When things get back economically, the first thing people do is point their finger at businesses and typically, they are at fault in some sort of a way because of greed. On the flip side, when things are good, people are constantly saying how amazing their businesses are. However, what most people don’t realize is that the problems don’t lie within the businesses so much as to how they get so much power and where it all comes from. The problem is not capitalism and it is definitely not free markets; instead, the problem is corporatism.
When looking at the way the economy is in the United States, we see that businesses are constantly lobbying Congress trying to get their agendas past. They contribute funds to Congress and in return, Congress makes laws that benefit these companies. Furthermore, when there are economic downturns such as recessions, the first thing the companies do is go to the government and try and get bailed out. This is not capitalism and it is definitely not laissez-faire. Instead, this is a connection between the United States government and the corporations of America. In other words, this is similar to fascism, albeit to a lesser degree that Italian or German fascism in the 20th century.
The unfortunate truth is, despite the fact we believe we are a capitalistic country, in reality, we are anything but. If we were a capitalistic country, the automotive companies (GE and Chrysler, since Ford was responsible) would have been left to collapse. Furthermore, we wouldn’t have created companies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would purchase a large amount of mortgages to guarantee people could have a house. Instead, it would be honest capitalism where banks would have to lend money out and hold onto that mortgage rather than simply selling it off. The list goes on about what wouldn’t have happened in America had we stayed with our capitalistic foundations.
It’s natural, in times of fear and distress, for people to want their government to fix it. That’s not what our country was founded on, though. The idea of government intervening in business at the levels that they do today would have made our founding fathers absolutely nauseous. The truth is, the government shouldn’t be intervening in a lot of issues that Americans go through, but it is the easy route to just sit and wait for the government to help us. That is the same reason why corporations want so much help from government; they make a ridiculous amount of money because they are “safe from danger” thanks to their big, bad guardian angel.
Where in this whole argument does the average person get their protection? Take as long as you’d like to answer that because I guarantee that it will be the same thing: nowhere. In a corporatist country, the government is there to keep an eye on the business so that they can make more money and that is not what I want my government to be. I don’t want “political actors” to be the ones who influence government and get what they want. Instead, I want it to be the people.
If America were to go back to being a capitalistic country, things would suddenly become a lot better. There would still be recessions because the economy works in cycles; however, they would not be nearly as bad as this current one. Furthermore, the economy wouldn’t be so split down the middle between the rich and the poor. The rich are very rich and the poor are very poor and slowly, the middle class is starting to disappear. If we go back to being a capitalistic country, America will be that appealing country where there really is an “American dream.”
So, the next time you want to turn to the government and ask them to help out those big businesses and the economy, think about your freedom and think about how if we were a true capitalistic country, this would never happen. Hold your politicians accountable and make them accountable to you, not to the businesses. You vote them in, not the businesses.
About Jacob Cohen Donnelly
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