Capitalism as the Great Equalizer

This quote from Milton & Rose Friedman's book, Free to Choose, says it all:

Industrial progress, mechanical improvement, all of the great wonders of the modern era have meant little to the wealthy. The rich in ancient Greece would have benefited hardly at all from modern plumbing — running servants replaced running water. Television and radio — the patricians of Rome could enjoy the leading musicians and actors in their home, could have the leading artists as domestic retainers. Ready-to-wear clothing, supermarkets — all these and many other modern developments would have added little to their life. They would have welcomed the improvements in transportation and in medicine, but for the rest, the great achievements of western capitalism have rebounded primarily to the benefit of the ordinary person. These achievements have made available to the masses conveniences and amenities that were previously the exclusive prerogative of the rich and powerful.

Socialism’s utopian vision of a classless society is exactly the opposite of the above. Its notion of equality is premised on a false reading of human nature. That is why those who have lived under socialist regimes have become equal, yes, but equal only in poverty and slavishness as they remain beholden to powerful totalitarian governments. They are certainly not equal in rights and liberties that bring out the best in every human being. For socialists have only an abstract notion of the “people.” They love them only from afar and view them only as a collective whole. Even though the likes of Chavez claim to work on behalf of the people, socialists do not have respect for the ability of the “masses” to think and decide for themselves. This premise is central in Marxist-Leninist thought: the herd must be led by a party, the vanguards of “enlightened ones,” towards the right path of the revolution. Hence, in a condescending way, socialist regimes believe that they must continue to think for the masses, order them around, tell them what is good for them because they, the vanguards, know better and think better.

Socialism fails to see the character and freedom-loving nature of every human being. While its collective analysis of human events fails to grasp the worth and dignity of each individual, free-market capitalism empowers individuals, challenges them to be creative and inventive, and turns them into strong, assertive, competitive, and accomplished human beings.