Free Market Socialism

Before my run this morning, I looked for my headset, but my kid had misplaced it. So, I was stuck thinking for 5 miles.

On my run I happened to pass one of these. Yup, the Golden Corral. So, lacking music, as I slowly passed the restaurant, it occurred to me that in many respects our free market society has achieved the aims of socialism. Think about it, free market efficiency has committed an end run around the planned economy.

What, you say? How?

Well, a person can walk into Golden Corral and, for about $7-8.00, obtain a full day's calories. For something less than two hours' work at minimum wage, an individual can feed himself for a day. And not just fast food or other garbage, but an extravagant, varied diet including fresh fruits and vegetables, tasty meats, carbohydrates, even desert. And if someone is able to figure out a way to earn $7-8.00 an hour, they can feed themselves for an hour's effort.

Even under a socialist system an individual is expected to contribute something to the common good, so individuals are expected to work. Imagine one hour a day as providing the nutritional needs, and the balance of the workday providing other necessities such as shelter and clothing.

"From each according to his means, to each according to his needs." Aren't we pretty darn close to that? He who educates himself and works harder gets to enjoy the ribs up the street at Tony Roma's. The poor lower classes must content themselves with Golden Corral. But everyone's eating. In fact, some suggest our poor aren't starving but instead are receiving too much to eat.

It makes you wonder about those disenchanted with capitalism. When we have refined it to a system where even those least able can generally get enough to eat, advocates of more socialistic reforms cannot be acting out of any sense of compassion, but instead must be thinking in terms of "social justice" or "fairness." Given the success of our system, socialists driven by "social justice" can only be motivated by one of two things.

First, the leftist advocate is motivated by power. In other words, he or she won't be happy until they get to divide the societal spoils. In the alternative, many advocates of "social justice" are less about bringing up those on the bottom (most of them are already 'up.'), but are more concerned with tearing down those on top. Jealousy, in other words.

We have built a capitalist, socialist nirvana.

Postscript: There will certainly be readers who want to argue about those who simply cannot make it under our system; they can't even hold down a job. Newsflash: there is nothing inherent in a socialist system that will cure mental disease, chemical dependency, or laziness. There will always be those who can't succeed. The question, then, is what system allows the most the best opportunity. Freedom or the state? History makes a convincing argument that freedom is the best predictor of prosperity.