During Trump's first term my pastor gave a sermon decrying the president's action and capitalism. As he greeted me on the way out I told him that as a tent maker, Paul was a capitalist. He just looked at me. I became aware that many associate capitalism with rich company owners and not the small business or the family farm. Just as capitalism allows every person in this country to own and operate a business many believe that the term belongs to the wealthy. The present day in our country there is a movement toward socialism because the ones pushing it tell us they can offer free stuff like buses or health care. They never tell you where the money comes from to fund these free things.
Capitalism is as old as man kind and as I said before, St. Paul was a capitalist as a tent maker. He did not work for the government but offered his talents to anyone needing a tent. This was under the Romans and basically a republic but with an all-powerful Caeser. While socialism is a system where the ruling powers provide all of the basic needs they also, tax at very high rates with individuals never able to accumulate wealth. The only wealthy people are the rulers and their associates. Those that are having difficulty taking care of their needs are more apt to try to adopt this system because of the free stuff only to find out that free stuff is very costly, and they become the poverty stricken of the society. There is, usually no welfare and if you do not work you do not eat as is the situation in socialist modern Italy. Those wishing to be taken care of end up at the bottom of the heap and very hungry. It was the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, that said socialism works until they run out of the rich people's money. The rich people move away to retain their riches leaving the rest to make up the taxes they used to pay. Then the system collapses as we have seen in Venezuela. Their inflation is very high, and people are having a tough time just trying to survive. The ruling class is doing well but there are black clouds forming over them. Socialism is once again failing as it did in Cuba and every other country that has tried it. Sweden tried socialism for a while but had to give up on it and return to a capitalistic society. Socialism did not work.
So why now socialism is being once again thought of as the needed repair in some of our cities and yes, by many of our legislatures? Let's go back to St. Paul and his tent making business or even before Paul to Moses. When Moses received the laws that GOD wanted the ancient Hebrews to follow, he included taking care of those that could not take care of themselves. St. Paul was part of this and followed the Jewish laws before becoming a Christian which meant that he had to use part of his income to help those that needed help in their daily lives. Jesus then continued the requirement that those who are prosperous are to take care of those that are not with the parable about Lazarus sitting at the door of a rich man. The problem with capitalism has been the rich forget about the people that helped them acquire their wealth. The robber barons became very wealthy but paid their employees very little. It took labor unions to eventually force owners to pay their workers a living wage. But even today there are many entrepreneurs that forget the people whose backs they climbed on to obtain their wealth and forget to take care of those that cannot take care of themselves. We see most US cities having a problem with homeless living on the streets, under bridges and in tents because they are not able to take care of themselves. Some are mentally ill and since we have closed most of our mental facilities and never replaced them there is nowhere these people can receive the help they need, Others are addicted to alcohol and /or drugs with very little help getting into a facility to help them and then there are the ones that simply cannot afford housing where rents and houses have risen in price above what they can afford. We see this in our town where student housing has been a bonanza for the apartment owners but have priced many living and working in the city out of affordable living in the city. Some time ago I was asked if I knew where a young couple with two jobs (husband was a city fireman) could find an affordable apartment. They were required to live within a short distance from the city center and were affected by the high rents caused by the student housing. We have become another San Francisco where the people working there cannot afford to live there but must travel many miles to find affordable housing. When those of us cannot afford housing or own an automobile and sometimes are paying for medicine instead of food are given the chance to vote for free things they jump at the chance.
Capitalism is still the best form of government for an economy that is available to everyone but until those that used it to obtain riches are willing to assist those that have trouble taking care of their needs, we will continue to migrate towards a system that looks like it will level the field and take care of everybody. Looks are deceiving and falling into the socialism or communism trap makes a poor situation worse with the eventual outcome a two tired system with the rich ruling class and the peasants below to do the work. We need to follow St. Paul's way of living and take care of those that can't take care of themselves.
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