Capitalism Vs. The Free Enterprise System

It is a common practice to equate Capitalism with the Free Enterprise System implying that they are one and the same. But if you asked me, I’d have say that it’s a fallacy promulgated by those who control capital as it serves their agenda; it provides the sheep’s clothing for blending into society, making it more acceptable. In simple terms capitalism is about the bottom line of making a profit and the practice of accumulating capital; it makes no difference if it makes a profit building prisons or schools. Capital is hailed as a great savior, but capital has no conscience; capitalism capitalizes on our fears, doubts, desires and superstitions. Capital will chase capital and will continue to increase wealth as the economy stagnates, pooling in ever larger reservoirs. These vast pools provide the power to promote capitals own vested interests in symbiosis with government; whether it is in real estate, military production, medicine, oil, transportation or high tech, you name it. Capitalism is a practice not a system and acts like a cancer on the Free Enterprise System. Capitalism, particularly the cartel Capitalism that presently exists, seeks to mitigate, or even eliminate the values that motivate entrepreneurs; these values do not contribute to the bottom line. Unlike Capitalisms, the Free Enterprise System is primarily concerned with filling needs; profit is only one of the rewards sought after towards this end. Profits are often forsaken for to fulfill other values. Among the numerous values that motivate people to engage in a Free Enterprise System are the freedom to work for ones self, or as a means of financial support which employs the whole family, also as a means of self expression, as well as to simply serve the community. In these enterprises profits are often sacrificed to meet these diverse ends. At its core the Free Enterprise System is about expressing oneself, it’s about self actualizing, being fulfilled while fulfilling the needs of others. To some extent you cannot separate capital from the free enterprise system as they are in a way joined at the hip. Clearly the Free Enterprise System employs capital and capital depends on entrepreneurs and innovators to generate more capital; this is the reason it is so easy to conflate them. When there is symbiosis between the two, capital flows naturally through the system nourishing the community as blood nourishes the organs in the body. When amassing capital becomes the focus then mechanisms are created which like cancer diverts the lifeblood of the community into the hands of a few, leaving our communities shriveled and lifeless. This reality was brought home to me on a recent visit to Viet Nam while performing as part of a dance company. Though Viet Nam is considered a communist country, they have developed an energetic Free Enterprise tradition that has evolved organically out of filling needs. In the cities and in most of the villages you will find very few streets strictly dedicated to residential use with commerce segregated in malls; instead the lower floor of most buildings are dedicated to small businesses serving the local neighborhood or community. The environment is pulsating with energy, everybody is engaged in the business of providing the goods and services that nourishes and sustains the life of the community. You can’t help but feel connected as an integral part of the community and society. When I returned to the states I suddenly felt alienated; I walked down streets devoid of people or streets where people refused to share eye contact and then I got into my car to drive to the mall to buy my necessities. The Free Enterprise System at its healthiest is the bulwark of a vibrant democracy; it provides the structure of freedom where the actions of a free people can flourish. Capitalism on the other hand is more at home in a fascist system, as the government is there to protect and defend it from the people. When capital

concentrates in the hands of the few, it misappropriates the invisible hand of the Free Enterprise System, converting it into the slight of hand of politics and government and democracy suffers. Capital requires control with a certain perverse allegiance and vigilance to its bidding; it is the worship of the cash cow. Those who control capital control The Capital; money interest skews the political process. It is no longer a democracy of one-person one vote; the almighty dollar is the measure of our vote. We no longer have a government of, by and for the people, it has been allowed to languish and by default capital has become king! Instead of citizens participating in a democracy enhanced by the Free Enterprise System, we have been reduced to consumers and laborers in a capital driven scheme that dominates and subjugates the market. Until we democratize capital and reinvigorated the Free Enterprise System, we the citizens will continue to be at the mercy of capital’s interest.