Only Capitalism is Democratic
I believe in us.
Do you?
Capitalism is democratic. Every dollar you spend is a vote for how you would like the world to be in the future. Every minute of attention is also a vote you cast towards this future. Enough votes can do anything. But instead of votes that are campaigned for and cast every 1, 2 or 4 years. A vote that you are stuck with for a certain amount of time. These votes are cast many times every single day, and they are votes you can return.
An aside: Crony Capitalism is something we need to fight against, but this is not what I am speaking of here. I am referring to true capitalism that encourages competition and is the only system that enables small businesses to dethrone the fortune 500. We must remember that in Capitalism, the small guy winning is thee rule, not the exception. The past 120 years have seen the fortune 500 turnover, over 99%. The F500 doesn't have to be dethroned, and we are better off if they learn to stay nimble, adaptive, and effective. They, being the standard, are the high watermark that new companies have to rise above. And the higher the established line, the faster the progress.
In a capitalist market, products and services that people love/enjoy/need get “voted” for the most. And companies that betray the public's trust get “voted” out. This free-market system connects each and every one of us like separate neurons within the same brain. Through our dollars and attention, we collectively push the window of progress towards a better place by dumping products and companies that charge large margins on old & tiered offerings for hungry companies offering something more convenient with better features for less. In a free market, consumers drive human progress more than any political leader.
When I was a kid, the fact that fast food had horrible service was a meme known by all. People accepted that if you wanted food fast and cheap, you may likely have to tolerate bad service. And fast-food jobs were almost used as a threat. Few were proud to have a McDonald’s job. BOOM! Free Market! CHICK-FIL-A! They passed McDonald’s as the most profitable fast-food chain offering customers family-level friendly service. Their service is so good that it in itself has become a social meme. Stories of selfless Chick-Fil-A employees have gone viral on several occasions, and when hearing the term “My pleasure,” it is almost impossible not to bring their brand to mind. The cool thing is that the whole industry will follow their lead in order to keep up with the way YOU spent your money and voted for something better. The even cooler thing is that Chick-Fil-A will have to continue to offer something more in order to stay at the top.. Or some other fast food joint will offer all that and a bag of chips and replace them at the top of the fast-food market.
Bill Gates is one of the most influential and powerful people in Tech for the past 50 years. Gates thought the smartphone was a bad idea that cost too much money. He thought people would reject it wholesale. If we let the established “smartest” people make the decisions (socialism) instead of the people (capitalism), we would not have had smartphones when we did. Sadly powerful people have made even worst estimations with far greater consequences. Union generals rejected repeating rifles for muzzleloaders because they thought the men would not take time to aim. If there had been a voucher system where the money followed the soldier instead of the soldier following the money, we all know a vast majority would have chosen a repeating rifle which would have undoubtedly shortened the war by years, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.
In a high-control economy, people with more power and connection assure you they know better than you as they talk down to you with a smile, all while writing you off as a dumb plebe behind closed doors. People like Bill Gates get to decide what phone you want. Free Markets let individuals decide what is best for themselves and their families. It is my position that the power invested in individuals by free markets is the right decision both morally and progressively.
Progress looks like something, it looks like you being allowed to vote for a better world with every cent or second spent. It looks like the exponential sum of our combined genius.
Hold Tension, Be Vast.Remember, restoration alone brings victory.