Individualism & Capitalism

Individualism, the salient characteristic of Western Civilization and democracy, dominated American thought and politics until the late 1800s (when collectivist experimentation began). Individualism is understood to mean the individual’s right and freedom to direct his or her own life, to own property, to enter into open contracts with others, to enjoy the fruits of his or her labors and to bear responsibility for his or her actions.

Capitalism is a competitive free-market economic system that operates through the free choices and actions of people. Economic power and control is decentralized to millions of individuals, who make independent decisions about production (i.e., their occupation, where they work, how they use their skills, talents, intellectual and real property, and what they produce) and consumption (i.e., what they buy, what they use, and how they invest their wealth).

Four institutions are essential to a capitalist economy:

• Rule of Law - adherence to rules protecting inalienable rights of life, liberty, and property
• Clear Contracts in Open Markets - clear rules for the voluntary agreements among producers, consumers, and investors
• Individual Property Rights - the individual's right to own and profit from his or her assets: material resources, land and natural resources, skills and talents
• Individual Responsibility - the duty to respect the life, liberty and property of others

Excerpt from “Socialism vs. Capitalism: Which is the Moral System:”

”Despite the intellectuals’ psychotic hatred of capitalism, it is the only moral and just social system.

“Capitalism is the only moral system because it requires human beings to deal with one another as traders – that is, as free moral agents trading and selling goods and services on the basis of mutual consent.

“It is both moral and just because the degree to which man rises or falls in society is determined by the degree to which he uses his mind. Capitalism is the only social system that rewards merit, ability and achievement, regardless of one’s birth or station in life.

“Yes, there are winners and losers in capitalism. The winners are those who are honest, industrious, thoughtful, prudent, frugal, responsible, disciplined, and efficient. The losers are those who are shiftless, lazy, imprudent, extravagant, negligent, impractical, and inefficient. Capitalism is the only social system that rewards virtue and punishes vice. This applies to both the business executive and the carpenter, the lawyer and the factory worker.”

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