{"id":24114,"date":"2019-12-12T17:21:45","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T22:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/?p=24114"},"modified":"2019-12-12T17:21:45","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T22:21:45","slug":"my-response-to-time-magazines-cover-story-on-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2019\/12\/12\/my-response-to-time-magazines-cover-story-on-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"My Response to Time Magazine\u2019s Cover Story on Capitalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/time-cover_cropped.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-24115\" src=\"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/time-cover_cropped-1024x793-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"802\" height=\"621\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>[<em>Editor\u2019s note<\/em>: The following is in response to the cover story, \u201cHow the Elites Lost Their Grip,\u201d by Anand Giridharadas in the December 2-9, 2019 issue of <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5735384\/capitalism-reckoning-elitism-in-america-2019\/\"><em>Time<\/em><\/a> magazine.]\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The inventor of the now-famous \u201cOverton Window,\u201d the late Joseph P. Overton, was my best friend and a senior colleague at the Michigan organization I headed for nearly 21 years (1987-2008), the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The Window postulates that at any given time, public policy options are framed by public opinion. Politicians who operate within it can get elected or re-elected, while those who offer proposals outside of it run the risk of public rejection. Move the Window by changing public opinion, and what was previously a losing proposition can then become politically possible.<\/p>\n<p>The Overton Window concept is the springboard Anand Giridharadas uses in his recent <em>Time<\/em> article. He suggests that anti-capitalist candidates and proposals are now winning because the Window has shifted toward <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/resources\/the-xyz-s-of-socialism\/\" data-toggle=\"popover\">socialism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While I appreciate the personal citations of both Joe Overton and me in Mr. Giridharadas\u2019s article, I\u2019m compelled to point out a few of its questionable assumptions. In doing so, I feel like the proverbial mosquito in a nudist camp: I know what I want to do, but it\u2019s hard to decide where to begin.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-0\">A Stark Misestimate<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with the article\u2019s assessment of the Democratic race for president. Polls showing that capitalist uber-critics Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are \u201ctop contenders\u201d are proof, Mr. Giridharadas suggests, that his wishful thinking about socialism is valid. This is a \u201cwindow\u201d that seems to have shifted markedly in the short interval between when the article was written and when it was published.<\/p>\n<p>Warren <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2019\/11\/warren-medicare-all-taxes\/601315\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">recently<\/a> put a price tag on her Medicare-for-All fantasy, a policy that would <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2019\/11\/15\/20966674\/elizabeth-warren-medicare-for-all-plan-public-option\" rel=\"nofollow\">ban<\/a> private health insurance. Her support collapsed. Sanders is languishing in third or fourth place, nowhere near the support he had going into the last Democratic convention. All the talk now is about how the rank-and-file are fleeing to the center.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Giridharadas points to the rise in membership of the Democratic Socialists of America\u2014from 5,000 members in 2016 to at least 50,000 today. But that\u2019s still half the membership (113,000) the Socialist Party claimed at its all-time high, which was in 1912. The Libertarian Party\u2019s membership today is 10 times larger.<\/p>\n<p>Among young people, the story that Mr. Giridharadas completely misses is the explosion of membership and activity among groups friendly to liberty, private enterprise, and free markets\u2014organizations like Young Americans for Liberty, Students for Liberty, Young Americans for Freedom, Young Americans Against Socialism, Turning Point USA, and the one where I serve as president emeritus, the Foundation for Economic Education. If Facebook following is any sign of relative popularity, it\u2019s notable that the Democratic Socialists\u2019 presence on that social media platform is a tiny fraction of that for those pro-capitalist youth organizations.<\/p>\n<p>If I were a socialist, I\u2019d be worried that these and similar organizations are where the genuine and lively intellectual ferment is. While the Left seems absorbed in suppressing debate, these groups are quietly broadening discussion and nurturing the next generation of thought leaders.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-1\">Americans Don&#8217;t Trust the Government<\/h2>\n<p>Meantime, <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.people-press.org\/2019\/04\/11\/public-trust-in-government-1958-2019\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">reports<\/a> the Pew Research Center, public trust in the government\u00a0<a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.people-press.org\/2019\/04\/11\/little-public-support-for-reductions-in-federal-spending\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">stands at historic lows<\/a>. Pew finds that \u201cOnly 17% of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right \u2018just about always\u2019 (3%) or \u2018most of the time\u2019 (14%).\u201d Mr. Giridharadas would do the American public a real service if he pointed out that this is the same government on which socialists want to bestow more power and money.<\/p>\n<p>Socialist rhetoric always scores higher than socialist policies, and both score much better than socialist outcomes. Telling people they\u2019re entitled to free stuff, or assailing the rich generally, appeals to a certain number, but those figures shift when rhetoric meets reality. This is one reason nobody\u2014socialists, least of all\u2014is conducting any polling in Venezuela.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-2\">What Is Capitalism?<\/h2>\n<p>The worst assumption in Mr. Giridharadas\u2019s article, however, concerns what capitalism really is. Implicit throughout is his belief that capitalism is nothing more than cronyism, whereby the rich use political connections to line their pockets.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Giridharadas ignores the fact that those of us he would surely label as pro-capitalist are just as much against cronyism and corruption as anybody, and likely more so than any socialists are. We understand that the answer to cronyism and corruption is not to give government even more power and money. We support not some corrupted, capitalist straw man but genuinely free markets, limited government, private property, and the rule of law. When will mainstream media learn this distinction?<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, to those of us who appreciate this distinction, the pursuit of money is not the principal objective in life. Critics of capitalism suggest endlessly that it is, but that\u2019s infantile. The case for capitalism rests on something far more important than material wealth. It is not refuted by the occasional bad eggs who misbehave (socialism, by the way, produces <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/where-are-the-omelets\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-toggle=\"popover\">bad eggs by the bushel<\/a> and never creates anything resembling an omelet).<\/p>\n<p>The case for true capitalism is a moral one that\u2019s rooted in human nature and human rights. To create wealth and add value to society through invention, innovation, entrepreneurship, production, and trade is a birthright. One cannot be fully himself\u2014or even fully human\u2014if he must live his life and conduct his affairs according to the dictates of those with political power. It speaks volumes that capitalism is what happens when peaceful people are left alone; socialism, on the other hand, is a Rube Goldberg contrivance with a lousy track record fueled by envy and class warfare.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve known a few business people who do indeed seem to worship \u201cthe almighty dollar\u201d and will gladly cut corners or get in bed with government for money\u2019s sake. For every one of those, I\u2019ve known a hundred who are in business for the exhilarating fulfillment they derive from creating useful products, solving problems, and meeting the needs of happy customers.<\/p>\n<p>The Overton Window is a remarkable tool for understanding the connections between ideas and political reality. But it matters that those who invoke it do so with clear thinking, proper definitions, and no axes to grind.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h5><a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"http:\/\/fee.org\/people\/lawrence-w-reed\/\"><br \/>\nLawrence W. Reed<br \/>\n<\/a><\/h5>\n<p>Lawrence W. Reed is President Emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and\u00a0Ron Manners Ambassador for Global Liberty at\u00a0the Foundation for Economic Education. He is also author of\u00a0<em><a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/store.fee.org\/products\/real-heroes\">Real Heroes: Incredible True Stories of Courage, Character, and Conviction<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em><a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2wM284a\">Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0<a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lawrencewr\">Follow<\/a> on Twitter and <a class=\"steem-keychain-checked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Lawrence-Reed\/202924809735438\">Like<\/a> on Facebook.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/my-response-to-time-magazine-s-cover-story-on-capitalism\/\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/fee.org\/counter\/186689\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><script src=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/Scripts\/fee-repub.js\" async=\"async\"><\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Editor\u2019s note: The following is in response to the cover story, \u201cHow the Elites Lost Their Grip,\u201d by Anand Giridharadas in the December 2-9, 2019 issue of Time magazine.] The inventor of the now-famous \u201cOverton Window,\u201d the late Joseph P. Overton, was my best friend and a senior colleague at the Michigan organization I headed for nearly 21 years (1987-2008), the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The Window postulates that at any given time, public policy options are framed by public opinion. Politicians who operate within it can get elected or re-elected, while those who offer proposals outside of it run the risk of public rejection. Move the Window by changing public opinion, and what was previously a losing proposition can then become politically possible. The Overton Window concept is the springboard Anand Giridharadas uses in his recent Time article. He suggests that anti-capitalist candidates and proposals are now winning because the Window has shifted toward socialism. While I appreciate the personal citations of both Joe Overton and me in Mr. Giridharadas\u2019s article, I\u2019m compelled to point out a few of its questionable assumptions. In doing so, I feel like the proverbial mosquito in a nudist camp: I know what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[376,1574,2236],"class_list":["post-24114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-politics","tag-capitalism","tag-socialism","tag-statism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}