Successful Entrepreneurship through Discipline & Learning

Why is capitalism a bad word to some, and to others, the heart of our free republic?

I have some observations and a hypothesis.

Maybe those that consider it a bad word tie its definition only to the ability to consume. To those that appear to revere it, consumption plays a slightly different role. To these folks, I think capitalism is often positioned as the ability to choose what to consume. This is an important aspect of capitalism because many argue that it insures we get the best product for our money. And I believe it does.

But I think there is a subtly different way of looking at the latter perspective in order to accept and address the problems posed by the former. I think both differ in that neither emphasizes the freedom to create. The meritorious aspect of capitalism is not that we can consume to our gluttonous heart's content; but rather, that we can create value by solving the problems of others. Capitalistic free markets merely insure that entrepreneurial individuals have the necessary capital to optimally support this problem solving/value creation effort. I believe that when we do not develop our workforce as problem solvers, they become cogs in the machinery of our society and unfortunately focus on consumption as the defining attribute of capitalism. This is all they know. In fact, consumption is all they know. I suppose if we cannot consume equally, it does appear to be unfair.

What's interesting however, is that any process that attempts to balance our ability to consume does not enhance an individual's capacity to create. In fact, as history shows, it significantly hampers it. Whereas, I hypothesize, if we enhance the ability of people to create and problem solve, the focus on unbridled consumption by society generally abates. Our sense of worth derives its measure not from what kind of car or home we own but rather the merits of the solutions we bring to the problems of others. This value is truly ours. The home and car is the value created by others--a happy consequence of the value we create for others.

So it's Win-Win! You would think ( Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?).

But problem solving is entrepreneurialism. Capitalism is the process through which capital seeks the best solution or insures that the efforts of entrepreneurs are focused on solutions people need. Yet, ideas are not easily translated to the problems people have. On face value, this seems unfair as well. But, entrepreneurialism is a process. Ideas are refined through this process. In order to insure that capital is well spent, this process has to be valued and exploited.