Also, if you’re dissatisfied with their services, you can instantaneously fire them by taking your business elsewhere. A much larger and totally ignored question has to do with the brutality of socialism. Trending. For one, the motivation for the provision of services of computer and clothing stores, supermarkets, and hardware stores is profit. In his view a free market unfettered by government intervention is the most productive economic system ever devised. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart; Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; and singer Michael Jackson provided services deemed highly valuable by their fellow men who voluntarily took money out of their pockets to purchase those services. All of us own ourselves. What have you done to serve him?” I reply, “I have served my fellow man by mowing his lawn.” The grocer says, “Prove it!” That’s when I hand him my $20, my certificate of performance. Plus, if you’re dissatisfied with their service, it is costly and in many cases even impossible to fire them. Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. Walter Williams: Capitalism vs. Socialism Karl Marx statue (Screenshot) Several recent polls, plus the popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders, demonstrate that young people prefer socialism to free market capitalism. Their high incomes also reflect the “democracy” of the marketplace. Dr Williams speaks about the moral superiority of capitalism and the forces that erode it. He has served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, since 1980. Capitalism vs. Socialism was published on May 30, 2018. In the 20th century, the one-party socialist states of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Germany under the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and the People’s Republic of China were responsible for the murder of 118 million citizens, mostly their own. And if capitalism is moral, what makes it so? Ordinary people wouldn’t be dressed as well, surely not wearing designer clothing, nor would they have nice-looking jewelry. Prior to the rise of capitalism… Capitalism fails miserably when compared with a heaven or utopia promised by socialism. If “giving something back” means anything, it should be the admonition to thieves and social parasites: people who have taken and given nothing in return. You will find that people who live in countries closer to the free market capitalist end of the economic spectrum not only have far greater wealth than people who live in countries toward the socialistic/communist end but also enjoy far greater human rights protections. One of those arguments is: capitalism primarily benefits the rich and not the common man. Such acts include farm subsidies, business bailouts, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, welfare and many other programs. The tallies were: USSR 62 million, Nazi Germany 21 million and PRC 35 million (http://tinyurl.com/zafgs5p). Question: Comment!Walter Williams: Capitalism Vs. Socialism By Walter E. Williams | May 29, 2018 | 8:47 Several Recent Polls, Plus The Popularity Of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Demonstrate That Young People Prefer Socialism To Free Market Capitalism. He was the rare economist to succeed as both an academic and a popular communicator. There are some arguments, having a faint measure of plausibility, that have served politicians, charlatans, and assorted do-gooders for well over a century in their quest for control. Are Wealthy Capitalists Really Obliged to "Give Back". He wrote: “Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and … Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. The absence of profit motivation can be a bad thing, writes columnist Walter Williams. They are not motivated by profit at all. For example, millions upon millions of independent decision-makers decided to fork over $200 for Gates’s Windows 98 operating system. In a free society, for the most part, people with high incomes have demonstrated extraordinary ability to produce valuable services for, and therefore to please, their fellow man. Dr. Walter E. Williams holds a B.A. Justice requires that they give back. Let’s compare capitalism with socialism by answering the following questions: In which areas of our lives do we find the greatest satisfaction, and in which do we find the greatest dissatisfaction? George Mason University economics professor Walter E. Williams, who died this week at age 84, was a stalwart defender of free markets in his writings in books and syndicated columns. Bradley Prize Winner 2017 Professor of Economics. In more recent times, computers and software products have benefited our health, safety, and quality of life in ways that far outstrip whatever wealth was received by their creators. Walter Williams passed away this week at age 84. Free market capitalism, wherein there is peaceful voluntary exchange, is morally superior to any other economic system. ― Walter E. Williams. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except for material where copyright is reserved by a party other than FEE. wwilliam@gmu.edu (703) 993-1148 D158 Buchanan Hall Department of Economics George Mason University Related Sites: The homepage of George Mason University. Are the wealthy really obliged to “give something back”? Thus the reason why some people are wealthy while others are not wealthy is that the dollar dealer is a racist, sexist, or multi-nationalist or just plain mean. Those who think Gates is too rich and want to redistribute his income are really registering disagreement with the “democracy” of the marketplace and want to cancel or offset the market “vote.”. That call includes equality of income, sex and race balance, affordable housing and medical care, orderly markets, and many other socialistic ideas. That, I believe, is a result of their ignorance and indoctrination during their school years, from kindergarten through college. He uses standards defined in most economic textbooks i.e. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. There are some arguments, having a faint measure of plausibility, that have served politicians, charlatans, and assorted do-gooders for well over a century in their quest for control. No such record of brutality can be found in countries that tend toward free market capitalism. Capitalism is relatively new in human history. Who is Walter Williams? You’re wrong. Why? Think of it in the following way. He was the author of more than 150 publications that have appeared in scholarly journals. Walter Williams: Socialist Statements Look Nothing Like Socialist Reality By Walter E. Williams | March 17, 2020 | 10:24am EDT A woman paints the Communist symbol of the hammer and sickle on the face of a Lebanese Communist Party supporter during a march celebrating the International Labour Day in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Williams participates in many … Williams, known as a champion of free market economics and capitalism, often wrote about the topic of racism and published hundreds of research papers and scholarly articles. People who are wealthy just happened to get there first and greedily took an unfair share. The rich have always had access to entertainment, often in the comfort of their palaces and mansions. Is capitalism moral or greedy? I am my private property, and you are yours. Here’s an experiment for you. As an economist, Williams was a proponent of free market economics and opposed socialist systems of government intervention. “Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and enslaving their fellow man. There is the biblical passage, … But any earthly system is going to come up short in such a comparison. Walter E. Williams | Posted: Jan 04, 2012 12:01 AM. 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