Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Ten Cannots According To Capitalists

The following list of "cannots" for a society to be successful as viewed by paleo-capitalists was composed by one William J.H. Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister and minor celebrity of his age (1873-1962), not to mention capitalist hack. I come off here as a bit hostile to capitalism, an economic system to which I feel mostly ambivalent but certainly believe it is superior to any available alternative from the marketplace of economic ideas currently in the world. I would add that while a very insightful list that is mostly accurate I would add there are always going to be exceptions to what Boetcker claims below but most of his observations are accurate most of the time, over-simplications and distortions notwithstanding. It is worth noting that the Administration currently in power in the United States White House is most decidedly anti-Capitalist even while people like President Obama are quintessential Limousine Liberals.
  1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  3. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  4.  You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  5. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  6. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
  8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  9. You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.
  10. And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.
Source

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