Tuesday, July 14, 2020

QUORA: ‘Do you believe in free market capitalism?’



I posted this answer:

I do believe in free market, or laissez-faire, capitalism. My belief is not in the nature of a religious faith, but as a reasoned position drawn from the observable facts of human beings’ nature and life requirements. 

The basic attribute that separates man from other animals is reason. Reason is man’s basic means of survival. Reason is an attribute of the individual. I believe, therefore, that every individual must be free to live and associate with others based on his own judgement without coercive interference from others--including others in their capacity as government officials. Put another way, I believe that every individual possesses the inalienable individual rights to life, to liberty rights, including rights to property earned by work and free trade, and to the personal pursuit of one’s own values, goals, and happiness. Rights are principles that sanction the individual’s freedom of action, as well as the limits of those actions, in a social context; the limit being the same rights of others. 

The government—acting as the people’s agent, rather than ruler—ensures peaceful coexistence through laws designed for the sole purpose of securing everyone’s individual rights equally and at all times. To “secure these rights” means to protect against aggressive, or initiatory, force; i.e., to establish freedom from force by law. Since man’s survival and flourishing requires thoughtful long-range action on the individual level, his number one social requirement is to be free from the only action others can use to stop him--physical force. A government that is limited to banishing aggressive physical force from social relationships is the only type of government under which capitalism can exist.

As a matter of principle and political philosophy, capitalism is the only social system to secure voluntary consent to mutual advantage based on equality of individual rights as the only basis for dealing with others. This, I believe, makes free market capitalism the only moral social system. Therefore, based on my morals and the laws of nature, I believe in free market, or laissez-faire, capitalism.

Related Reading:







The Capitalist Manifesto by Andrew Bernstein

* [Quora is a social media website founded by two former Facebook employees. According to Wikipedia:

Quora is a question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by its community of users. The company was founded in June 2009, and the website was made available to the public on June 21, 2010.[3]Quora aggregates questions and answers to topics. Users can collaborate by editing questions and suggesting edits to other users' answers.[4]

[You can also reply to other users’ answers.] 

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