Eliminating Poverty

Pop Quiz:

What economist said: “So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear. That there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.”?

What one-time presidential candidate said; “There’s no limit to what free men and free women in a free market with free enterprise can accomplish when people are free to follow their dream.”?

What American author said: “The system that enables the most people to earn the most success is free enterprise, by matching up people’s skills, interests, and abilities. In contrast, redistribution simply spreads money around. Even worse, it attenuates the ability to earn success by perverting economic incentives.”?

What British historian said: “Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer on a people, is in almost every country unpopular.”?

Answers at the end of the post.

The articulation of economic principles was originally intended to lift society out of the the Medieval period when life was described as “nasty, brutish and short”. It is estimated that in 1820 90% of the world population lived in “absolute poverty”. By 2021 that number has been reduced to less than 10%. What happened after 1820 that stimulated this dramatic change of fortune?

There are two parallel ideological events that conspired to make the world a better place to live in. The first is the birth of Classical Liberalism as exemplified by the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the resulting creation of a constitutional government based on the protection of individual liberty and economic freedom based on limited government power. The second was the publication, also in 1776, of the Wealth of Nations authored by the Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith. This happy confluence of events marked the beginning of 250 years of unparalleled progress in the human condition. Sadly today that trend of growth and prosperity is under attack by an ignorant populace that has no real conception of historic poverty and a hardscrabble life.

Today “capitalism” is a four letter word, probably because Leftists have such a hard time spelling it. In large part this is because the products of our government education system over the past 75 years have no conception of the magnitude of our progress and this is exacerbated by the DEI culture which is the marinade in which young brains are immersed nine months a year. without respite.

The opposition to “capitalism”, aka free enterprise, began in 1867 with the publication of Das Kapital, the diarrheic output of Karl Marx. Adherents to his distorted understanding of economics were responsible for over 100 million deaths in the 20th century. The technique employed by Marx and his co-conspirator, Frederick Engels, was the vilification of the virtues of free enterprise such as profits and work ethic. His sycophantic followers were driven by envy and those who showed the slightest level of work ethic were described, in Orwellian fashion, as “slaves of the profiteers”.

The Progressive movement was born in America in the late 19th century. It was not Marxian in philosophy but rather the precursor of Fascism. The harbingers of the movement identified their evil antagonist as the railroads, the most successful corporate enterprise of the period. The propagandists of Progressivism built their political platform on the need control the railroads through government regulation. There are even references to taking ownership of the entire railroad system. Recommended reading: The Progressive Movement by Benjamin Parke De Witt.

The need to identify villains of the so-called capitalist movement is standard fare in the world of polemics. For generations the greed and avarice of free enterprise was signified by the inaptly named Robber Barons. It was a pejorative reference. These titans of industry were excoriated for their business practices with very little regard for all that they accomplished, Recommended reading: The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton Folsom and Carnegie by David Nasaw.

Today the calumniation of business leaders continues apace with the argument that greedy capitalists are responsible for anthropogenic climate change, a mythical belief that we can somehow influence the climate, like the Weather Wizard in the Flash comic books. The only solution that is supported is the nationalization of any industry that contributes to the ravaging of Mother Nature. See, e.g., the Chatty Cathy of the green movement, St. Greta of Thunberg and her Sancho Panza AOC.

And, believe it or not, it gets worse. The climate change movement has become the primary weapon of the World Economic Forum (WEF) the Frankenstein creation of Klaus Schwab. The master plan of these dystopian authoritarians is the elimination of 80% of the world population with particular emphasis on keeping people of color confined to the third world by ensuring they never get access to cheap renewable energy. The WEF’s partner in crime is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The founder of this “wretched hive of scum and villainy” (to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi), Maurice Strong, articulated his personal wet dream: “Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” Let’s have him tell Gens X, Y and Z that they will no longer have access to cell phones. Recommended reading: The Great Reset by Marc Morano.

All of these distractions are designed to divert your attention from the accomplishments of capitalism/free enterprise: The dramatic reduction of poverty, the reduction of child labor (between 2000 and 2020 the number of children forced to work dropped from 246 million to 160 million), the availability of an untold variety of products sold at a myriad of commercial outlets. Remember free enterprise is conducted without bias or discrimination. The person who mines the ore, grows the food, fabricates the products and transports the products to the store shelves has no idea who will be the ultimate consumer. The list of societal benefits is endless so to save time here are some recommended readings to make clear the beauty of CAPITALISM. The Capitalist Manifesto by Johan Norberg, In Defense of Capitalism by Rainer Zitelmann and, of course, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.

The point is that free enterprise is the explanation for the incredible reduction of poverty from 1820 when it is estimated that 90% of the world population lived in “absolute poverty” to 2021 when that number has been reduced to less than 10%. Dirigisme is obviously not a valid counterpoint!

Answers to the Pop Quiz

What economist said: “So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear. That there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.”? The dean of economic theory Milton Friedman

What one-time presidential candidate said; “There’s no limit to what free men and free women in a free market with free enterprise can accomplish when people are free to follow their dream.”? NFL QB and running mate of Bob Dole in 1996 Jack Kemp

What American author said: “The system that enables the most people to earn the most success is free enterprise, by matching up people’s skills, interests, and abilities. In contrast, redistribution simply spreads money around. Even worse, it attenuates the ability to earn success by perverting economic incentives.”? Arthur C. Brooks

What British historian said: “Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer on a people, is in almost every country unpopular.”? 19th century historian Thomas B. McCauley