Capitalism Vs. Freedomism

The recent financial troubles have opened debates in certain quarters about something call

ed “capitalism”. Do the bailouts mean the end of “capitalism”? Did the “free market” fail? Does this prove socialism is better?

I have some problems with the terms of this debate. For one thing, I think I agree with a point often made by James Bowman that there’s really no such thing as “capitalism”. There’s no “ism” about “capital” that embodies a philosophy or ideology that anyone seriously subscribes to. Bowman suggests that the term “capitalism” was an invention of early socialists, a label they could slap on what they opposed (primarily, private property) so they could oppose it more effectively. I suspect he is right.

If you think about it, what gets called “capitalism”, in most discussions, is really justfreedom. Am I free to give you X in exchange for Y? Are you free to give me Y in return? All most “capitalists” really want is for the answer to be yes. That is not any kind all-pervading ideology about “capital” that justifies glorifying it with a separate “ism”; all that “capitalists” (such as myself) are saying is that people should be free to exchange their stuff with each other if they wanna. Don’t call me a fricking “capitalist” just for that, for crissakes. If anything, I’m a freedomist.

Go read the whole thing. The rest is an essential analysis of how the Mortgage Market is a Socialist regulated scam, spreading across many levels of government and business.

My comment? There is nowhere you can look on the planet Earth, nor is there anytime in history, where you will not find what Academics call Capitalism.

It's just free trade.

One caveman hunts bison, and another picks grapes. The first cavemen trades some of his bison for some grapes.

Then, some other caveman buys some grapes and decides he doesn't like them. So, he throws them in a pile in the corner of his cave.

They sit there until they start to smell. The caveman decides he likes the way they taste better once they have started to smell. He also likes the way they make him feel.

He trades the smelly grapes to the other cavemen, and everybody likes the way the smelly grapes make them feel.

And thus, hyper-Capitalism was born.

Anybody got a problem with that?