This has been worrying me for some time now. I have been hearing an increase in mutterings about “the failures of capitalism” and “the death of capitalism”, presumably uttered with straight faces.
What is this? Has enough time passed for us to have forgotten about the immense evil caused by utopian ideals. If not capitalism then what? Socialism? Communism? What?
From Rasmussen:
Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better.
The poll is dubious do I’m not jumping off cliffs yet. There is also an upshot in people mentioning classic defenders of the free market like the Milton Freidman clip from a while back.
This comes at a time where America, traditionally the bastion of capitalism and wealth, has elected a president like Barack Obama. Now, I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon of screaming about this being socialism and communism like Glenn Beck seems to do every time he forgets to take his chill pills. What I will say is that the values and ideals that Obama represents seem to be the opposite of what the US was founded on. From JFK’s “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” to “what can I give you”.
Posted on: Friday, April 10, 2009 11:59 PM