The suffix ‘ism’ is the big problem when differentiating between capitalism and the Marxist ideologies of socialism and communism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘ism’ as a distinctive doctrine, cause, or theory. The theoretical nature of the Marxist ideologies of socialism and communism underscores them as belief systems. Why are communism and socialism theoretical? A theoretical proposition is hypothetical, meaning the proposition is an untested (unproven) idea or opinion. Name one successful Marxist country.
Capitalism is not hypothetical; neither is it an idea or opinion. Capitalism is an economic system in which investment in, and ownership of, the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned.
Like religion, socialism and communism are beliefs taught.
Even young children readily practice capitalism. One child wishes to exchange something of personal value with another child who likewise has something of personal value to exchange.
Capitalism is the natural exchange of goods or services between willing sellers and willing buyers who agree on the mutual value of the exchange. Prices (values) follow supply and demand, not government dictates.
Carmen Alexe was born and raised in communist Romania during the Cold War. She writes, “God bless our black-market entrepreneurs! They made our lives better. They gave us the opportunity to buy things we very much desired, things we couldn’t get from the government-owned retail stores which were either half-empty or full of products that were ugly and of poor quality.”
Over my years visiting Cuba, I realized the black market economy was substantially more robust than the legal communist economy. Diesel for our rental cars, beef for our dinner table and so much more came through the black market for less cost than the local Castro stores.
From the Founding of People’s Republic of China in 1949 until 1978 when the communist government embraced capitalism, the Chinese people equally shared the misery of socialism. How did the Chinese leaders learn the principles of free-market capitalism? Successful businessmen from the free world taught them. My deceased friend Nick Woodall was one of those missionaries who frequently invested his time in China to impart the principles. On one occasion, Nick confided in me, “The Chinese do capitalism better than we (the U.S.A.) do.”
“..it’s a struggle between two competing virtues; on the one hand the virtue of equality and on the other the virtue of Liberty. Now if you want Liberty then you’re not going to be able to have a hundred percent equality. If on the other hand, you want equality you going to have to do it at the expense of liberty and freedom. Taxation is the tool for suppressing freedom…” [minutes 01:29 – 02:00] Video: Rabbi Daniel Lapin – The Religious Basis of Capitalism
My eldest son’s undergraduate education at Sul Ross University turned his worldview upside down. On a weekend visit home, the two of us engaged in world affairs discussions, including the country of Cuba. When he remarked, “Dad, you know Castro is one of the best things to happen to Cuba.” A breathless pause on my part followed. I asked, “Son, have you talked to any Cubans about this?”
An apparent majority worldview of the Democratic Party membership is now Marxist, openly promoting socialism and communism.
Parting word. State communism is official atheism, the doctrine or belief that there is no God. In God We Trust became our national motto in 1956, replacing E Pluribus Unum.
Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
President Ronald Reagan, August 23, 1984
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 