Saturday, June 14, 2008
Who Hates Capitalism?
I worked with a guy who “hated capitalism”
…Actually, I’ve worked with lots of people who hate capitalism. One runs into that a lot in Japan where foreigners from The West typically come from pampered backgrounds or at least comfortable middle-class upbringings. They’ve usually spent the required indoctrination time in a school of “higher learning” and therefore also possess the necessary hatred for the United States and it’s current president – oh yeah, they often want to “save the Earth” too. (I’m sure they really do have a plan to save us all, but initially merely believing in a global warming apocalypse can perhaps buy them time to work out the details).
The guy I initially mentioned was one of those types who called the object of his disdain by name – capitalism. Others use a variety of indirect references or euphemisms like; “materialism,” “greed,” or “excessive wealth.” Sometimes they just ramble a lot of random cliché statements about CEO’s or Bill Gates. Of course, they like their travels on Jumbo jets and more than a few have tales to tell regarding their backpacking adventures in far-away places, but irony is typically lost on them -- just don’t call them “materialistic.”
No one likes “broad brush strokes” or “sweeping generalizations” …but here goes.
I realize there are varieties of view and passion among those who are leftists in one form or another. Indeed, there are many who are just fellow travelers by default because they merely want to "see a better world" and have been effectively conned again into thinking that progressive ideology will bring such a world to pass. Some are just easy dupes of the establishment media and education system and see radical leftism as an abode of "free thinkers" and rebels – everyone wants to be a rebel but few can see the irony in "rebelling" like almost everyone else.
Okay, so I'll cut some slack to the gullible and naïve. But when I encounter a true hater of capitalism, the passion they embody goes beyond that of the well-meaning part-time hobbyist. The true believers aren't such nice people. More often then not, the people I’ve met who express their passionate hatred for “capitalism” (or one of the other widely used euphemisms for a free market in goods, services, and ideas), are rather selfish, inconsiderate, and greedy (in the truest sense of the word) themselves – really. On more than one occasion I, or people I’ve known, have been seriously inconvenienced, conned, or totally ripped off in one way or another by some clown who often made known their hatred for capitalism. Of course, I know there are “good and bad people” all over the political spectrum but I think that the one’s that whine the most about how horrible commerce and wealth are, are considerably more prone to exhibiting the very attributes they see in the imagined avarice of others. Consequently, I’ve found that the key to honestly appraising leftism and leftists is to “judge them” by their own character which, more often then not, is lacking in dignity, responsibility, or consideration for others. A parasite is an oppressor working from the ground up.
Since this is not meant to be a “scholarly” document I’ll go further in my casual appraisal. After being called a “fascist” numerous times for my belief in free society and limited government (and sometimes merely expressing the desire to be left alone by the state and its minions), I figured it is more than appropriate to express my own informal passions on the character of those among the school of self-absorption and moral perfection. I’ve found leftists in general to be lazier, less honest, and less diligent or organized in their personal dealings with others than conservatives are (yes, really).
Many would of course disagree with what is, admittedly, a not so dispassionate analysis.
Oh well…
Getting to the point – and the answer to this post’s heading – people who hate capitalism are those who are above average in degrees of selfishness. They are more careless regarding their obligations and debts to others, and are more prone to lie, deceive, and cheat. For all their finger pointing, the rabid anti-capitalist is usually a total looser in character and daily dealings.
Now I realize this post is not on the same level as some other more refined essays (and it assuredly is on the same level as some other posts I’ve written here) but I figure I’m occasionally entitled to use the same level of venom that is so routinely directed against decent people who merely seek to use their talents and ideas in the pursuit of individual happiness. And,...I’ve answered the post’s title question.
