarming that any young American would fall for such propaganda. Socialism can lead to nothing but loss of jobs, loss of hope, and loss of freedom. It replaces independence with dependence and opportunity with despair. It is one breath away from Communism—a fact understood by Marx himself when he explained that Communism would be achieved only after an intermediate stage called socialism and through the temporary and revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat (Critique of the Gotha Programme by Karl Marx—1875). The goals of socialism cannot be distinguished from those of Communism. Their only difference is the speed at which they progress.
America has become the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world because she has resisted the luring lies of socialism. A system of free enterprise has created goods and services, jobs and opportunities for all Americans. Sometimes the “rich” who are willing to invest their capital and risk their resources do become richer, but everyone, including the employee and the consumer, reaps the benefits. The poor do not become poorer, as Ms. Lund claims. Everyone enjoys a higher standard of living as explained by an article in the New York Times: “The rich did get richer faster than the poor did. But for the most part the poor did not get poorer. They got richer, too. In exchange for significantly rising living standards, a little more internal inequality is not such a bad thing”. Without free enterprise, America’s poor would be standing in food lines along with our neighbors in those countries that were ruled for decades by Communism.
The spread of socialism is very real. The political and ideological support of its followers is evident throughout American politics. Ms. Lund said she would thank President Obama for paying for her health care and education. Public assistance is always welcomed by those who consume more than they produce, but the bills must be paid by someone (other than President Obama). The current administration has done a good job of convincing half the nation that “someone” is simply “the rich.” As we go down the road of government health care, government handouts, and government control of financial institutions and businesses, we will look back and find our freedoms abandoned along the way.
I believe in the American Spirit that has made our country great. I believe that most Americans recognize and embrace the principles of free enterprise, self-reliance, and independence. If we do, we will continue to be a beacon of strength, peace, and generosity to all the world.