How dare you go and starting talking about striking a balance between Darwinian economic anarchy and smothering socialism! Why can?t you just pick a side? Didn?t you know that extremism in the defense of liberty is not a vice, and moderation in the pursuit of virtue is not a virtue?
I jest, of course. This has never been the choice. Free-market capitalism is not synonymous with social Darwinism or anarchy. It requires a clear set of rules forbidding the use of force or fraud to get what you want, and a well-structured and effective set of government institutions to enforce these rules. Far from being about ?the survival of the fittest,? capitalism is about rewarding those who address the stated needs of their fellow human beings. The more valuable work you do within a market, the more ?chits? proving the value of your service ? that is, the more money ? you can obtain.
Now, I?m not suggesting that markets define all human interactions, or even the most important ones. Free societies contains lots of other important institutions ? including families, churches, neighborhoods, and governments ? that are not always based on voluntary, profit-seeking exchange. You?re setting up a straw man when you suggest that if I resist John Edwards? siren song about envy and taking other people?s money, that I must turn a blind eye towards the suffering of others. Profit-seeking companies primarily address such a problem by finding innovative ways to develop and sell new products, employ new people, and provide return to investment for those (including pensioners) who own their stock. Charities address the problem differently. So do houses of faith. So do families.
The problem with the ?Two Americas? argument is that it presupposes not the existence of some ill-gotten gains among the wealthy ? again, that?s just part of human nature ? but instead that most or all such wealth consists of ill-gotten gains, thus the government should ?fix? the problem by higher taxes or intrusive regulations. When we find corporate miscreants that used fraud to make their millions, or scammed taxpayers with no-bid contracts, then let?s go after them. But why jack up taxes on the productive and entrepreneurial, why distort labor markets and kill jobs through minimum wages, why chase employers out of the health-insurance market through mandates as a response?
The policies don?t jibe with the real problems. Punishment should not only fit the crime, but fit the criminal. Business success, personal success, wealth-creation ? none of these is a criminal act. Yet.
