Is Capitalism Humane?
I spent a little bit of time reading a philosophy book by Ayn Rand. Now, Im a huge fan of Atlas Shrugged and her work in general. But I believe she missed something very important when it comes to capitalism. Ms. Rand seems to have been so busy praising capitalism she forgot to answer an important question – is capitalism humane? As a young American I feel capitalism has deeply hurt innocents. I look at the extremely rich and see a lot of excess that isn’t just obscene – it’s immoral. Is it morally right for a movie star to have a mall built in his basement when someone is in debt because he got in a car accident? Is it morally right for someone to own 27 luxury cars when people are thrown onto the streets because they can’t pay the doctor? Is it morally right that someone is told their insurance won’t cover a tooth abcess because it isn’t an emergency?
The problem with capitalism is it doesn’t provide any safeguards for the average worker. Capitalism doesn’t protect our right to work reasonable hours, to be paid a living wage, or to have access to good healthcare. I greatly admire the Europeans for their ability to realize one must take care of a whole society, meaning everyone, not just the wealthy. The truth is capitalism has failed to protect basic human rights. Yes, man should be free to work for himself, to reap his rewards without apologizing to anyone. But we can’t stop caring for people because it doesn’t serve our interest or there’s no profit in it. There is great joy in giving of our time, talent, and energy to others. Ms. Rand points out that the Christian idea of caring for your neighbor as yourself is not logical. But we don’t give our time to the local nursing home because it’s logical. We don’t serve the homeless because it’s logical. We do these things because it completes us as humans. Because it’s simply the right thing to do.
