The week before last, I wrote about the nature of self-interest; how people's actions are determined by their needs and desires. Last week, I looked at economics with simple common sense to explain how wealth can be created. This week I'd like to tie both of those together.
The system of capitalism and democracy that might be collectively called "The American Way" is a combination of those two basic principles into a governmental and societal structure that ensures personal freedom to pursue one's desires as well as a framework to allow commerce to distribute wealth to those who earn it.
How it works is very simple, and although it may seem as though I am wasting my column space on what should be in every second grade textbook, there are many people in the United States and on this campus who don't understand it.
All the freedoms listed in the Bill of Rights were put there to make sure that citizens of the U.S. are all treated as fairly as possible. Whether those principles have been carried out fairly is a discussion for another column, but the idea is that everyone should have the right to live their lives free of intrusion.
But those constitutional rights provide more than the ability for people to simply live out their lives enjoyably. They also allow people to start, conduct and build private enterprises. Without freedom of the press, who would invest the money to start up a newspaper? Without due process, who would ever take risks with their money? If the government could seize whatever assets of yours they liked, who would be willing to create any wealth that might attract attention?
With this freedom to build private businesses, the United States comes closer than any other country before to truly allowing people to pursue and attain their desires. However, it is not just a select few billionaires who profit from this ideal. The vast majority of people in America work for businesses. Whether they work for large corporations or local businesses, they are taking advantage of the opportunity provided by this country to build some wealth of their own and satisfy their own personal goals in life.
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Based on the principles of wealth creation that I discussed last week, there will always be jobs for people. There will always be opportunities for everyone to apply their time and energy to provide for their wants and needs. Just because not everyone is going to become an entrepreneur or multimillionaire is not a reason to say the system doesn't work.
In fact, it's probably a good thing that not everyone is trying to start their own businesses, for two reasons. One, not everyone is going to be good at it. Two, that's not what everyone wants to do. Our culture tends to get wrapped up in old feudalistic notions that certain jobs or professions are "better" than the others and that people who are not in those parts of society are somehow being cheated.
This is what breeds the "class warfare" and resentment that caused much of the conflict in industrialized nations during the twentieth century and whose shadow haunts us still. Sooner or later we're going to have to realize that not being a millionaire and not wanting to be one is okay. Conversely, wanting to be a millionaire and being one are okay too.
The same principle applies to all walks of life - not everyone wants to be a painter, but it's okay to be one if you want. Not everyone wants to clean sewers for a living, but there will always be people who do. They're not slaves being forced into that job for the good of the community, they're just people who see that job as an acceptable way to achieve their goals.
The key to making the entire system work is not resenting other peoples' choices of profession or lifestyle. If you don't like your job, then maybe it's not the job for you.
The key to happiness is not and will never be resenting the choices other people make but in working for your own values and goals.
The only thing we all have to agree on is that the kind of freedoms guaranteed by the bill of rights are necessary safeguards that give us the freedom to fulfill our desires more completely than would otherwise be possible.
by Craig A. Butler
Daily Lobo Columnist
