 | Amanda Heckman
Editorial Director |
Happy New Year! As we welcome 2022, we're taking a moment to appreciate one of the greatest innovations in American history... Everywhere you look these days, you can find lots of folks debating the value of capitalism. The mainstream press has aimed a bony finger at its supposed shortcomings... while glossing over its powerful merits. The idea has, of course, trickled onto Capitol Hill, where there has never been a more capitalism-weary group of elected officials. In the most recent issue of Manward Letter, I asked each of Manward's contributors for their answers to four important questions on the subject. I knew their answers would be equal parts entertaining and informative. As usual, they did not disappoint. That's why we wanted to share them with all our readers as we turn the page to a new year. Enjoy. Q: Our country owes much to capitalism. Where would America be without it? Andy: Imagine if the folks on the Mayflower had moved over here and then sat around waiting for the folks back home to tell them what to do. Imagine if John Smith hadn't grabbed a crew and gone looking for better opportunities. America wouldn't be America without capitalism. We were founded on the idea that each of us has a God-given right to pursue whatever we want... for whatever reason we want. So often, that reason is money. With that freedom, of course, comes a cost. Our forefathers surely knew it. In fact, they lived it. With the right to pursue whatever we want comes that double-edged notion of being on our own. We can't have the freedom to pursue wealth and still be smothered by the safety blanket of heavy-handed keepers. Our nation was built on the idea. Men and women took great risks in their pursuit of capitalist dreams. America wouldn't exist without capitalism... and it won't exist without it. [5G Megastock Trades Under SECRET Name. Get the details here.] Alpesh: As a student at university learning about U.S. politics, I read Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. It was clear that America had capitalism in its soul. The entrepreneurial spirit underpinning the Founding Fathers' search for a better life meant capitalism would be essential. Neither religion, which they soon separated from the state in their wisdom (though the U.S. is one of the most religious countries in the world based on most metrics), nor communism nor socialism would find any strong root. Without capitalism, America would not be the world's largest economy and would not be able to project the power she does around the world. Indeed, so imbibed is capitalism in the political culture that you see in the hunt for communists a visceral hate. The question is not where would America be without capitalism but where would the world be without a capitalist America? Capital drives innovation, so there would be no Silicon Valley. The state cannot force innovation for long. It never has been able to for any length of time anywhere in the world. Joel: America would not be the entrepreneurial engine of the world. The dream of return on investment is what drives creativity and persistence. Without an ability to capture economic benefits from decisions, people are reluctant to make decisions. The hardest thing in life is making a decision. Capitalism rewards people who make decisions. This seems almost too elementary, but the essence of capitalism is the unfettering of decision making from forces that sabotage decisions: political, regulatory, social, religious. Only when a person has the freedom to capitalize on decisions is he willing to risk making decisions. A society that hampers decision making wallows in its problems and frustrations rather than finding a way out. That is why freedom to choose and capitalism go hand in hand and why less freedom to choose hampers creativity, entrepreneurship and problem-solving. Being able to leverage capital to invest in an idea, unfettered from bureaucratic meddling, is the heart and soul of American ingenuity. Click here to continue reading what Andy, Joel and Alpesh think are capitalism's biggest success stories… why they think young people are shunning capitalism… and where they think capitalism will be in 50 years. Want more content like this? | | | |
Amanda Heckman | Editorial DirectorAmanda Heckman is the editorial director of Manward Press. With unrivaled meticulousness, she has spent the past dozen or so years sharpening Andy's already razorlike wit... and has worked with numerous bestselling authors and award-winning financial gurus along the way. | | |
| 
