- Capitalism and Alternatives -

You are free because you are in charge of developing yourself

Posted by: Kevin on September 01, 1997 at 09:48:16:

In Reply to: Capitalism main obstacle to Freedom posted by don on August 08, 1997 at 21:40:08:

The world is changing faster than your ideology can support it. You are free in the sense that the onus is on you to develop yourself. This may mean that you go to school, you take a class at night, you develop your interest, you go to a library, you network with your friends, family members etc. to follow your interests. Simply stating that there are a number of individuals that do not benefit equally from society does not indicate that a system is poor. Why would you strictly put the onus on the system to change?

The irony is that I am a Canadian who has recently move to the United states with a transfer from my company and have an intersting perspective on the situation......you would imagine that the average number of Canadians would have the opposite attitude simply because of the bend on the mixed economy. You live in a country that, relatively speaking, incents you to go to post secondary education at minimal cost....you pay for this through your increased taxes in part, yet you also can attend school for tens of thousands of dollars cheaper than the average person in the united states...yet what is the fallout? As i have been through the system I beleive that to a great extent you have a large number of people that go to school for something to do, or because they are not sure of what they want to do...often coasting through school, taking their time and enjoying the benefits of a subsidized education..yet I would argue that your education standards are not as high, and the drive to develop is quite as hard as it is down in the US....I used to think that Canada had the best system, as we appeared to have a greater toleration for the plight of individuals and were willing as a society to absorb the costs of developing and supporting those in our society that were unable to lead satisfying lives...yet if you look at the definition of poor in canada and this equates to families that only have one car and two tv's....reality check is needed.

You are free because you are in charge of developing yourself. It is up to you, not me and my taxes to support you until you can find what it is you are looking for, or want to do...I could care less. And I personally will not work towards financing a system that tells me I have a requirement to carry a large number of individuals that are not willing to take a stab at self improvement....

Socialism was not and is not the answer....it only ends up creating the perceptions for expecations that should never have evolved in the process....nobody would promote a system that leaves people in the streets to starve...yet the distinction between what you deserve and what you expect often not very different....

Capitalism is not about treating everyone fairly...that is a democratic notion, not an economic one...if you are looking to an economic system to treat people equitably than you are arguing for the wrong reason....Marx and Trotsky did not have any answers....and do you think that the reason why both the failures of the soviet union, north Korea, Cuba etc. are soley based on the improper implementation of socialist ideals? Get real, the reason is that if you concentrate that kind of power over individuals political and economic power....people will not support it over time, people want choice, they want the right to excel and be rewarded....it is inherent in human nature....look into it...darwin may be a place to start.


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