Capitalism developed in the late 16th century in Europe, and has transformed into a successful economic system used all over the globe. This type of free market and supportive economic system is continuously scorned for only allowing the elites or wealthy to succeed, leaving the lower class behind and for being unjust. There has been a recent increase, mostly with millennials, in support of democratic socialism, which decreases the power elites have and instead have the means of production run through government mandated entities.
However, it is now time that people stop with their aversions to this economic system and instead embrace the free market that has performed so well. Not only has it allowed our economy to repeatedly bounce back from multiple economic disasters, but assisted during hardships.
The hypocrisy in such claims is overwhelming, even in countries that consider themselves to be “socialist,” like Denmark or Finland, there still remains an element of capitalism. Though all businesses are taxed differently between countries, the opportunity to succeed is still there. The beauty of capitalism comes from individuals and their imagination of what they think could better benefit the consumer.
Entrepreneurs operate differently than the normal consumer. The average consumerwas not aware they needed an Uber before it was founded by Travis Kalanick in 2009. In addition, consumers were not aware they longed for a streaming service where they could watch movies and television shows wherever they want until Netflix was introduced.
America, in terms of GDP, has the strongest economy in the world. It is way ahead of other economies like China, Russia and Germany, which have roles as other big economic competitors. This success could be attributed to the lack of government influence within our economy and trade between other countries. The United States will likely always have one of the best and largest economies within the globe for multiple reasons, but what separates the United States from other countries is the amount of government intervention.
The role of government is not to act as a parent, but instead to deal with wars and situations where diplomacy is necessary. Other than that, relations with companies that are in other countries should be handled by the people that head those businesses. A free market society without government rule allows the consumers to decide what fails and what survives. For example, instead of pouring money into the U.S. Post Officethat continues to lose money year after year, the government should let UPS or FedEx rule over dealings with mail.
By continuing to fund these ineffective services, the government is only feeding into its own failures. As consumers, we can dictate which businesses become successful and which ones will perish. Instead of letting dying businesses continue to be funded, let us not reward failure and instead give money to another business that will have a positive output on its customers and economy. It is imperative Americans keep with capitalism for future peoples and migrants. Without capitalism, the reason to come to America in search of the “American dream” is lost; the opportunity to ascend to a higher position would be even harder than it is now.
– Katelyn Moriarty is a political science sophomore
