BREZNICK | A Better Form of Capitalism?

As a business student, the subject of capitalism comes up frequently in classes. As you would expect, most professors’ attitudes towards it are wholly negative. If they are not outright hostile, then they only begrudgingly accept it as a necessary evil.

For the most part, academics serve a good purpose in society and in the economy, but their obsession with theory and policy often distorts their perception of reality. Ronald Reagan put it best when he said, “One definition of an economist is somebody who sees something happen in practice and wonders if it will work in theory.” Replace economist with essentially any type of academic, and you have one of the major problems with modern-day academia.

Just today, I received an assignment—written responses to a few questions about a documentary called The Corporation the class was asked to watch—with the following question: “If you were able to design a better form of capitalism, what would you change about the United States?” 

Disregarding the fact that the question actually makes no sense, I answered:

A “better form” of capitalism? There is no such thing. There is only true free market capitalism, or there isn’t any capitalism. Free market capitalism is the most efficient, innovative, and freedom-promoting economic system ever known to man. Where there is central planning, there exists only economic malaise, reductions in freedom and innovation, and general suffering. The U.S.’s economic system should be a truly free market capitalist system with minimal government interference and maximum personal freedom.

If you want to make capitalism better, all you have to do is leave it alone.