A friend emailed me to talk a little about anticapitalism and wealth. He was quite correct. Money DOES make the world go 'round. And I certainly am NOT against wealth. People work hard, they should not be limited in what they receive in return.
He made me think. This is not against work, or workers, or the fruits of anyone's labors. It is more about what happens when it is not the fruit of anyone's labors, but rather money simply making money and not being put to productive use.
A little story is probably useful. I was reading in Proudhon's book "What is Property" about Cicero's theory that the world is like a theatre. People may come in and acquire a seat. But only one, as they cannot occupy two or three seats at the same time. And when they leave, that seat is available for someone else. Nevermind for the moment that by appropriating the seat you are robbing the chance from anyone else. As they say man has an equal right to inequality. Pretend it is a REALLY big theatre.
What I want to focus on is that I really have no problem with the person who gets up early and works hard for the best seat getting the best seat. I have no problem with someone who saves a seat for his or her spouse or child. I have no issue even with someone who decides to quit their seat for a specific person to get it - even if it is in return for money.
Where I begin to wonder is when the theatre is owned by someone (as they usually are) and that person begins to raise the rates (as they usually do). Then they build another theatre for all the people who didn't get in. Then, more importantly, they erect barriers to anyone else building a theatre and, even better, sell everyone on going to the theatre even when they might want to, say stay home and read a book. The amounts of obscene money in this world make it possible to control people through advertising, laws, taxes, and even simple market forces. People are losing the free will to get a seat, or the ability to give up or even transfer their seat. The theatre is becoming a casino where the house always wins.
That of course is all metaphorical and to be useful, philosophy has to be put into practice. I do NOT advocate simply taxing hard workers more and giving it to less productive workers. I DO advocate making wealth work for the people. If someone has an obscene amount of money and it is not doing anything productive, we should find ways to encourage productive use. For instance, someone with billions in banks and other "passive" investments could easily afford to invest in a solar company in a poorer nation. That brings money to that nation, helps the world and should be a good investment.
I fully recognize the issue that such a project or investment must be vetted and must work out. I do not think that is an impediment. Instead, there should be new forms of business that allow for such benefits. There should be an encouragement of entrepreneurship. I am not speaking of encouragement from a government through small business programs designed to keep small businesses small. Rather, I see this occurring through people to people activity.
Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen. Let's see how this play goes.
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