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Typical Anti-Capitalist Distortion

[Updates below.]

Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Capitalism makes lives better (Wednesday, July 7, 2004):

A Guest Viewpoint column by George Haeseler claims we should be clamping down on "corporate power and greed (which) lie at the root of most of today's injustices." He believes that unions should be strengthened and that we should vote out of office politicians who "do the bidding of corporations."

In the last hundred years it has been demonstrated, beyond any doubt, that capitalist countries, particularly those where government interference in the free enterprise system is least, have provided the highest standards of living in history for their people.

With this kind of history to guide us it is not at all clear to me why we would want to charge down the path of another half-baked socialist scheme, almost all of which have proven in the past to be economic disasters.

ROBERT A. STREVELL

ENDICOTT

© 2004 Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin


Capitalism isn't all good (Tuesday, July 13, 2004)
The letter "Capitalism makes lives better" expresses some naive viewpoints. To view the history of capitalism as a loving, blissful stroll through history is to ignore over 100 years of oppression and resistance. To forget the sweatshops and terrible factories of this country's history is sad, but to ignore the slave labor and oppressive conditions involved in today's Third World factories is worse.

The benefits of capitalism are easy to laud when you are a middle-class American, but millions of us don't have health care and struggle in abject poverty. Despite living in the land of plenty, it gets harder and harder for the poor in this country.

JESSE HARASTA

JOHNSON CITY

© 2004 Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin


Mr. Harasta, in an effort to fight oppression, wants more oppression. In wanting to fight slave labor, he wants to enslave people to the state. In order to see more Americans prosper, he wants the government to continue stealing from our wealth and make more economic choices for us.

He shouldn't be angry towards what he believes is capitalism.

He should be angry with the slobs and morons who educated him.

UPDATED 5/22/2006 1:15pm
Mr. Harasta contacted me last week expressing his desire to respond to this post. Since I've closed comments and since my time is presently occupied with collegiate matters, I'll link to the reply he posted to his Upstate Anarchist blog here for the moment and compose a reply of my own in the next few days.

This could get interesting.

UPDATED 5/25/2006 11:22am
Part II

Posted by drizzten on July 13, 2004 10:46 AM |

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Comments

what capitalist countries are you talking about? How can people still repeat the same shit from Virtue of Selfishness, god even one of the authors of that book dumped that shit. the same objectivist who acts as a regulator for the state.

Posted by: joe sullivan | September 23, 2004 01:27 PM

Mr. Sullivan, I didn't write those letters to the editor. So don't confuse me with Messrs Strevell and Harasta.

I'm fully aware that Alan Greenspan has turned his back on his former philosophy (though I'm not entirely convinced he was a dyed-in-the-wool Objectivist). His actions and statements demonstrate his desire for state intervention in our lives.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no "capitalist country" on the fact of the Earth. There are nations that have capitalist tendencies and they overall have the highest standards of living and personal wealth. Perhaps that's what Mr. Strevell was talking about, a stance I don't disagree with.

If you have a legitimate argument against the Virtue of Selfishness, feel free to offer it. I've never read the book, so you'll have to take that into consideration.

Posted by: Drizz | September 23, 2004 01:55 PM

The following link, takes you to a "utopian" article, entitled "Home of the Brave?" which I wrote and appeared in the American Daily which is published in Phoenix, Arizona on March 14, 2006.
www.americandaily.com/article/12389

John Steinsvold

Posted by: John Steinsvold | March 13, 2008 07:15 PM

We may find that we have the strength to carry out our internal economic affairs without the need to use money.

Mr. Steinsvold, that was one of the best examples of intellectually lazy persuasive writing that I've seen in a while. I literally don't know where to begin. Responding to it with any degree of justice would require its own blog post.

So I'll be back in a day or two to service it as needed.

Posted by: drizzten | March 15, 2008 09:52 PM

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