Why Capitalism Only Works If Everyone Can Win
This morning I came across a thought-provoking article on Forbes, which is surprising since that magazine's editorials tend to staunchly defend what I consider to be "crony capitalism." Michael Maiello reminds us that the whole reason our society chooses capitalism, with all its inequalities and brutal competition, is because it's been an effective system for reducing scarcity and poverty.
As Maiello notes, we are fine with unequal outcomes so long as everyone plays fair and collectively, our material conditions improve. However, the bailouts that have gone to well-connected banks and big businesses are undermining the entire system:
Small businesses and individuals are fully subject to the harshest aspects of capitalism while large businesses are exempt. So long as that's true, capitalism cannot fulfill its promise. Global economic production keeps growing, but it can't grow fast enough to eliminate scarcity if the fruits of all that production flow straight to a few large corporate dinosaurs.Capitalism can only work if everyone has a fair chance to win. If your Average Joe thinks the banks can steal his tax dollars without punishment, it's only a matter of time before he thinks it's fine to steal as well. I don't think anyone wants to see protesters starting to bring pitchforks, rather than tea bags, to those rallies.
Politicians should take a hard look at professional sports leagues to learn a few lessons about fair competition. And luckily, many of the world's most competitive teams are located right here in ultra-capitalistic countries like the UK and US.
It's not that every team (or individual or company) will win or should win. Yet at the start of each season, every team can win the championship. On "any given Sunday," any NFL team can beat the oddsmakers. Hard work, talent, innovative game plans, lucky bounces: all these factors contribute to success. But once the game starts, the refs don't give extra timeouts to wealthier clubs. Major League Baseball umpires don't give extra strikes to Yankee batters even though a New York World Series would mean more money for the TV networks. If they did, no one would tune in.
Something to think about...