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MLLG Labor Day 2021 Special Posting . . . Capitalism Contains a Self-Destruct Gene

The cardinal rule for parasites is never to kill the host.

MLLG Labor Day 2021 Special Posting . . .

Capitalism Contains a Self-Destruct Gene

By: George Noga – September 5, 2021

Labor Day rightfully honors labor, but there also should be a day set aside to honor capital, which greatly enhances the productivity and value of labor. Throughout history, man’s labors have resulted only in grinding poverty, but when capital alloys with labor great wealth is produced. Unfortunately, capitalism is self-destructing.

Karl Marx 170 years ago wrote that capitalism contained the seeds of its own destruction. He thought competition would become destructive and exploited workers would rise up to create a classless society. Marx was right about capitalism but for the wrong reason. A century ago, economist Joseph Schumpeter also posited capitalism would self destruct. Schumpeter believed the success of capitalism contained the seeds of its ultimate destruction. Schumpeter was right and for the right reason.

Schumpeter: “Capitalism cannot survive . . . its very success undermines the institutions which protect it and creates conditions in which it cannot survive.”

Not only has Schumpeter been proven right, his rationale was accurate. He reasoned that: (1) capitalism would create enormous wealth; (2) the wealth thusly created would enable many more people to become educated; (3) it would spawn a large intellectual class that made its living attacking the system of private property and freedom necessary for its own existence; and (4) people educated by such progressives would vote for liberal welfare states, leading to the demise of capitalism. BINGO!

Just how bad is it? Nearly half of US adults now say they prefer socialism to capitalism. A poll asked if respondents had a favorable view of capitalism or socialism. A majority of Democrats favored socialism; in fact, Democrats in every age group, gender and race preferred socialism. Millennials preferred socialism by nearly a 50% margin and 60% said they would rather live under socialism than capitalism. Perhaps those folks should spend their next vacation in Venezuela, Cuba or North Korea.

Capitalism has created a cornucopia of wealth; extreme poverty is nearly eradicated and every metric of human well being is improving. However, the demise of capitalism will usher in a dark age and destroy all those blessings along with our liberty. When Schumpeter’s prediction reaches fruition, it will drag the entire planet into a lengthy and unspeakable Orwellian torpor where all men lead lives of quiet desperation. Nowhere is it written that liberty must survive. Of the 120 billion humans that have trod this earth since time began, fewer than 1% have lived their lives in liberty.

We have written often about whether or not the success of capitalism truly sows the seeds of its own destruction. Up until now, we have not answered that question. With much regret, we now must conclude that capitalism will indeed be destroyed by its own success. Somewhere, Joseph Schumpeter must be thinking that he told us so.

The cardinal rule of parasites is never to kill the host – but that is precisely what is happening today as progressive parasites are murdering their capitalist hosts.


Our next post is about the privatization of Social Security.
More Liberty Less Government – mllg@cfl.rr.com – www.mllg.us