Capitalism unfairly branded as doing ‘more harm than good’

OPINION:

A new survey of people around the world finds that capitalism is being seen as doing “more harm than good” — an unfair characterization that falsely points to an economic system as to blame for the wickedness of human hearts.

If truth be told, it’s capitalism and only capitalism that takes into account the wickedness of human hearts — the natural failings of humans — and works within that reality to lift individuals and whole nations from poverty.

How so?

Only capitalism rewards individual achievement. Only capitalism offers an even playing ground for the individual to design, create, produce, sell — and then keep what is profited from those sales. It’s pure; it’s clean and honest. It’s a simple give and take, buy and sell, and absent government interference, it’s the buyers who dictate who wins, who loses.

And the beauty of capitalism is that even the losers can learn from their mistakes and one day turn their losses into wins.

Free markets are simply free for the individuals.

Socialism, on the other hand, disincentives individual achievement — actually punishes those who profit — as it takes from those who do and gives to those who do not. As a matter of fact, any form of government-run of economy ultimately brings about the same sad and pitiful fate as socialism: downtrodden masses and high-living elites. Chaos, fear and poverty.

Another way to say it: Socialism pretends government can change the human condition.

Capitalism recognizes humans are fallible — but that even the fallible can still contribute to the system at-large.

Think about it: Even if the motives of the individual achievers aren’t pure, the system of capitalism can still work. Whether Businessman Joe seeks to generate wealth for personal greed, of for individual self-esteem, or for the betterment of an entire community doesn’t necessarily matter to the stability of the capitalistic model, or to the sustainability of the prosperity that can come.

Greed isn’t exactly good, morally speaking, anyway — but greed doesn’t necessarily topple capitalism, as it does with socialism. Greedy capitalists still generate profits and create job prospects for many, whereas greedy socialists simply grab for more, more, more from the producing, creating classes, until finally, ultimately, the producing, creating classes are no longer able to produce and create. Then the violence starts. The crackdowns from government come. The nation crumbles, economically, from within.

The problems with capitalism only come when Businessman Joe lies, cheats or steals in the pursuit of that financial gain — and in so doing, harms the investors, the employees, the customers and perhaps then taxpayers, called upon to subsidize or bail out the business.

But this is not capitalism’s fault.

Lying, cheating and stealing aren’t conditions of capitalism.

They’re conditions of dark human hearts — outcomes of immoral thoughts.

At root, they’re devices of the devil that come by way of unbiblical thinking and atheistic living.

So when 56% of respondents in a survey from Edelman’s Trust Barometer agree with the statement, “Capitalism as it exists today does more harm than good in the world” — they’re dead wrong.

Blaming capitalism for immoral business leaders is like faulting the Second Amendment for school shootings.

Just as America’s framers warned that the democratic-republic would last only so long as its governing leaders were moral and virtuous, so, too, capitalism. Free systems can only remain free when the people within those systems are constrained by belief in a higher power, a divine authority, to do the right thing, even when nobody’s looking.

Those who blame capitalism for failed economies are pointing fingers in the wrong direction.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.