The third misconception alive and well in our world today is laissez faire economics. Adam Smith warned us in Wealth of Nations to beware of capitalists behind closed doors. He knew their base inclination was to take advantage of the powerless for their own greed and wealth accumulation. Grounded in the religion of his day, Smith recognized the benefits of sound, altruistic economics, but he also was aware of human nature left to its own devices and lacking moral foundation.
I was sadly overwhelmed during this past election to witness the agressive, open expression of selfish, self-centered political philosophy and the blatant disregard for the health and welfare of this nation by the Republican platform and its spokesmen-----and one of them a Bishop in his church. The anger, hatred, lies, and yes, racism, has continued unabated. Just look at the increase in the sale of firearms this Black Friday over last year. The Internet is full of claims of voter fraud (never mind what the Republican party did in Pennsylvania and Georgia to try to deny voting privileges to minorities!). The Birther lies continue. So let's just ignore the mindless, ignorant foghorn--Fox--of the Republican party. But all of this was supposed to be offering a "new" vision of prosperity based on "free" unbridled business initiative. If government does not protect us with its power, since who among us can stand up to Exxon Mobile?, fracking is going to destroy our air and water and future generations--if there are any--will pay the price in poor health while the few and favored reap the rewards for themselves. All in the name of laissez faire economics.
I digress. Is communism the answer? Of course not! But somewhere between heartless, impersonal government and heartless, selfconsumed capitalism there has to be an answer that requires from everyone according to their ability and to everyone according to their needs. This is fair! This is necessary! We must NOT settle for less!
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