"Capitalism"

 

When people today speak of “capitalism” they almost always mean: government of vast economic regulation. They mean: fascism or welfare statism.

A “capitalist” these days is a rich person or business owner who uses his wealth to regulate his industry to his advantage. He uses his money to manipulate the political system to enrich and empower himself. By “manipulate” is meant coerce; by “empower” is meant acquire the ability to coerce.

But since in the real world capitalism means individual liberty or economic freedom, this current version of capitalism is the opposite of the real deal. Actual capitalists don’t seek to regulate or coerce anyone, nor do they allow anyone else to regulate or coerce them.

“Capitalists” nowadays secretly bride the legislators, judges, executives, regulators, and other government authorities with cash under the table. Or they openly bribe them via campaign or charity contributions. Or the bribes take the form of extravagantly-paid, no-show “jobs” for the various government officials, their family, friends, and cronies. Or the pseudo-capitalists fool and bribe the people or voters directly.

The general way these “capitalists” – these robber-baron parasites and authoritarians – become enriched and empowered is they get the bribed government officials to alter the tax, regulation, subsidy, import, and export system to benefit themselves – usually thru some version of a monopoly in their industry. This impoverishes and disempowers their customers and victims – as well as the nation and the world.

These “capitalists” slow human progress and damage world society. Their “alterations” of the tax, regulation, subsidy, import, and export system always involves coercion. This warping of economic freedom can also be called criminality or tyranny. And since real capitalism always means liberty, these “acts of capitalism” always involve the contrary of capitalism.

Under true capitalism the good businessmen and companies thrive and grow rich, while the poor ones go broke and out of business. But under vastly regulated fascist or welfare statist “capitalism” it’s the coercive, thieving, bad businessmen and companies which thrive and grow rich, while everyone else suffers considerable elements of impoverishment and enslavement.

No wonder virtually everyone today hates modern capitalism! They should. Current capitalism is the polar opposite, and death, of real capitalism.