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Don't Blame Capitalism

Posted by Boomer911 on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 1:03:14 PM
As someone who likes to stay abreast of the differing views and opinions from a wide variety of people on both sides of the isle, I have noticed an alarming trend lately from the folks over on the left. It seems they feel our current economic problems are the result of runaway capitalism and not surprisingly, they are suggesting moving away from the free market. To anyone who has paid attention to politics this doesn't come as any shock as those on the left today are up to their eyeballs in socialism with the roots of their political and social ideologies firmly rooted in Marxist thought and policy. I have advocated a complete and total rejection of any socialist policy when it comes to freedom and the rights of man which by the way, still come from God and not government entities. The question is, how can government control and regulate the economy and we still call ourselves free? In order to control and regulate the economy, you have to control the people involved and taking part in the economy which is exactly what the left feels the role of government should be. That leaves us, the American people,with very little freedom. I can assure you that would only be the beginning. But lets ask ourselves if their current criticisms of capitalism are to blame for our economic problems?
 
An article in the National Post has challenged the lefts assertion that capitalism is the villain and warns of further socialist policies that subject the world's economies to futher collapse. Terence Corcoran writes,
 Two major related threats loom over the world economy: credit crises and rising inflation. What do these two menaces have in common? Bankers, hedge-fund managers, speculators and capitalism in general have been taking the hit for the economic turmoil, both for credit risk and inflation. But the looming collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the United States should help change the focus a little. We are now getting down to the heart of the matter, which turns out not to be rampant capitalism but out of control back-door socialism.
Corcoran goes on to say,
There is nothing free market about the two American mortgage backers, hybrid institutions created by the U.S. government to support mortgages and make home buying easier and more affordable for Americans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, prodded by Congress and regulators, socialized trillions of dollars of mortgage risk on the backs of U. S. taxpayers. Along with dozens of other U. S. government programs that lured American's into a home-buying frenzy, the two institutions -- now getting even more socialist backing from Washington -- stand among the leading creators of the U. S. mortgage and credit crisis.
Any commentaries or critiques of capitalism cannot be taken seriously if one can see government interference and regulation and still call it capitalism.  Capitalism doesn't work that way as its based off of free markets and investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth which is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations. See, they want their cake and to eat it too. You cannot have government interference in a supposed free market and then dare call it capitalism, followed by blaming capitalism for the its failures and shortcomings. Capitalism is the only system that empowers the individual which is the ultimate freedom. Economic freedom is the beginning of true freedom as it leads the individual to political and social freedom by giving one the right to spend their time choosing whatever endeavor makes them happy.
 
As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves when they see the role of the federal government continue to expand. They specifically set out to limit the power of the central government in our Constitution and held the view that too much power in the hands of government paved the way for servitude. As the U.S. government expands, we lose more of our wealth and more importantly our freedoms. The American people need to turn away from big government and stop looking to the elitists in Washington D.C. to solve every little problem that comes their way as this plays right into the hands of those who seek to take our freedoms. They are essentially training the American people to be completely dependent on government for all things. Free markets, free enterprise, individual responsibilty, and individual freedom, far from any government interference and regulation are the cornerstones of a free and economically prosperous people.
 
There is struggle today in politics that will play out in this falls presidential election. Will we choose to cede more power, control, and money to a goverment that has abandoned its Constitutional role at the price of our feedoms? Or will we stand for those powerful principles our Founding Fathers used to guide them in setting up the most free and prosperous nation the world has known? This nation really is "the last best hope" and should it fail, what would happen to mankind? I choose not to be a slave to any government and implore you to stand up for freedom and the rights of man.
 
"It might be demonstrated that the most productive system of finance will always be the least burdensome." - Alexander Hamilton  1788 
 
"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost, is lost forever." - John Adams
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

aBankers, hedge-fund managers, speculators and capitalism in general have been taking the hit for the economic turmoil, both for credit risk and inflation. But the looming collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Macin the United States should help change the focus a little. We are now getting down to the heart of the matter, which turns out not to be rampant capitalism but out of control back-door socialnkers, hedge-fund managers, speculators and capitalism in general have been taking the hit for the economic turmoil, both for credit risk and inflation. But the looming collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Macin the United States should help change the focus a little. We are now getting down to the heart of the matter, which turns out not to be rampant capitalism but out of control back-door socialism.
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The Roots of The Left -Part 2

Posted by Boomer911 on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 6:00:00 PM
One cannot discuss socialism or communism without briefly discussing the "father of Communism", Karl Marx. Marx is most famously known for The Communist Manifesto, written along with Freidrich Engels, in which he lays out his assessment on sociological and political theories. His approach is indicated by the opening line of the The Communist Manifesto (1848): “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”.  This line is very important as it sums up the lefts criticisms of capitalism and the American economy. In fact, one of the major precepts of defining struggle in the capitalist society by socialists (communists) is to always shape their argument from the view of the oppressed vs. the oppressor. No one uses this method more effectively or deliberately than todays Democratic party. You can see it every election cycle as they go out to the base of their party and proclaim..... You are being oppressed! Think about it.........If you're black, a woman, a homosexual, a Hispanic or any kind of ethnic minority, etc., chances are you're being oppressed and the usual culprit to the Democrats is conservative, white, Christian men, who run all the big corporations. Yes, this "party of the people" has used class struggle to keep them in positions of power for years, but I digress. The class struggle Marx refers to is  synonymous with class conflict and it is this conflict that Democrats use to stir emotion and shirk responsibility for the empty promises made at election time by blaming their failures on the "oppressors".
 
No where is this more apparent than with the black turnout every election cycle for Democrats. It was estimated that 90% of all blacks who voted in the 2004 Presidential election, voted for John Kerry. And we see this trend continue to trickle down the lines to our local and municipal elections where in most large cities like Philadelphia and Chicago, there has been a heavy bureaucratic machine controlled by Democrats in place for generations. This idea of infusing race struggles with class struggles goes back to communist-Marxist ideology. In a letter to Friedrich Engels in 1882 Karl Marx wrote: "You know very well where we found our idea of class struggle; we found it in the work of the French historians who talked about the race struggle."  Perhaps I will let the Democratic Socialists of America make my point for me. The following are direct quotes taken from their website:
 

"The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States, and the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International. DSA's members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly socialist presence in American communities and politics.

"At the root of our socialism is a profound commitment to democracy, as means and end. We are activists committed not only to extending political democracy but to demanding democratic empowerment in the economy, in gender relations, and in culture. Democracy is not simply one of our political values but our means of restructuring society. Our vision is of a society in which people have a real voice in the choices and relationships that affect the entirety of our lives. We call this vision democratic socialism - a vision of a more free, democratic and humane society.

    We are socialists because we reject an international economic order sustained by private profit, alienated labor, race and gender discrimination, environmental destruction, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo.

    We are socialists because we share a vision of a humane international social order based both on democratic planning and market mechanisms to achieve equitable distribution of resources, meaningful work, a healthy environment, sustainable growth, gender and racial equality, and non-oppressive relationships."

    There is so much imporatant information in the preceeding paragraphs that I will refer to them quite often as I make my points. If you have to read them again, do so. It is important to understand what they are saying. Essentially, when they say they will use democracy as a "means and an end", they are saying they will use democracy itself to bring it down and implement their "socialist utopia". They will use our democratic principles of  free press and expression and the right to assemble, among many others, to light the flame of "revolution". They know that in a true democracy, as long as the argument is put forth as a struggle, the means to destroy it lie within its freedoms. Also, notice how they continually refer to racial, gender and economic equality as struggles. Now think of how a government would go about implementing the changes necessary to promote so-called racial, gender, and economic equality. Perhaps they could support hiring quotas based on race and gender regardless of the qualifications of the applicant by continually lowering the standards of excellence. Perhaps they could redistribute wealth from the people who have, to the people who have not. Do these sound familiar? We already have them through "affirmative action" and a stifling tax policy that merely suffocates the free market principles that capitalism involves. It should be noted that I am all for equality. But how we achieve equality is through individual responsibility and the right to pursue a better life based on merit and achievement that the capitalist system thrives on. Success is always the reward for hard work. Democrats want to skip the hard work part and punish those who are successful by taking more of their money and giving it to their constiuents through "entitlement" programs. And the cycle of life continues for their people, the opressed,  represented by the "party of the people", the Democrats.

    Let me once again go to the source for their positions. Here is another exerpt from the Democratic Socialists of America:

            "A democratic commitment to a vibrant pluralist life assumes the need for a democratic, responsive, and representative government to regulate the market, protect the environment, and ensure a basic level of equality and equity for each citizen. In the 21st century, such regulation will increasingly occur through international, multilateral action. But while a democratic state can protect individuals from domination by inordinately powerful, undemocratic transnational corporations, people develop the social bonds that render life meaningful only through cooperative, voluntary relationships. Promoting such bonds is the responsibility of socialists and the government alike."

    It is amazing how wonderful the idea of equality sounds. But a closer look at the policies and the means to achieve this "utopia" begs a questioning of just how they hope to achieve their goals. And this is where an apathetic and un-informed electorate comes into play. The people of this nation are not interested in politics and ideologies. They see government interference into the marketplace to achieve equality as a constitutional mandate.  And so the march to socialism goes on.

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The Roots of The Left - Part 1

Posted by Boomer911 on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 4:00:00 PM
Back in 1927, an American socialist named Norman Thomas, who ran for President on the Socialist Party ticket six (6) different times, stated, "The American people would never vote for socialism but under the name "liberalism" the American people will adopt every fragment of the socialist program."  And with this one statement, we see the link from todays Democratic party to the early leftist movements in this country. Its a pretty fascinating comment to say the least. Stop and think for a second how many friends or acquaintances you have or how many people you hear and see on television and radio, proudly proclaiming their liberalism and then read the above quote again. Liberalism, or being "progressive", is worn like a badge of honor today. But one has to wonder how many of them know the history of their ideology? Do they have any idea that the views they hold and the direction they are taking this country would make Marx or Stalin happy to know the "revolution" still moves forward even today? Nikita Kruschev, a premier of the former Soviet Union, once said "We cannot expect the Americans to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of Socialism, until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism."  And with this quote, we see the ultimate goal of the left....Communism. Ask yourself again, how many of those people who proudly proclaim themselves as liberals realize what they are endorsing? My guess would be very few. We have to ask ourselves how we have come to the brink of adopting socialism and all its precepts into our political system without so much as batting an eye? Why can't they see the downfalls of such a system and lessons so horribly learned from history? Perhaps 19th century historian Alexis de Tocqueville said it best when he stated, "Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude."
 
In order to understand where we are going as a nation, we need to understand from where it is we came. I cannot stress the importance of understanding our founding documents and the intentions of our Founding Fathers. Without knowing what our system of government was designed to do and the roles of each of the branches of government, how can we know when this government has become to powerful and exceeded its constitutional authority? We need to understand capitalism, the free market, and basic economic principles, to understand what drives our nations prosperity, allowing its citizens the chance at the "pursuit of happiness"  mentioned in our Declaration of Independence. Having said all of that, I cannot make this blog a lesson in history as it would take up too much of my time without allowing me to discuss issues. However, there will be times I will cite history and ask the reader to do their own research to further understand the issue. Plus, it is a great check on the facts and ideas I will put forth and I encourage all questions.
 
 
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