Capitalism; The Grand Experiment is failing...
Like any form of economic governance invented by man, to serve, enrich, and govern him, Capitalism is not perfect, far from it. Capitalism by it very nature is predatory and there has to be losers in order for there to be winners. In Capitalism far too many people are left behind, and too many people are at the mercy of Big Business and market forces, for the system to truly serve the needs of all; one has only to look at the debacle in California as an example of Capitalism at its ugly worse.
All around us the signs that Capitalism is no longer serving us, but we are serving it; a primary school system once lauded as the best in the world is imploding before our societal eyes, our Health Care system is rapidly becoming too expensive for the average American to afford; the price of secondary education—even at State run schools—continues to rise, far outpacing the rate of inflation; the poor are being push further and further to the outer fringes of our society as the well-to-do rediscover the inner cities and gradually push them out; our society seems to value nothing but money and the material wealth it provides (the nations founding principles have been reduced to platitudes); drug use continues to rise despite our best efforts to combat it; our prison continue to fill to capacity and yet we fail to address the underlying reasons; the nations energy crisis continues to worsen and yet we doing nothing to address the issue because powerful lobbies hold the government at bay in pursuit of profit at any cost, even our future as a nation!
I believe the best form of economic governance is a marriage between Capitalism and Socialism. No one would argue (well some certainly would) that Socialism has it merits; 16 –18 years of free education, free medical care, and a social safety net unrivaled in the history of human existence. But the cost for such cradle to grave security is high. Taxes in countries that practice Socialism is staggeringly high, as is the cost of most consumer goods, both of which make real personal wealth hard to come by and sustain. Most institutions in a Socialized country are owned by the government (though that is beginning to change across Europe), which leads to a under abundance of innovative thought or ideas.
Which leads me to the marriage. Certain industries and Institutions, those people depend upon for life and liberty, should not be left at the whim of market forces. These include Energy/Utilities, Health Care and primary Education, just for starts. There is no guaranteed right to any of the above, but each is needed by all citizens to survive and proper in our society.
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