December 10, 2020

Capitalism works

There's a difference between capitalism and socialism obviously.  But there's also a difference between socialism and a welfare state.  Many European economies that are considered socialist are free market economies that happen to have very large welfare components or in some cases, government ownership in specific industries only.  Denmark and Sweden are prime examples of this. 

Given that definition, in the video below, out of the top 10 richest countries in the world, 9 are capitalist, with only 1 communist.  Of the top 20, there are 5 mixed economies, 1 communist and 14 are capitalist (and arguably 16).  And of the top 30 economies, there are 8 mixed economies, 1 socialist/mixed and 1 communist.  That means 20 of the top 30 economies are capitalist with 2 of the top 20 moving more and more from mixed towards capitalist. 

The point - capitalism creates wealth.  Wealth creates improved quality of life for everyone, not just the rich.  Would you rather be a poor person in America, with a welfare net or in Bangladesh or North Korea where starvation is a distinct possibility?  Capitalism is not evil, it's a good thing that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the last century as it has been adapted in new countries. It's not perfect, but it's a close as humanity has come to a fair and free economic system.  Where it fails is where it has been corrupted and/or abused.

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