CONTROLLED CAPITALISM

Having read many books and articles over several years trying to determine why we have such a high standard of living in America, I have reached the conclusion that one of the significant reasons is our controlling of the capitalistic economic system in our country.  The slogan “controlled capitalism” seems to best describe capitalism in America.  To me, that meant the capitalists would be free to operate in the United States but their business activities would be controlled in a manner which would benefit both them and society as a whole. By controlling capitalism through the use of the Executive, Legislative and  Judicial branches of our government, the people have allowed capitalism to flourish as an entity but does not permit their exploitation of the people. 

It is my good fortune to have lived during the time in America’s history when this tremendous increase took place.   Much of the groundwork to attain this quality of life we have today in America was laid by previous generations.  Those generations paid a heavy price while battling the capitalists for a greater share of the wealth which was being created.  Some lives were lost and much financial losses were incurred during lengthy strikes which occurred while attempting to resolve the differences between capitalists and labor.  All Americans, including new immigrants, should recognize this fact. 

Our country began with a strong sense of  “individualism”.  The pioneers of what was to become known as the United States of America established this nation on July 4, 1776 when they rendered  a Declaration of Independence from England.  After a long war to affirm this Declaration of Independence, the leaders of the new nation wrote a Constitution of the United States which was approved on September 17, 1787.  They had a vision where the people would decide the destiny of the new country which had been formed following that Revolutionary War. 

The Constitution was one of the most perfect, yet incomplete, documents which has ever been written.  Knowing that social structures change, they put within the document a means by which the people could make changes which would  improve upon the Constitution they had written.  They provided a lengthy process by which the changes could be made, thus preventing whimsical changes which were the result of  an emotional event..  Only those changes which a large majority of Americans agreed upon could become part of the Constitution.

By March 4, 1789, the Congress of the United States had developed and approved a “Bill of Rights” which became part of the Constitution of the United States.  Those Rights were adopted to prevent the abuse of power by the newly found government.  The first two Articles of the Bill of Rights were not ratified by Congress.  Following the two Articles which were rejected are the ten Articles by which we Americans have lived since their conception.  These two documents have protected all individuals successfully from any government action without the due process of law.  The concept and words of these trustworthy documents have made this country the world’s most sought after place to live.

Freedom to live the life we each choose sometimes creates problems within our society but we do not stifle the rights of each person to live as they choose.  However, certain events in our history created an environment where the people were forced to use the due process of law to make our country a better place to live.  Such an event was when some capitalists felt it was their right of individuality to take advantage of American workers.

The one major negative characteristic of capitalism, in my opinion, is the opportunity for exploiting  large segments of society by a small number of individuals due to their greed for power and money.  Money by itself is not inherently evil.  It is the love of it without any concern for the welfare of others which causes social problems in the world.