Capitalism 104

Beinhart's Body Politic

by Larry Beinhart, January 24, 2007

In Capitalism 101 we learned that capitalism is good. It beats communism, any day, hands down, out and out.

It also beats socialism, which is soft-core communism and leads to degeneracy. Really, it does. We all know that profit motivates people to work hard. And fear of becoming destitute is the most efficient of whips. Whereas in a planned economy, which provides security, workers lose their motivation and their fear and just sit around and jerk off.

It also beats all the other isms. Mercantilism (whatever that was), fascism, and feudalism, to name a few.

In Capitalism 102, we learned that capitalism easily gives way to excesses.

It can be manipulated by monopolies and cartels. Fraud and deception can run wild. So can desperate hope and hopeless desperation. Capitalists can hire armies, police forces, goons, and thugs to increase their profits. Fraud and deceit may run wild. Capitalists will sell shoddy, poisonous, destructive, and even murderous products. It goes from booms to busts. And some of those busts—also called panics, recessions, and depressions—can be so severe that they upset the body politic and cause society to flock to one of the other isms—communism and fascism mostly—run by dictators and strongmen.

A few relatively bright people came up with the idea of keeping capitalism while trying to get rid of the excesses!

That meant regulations.

Markets were regulated. Products were checked. Monopolies were restricted. Cartels and collusion among businesses were forbidden.