Other Alternatives?

While I deem capitalism to be the best of all known economic systems, these times cause me daily to think, “Surely there must be an economic system better for all humanity than capitalism.”

Many activities are best left to Darwinian market forces, but while it is important to reward capital and encourage innovation, some activities just don’t work well in a system that also rewards unabashed self-interest. We need a serious, reasoned and civil, public dialogue about which activities ought to generate profit and which should not.

The only problem is that such a dialogue is absolutely impossible. If anyone recommends that a particular activity – say health care – be removed from the competitive marketplace a cacophony rises with shouts of “Socialism!” and “Communism!” or arguments for government takeover.

The problem with the profit motive is that there are some activities which ought not to be accessible only to those with means leaving only scraps to fall on the masses. The problem, with government takeover is that a function shouldn’t have to be subject to the bureaucracy, fraud, waste, abuse, inefficiency and sheer stupidity of government management.

We don’t need the same old tired arguments with only two polarizing alternatives and shrill voices raised in anger and indignation.

There is at least one other way.

Let’s take Financial Services for an example. Strangely missing in the discussions we had about the record profits of some banks in prior years and those we are having now about bailout recipients (strangely, the self-same institutions) we haven't talked much about cooperative credit unions. They provide fine services to members for smaller fees generally at better rates. They are a viable model that is not profit driven but rather cooperative, and yet not socialism and/or communism.

Using this example, recognizing that the health care model has obviously failed, and that there are other social services and activities that just don’t belong to the victors or the bureaucrats, we ought to be able to talk about third, fourth or fifth ways … and not Fifth Columns or Red Scares, to the benefit of all America.

I’m either a pessimist or a realist however, for I very much doubt it.