Capitalism and Socialism

March 6^th 2016

A writer decries the social programs that are supporting many in our country and claims that we only truly can succeed through capitalism. But in reality it is the counterbalancing of these philosophies in action that makes our country grow and prosper. Without social programs we would have no infrastructure and workforce for capitalism to produce the gains we have experienced. Millions would live in abject poverty, and disease would run rampant without these social programs to tend to our elderly and those who aren't lucky enough to gain from free enterprise. 

History has shown us that in every society a smaller number will always command the majority of the wealth, whilst the rest labor within the engines that are used to create that wealth. The counterbalancing actions of social programs and capitalism maintain that equilibrium. Without it we would probably devolve into chaos as we have seen in communist countries and oligarchies. Hence we have to carefully craft the way we use the total wealth that our large society creates, and ensure that we maintain a proper flow to the underprivileged, the poor, and the needy. That formula provides the opportunity for the less well-off to improve, and move up the ladder using their knowledge and skills to achieve. That's what civilized societies do, and to neglect them certainly doesn't fulfill the basics of our American cultural philosophy.