“I am a capitalist,” Kamala Harris declared at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh. Sounds reasonable, expected, mostly correct and completely unsurprising during a campaign. I mean I get it, she needs to win this election and I want her to win this election.
But let’s face it, America has no memory because contrary to popular belief this country wasn’t built on capitalism, not the good parts anyway. The fact that most Americans are oblivious to this fact, or downright disdainful for what got us here, is why Kamala Harris had to stand up in front of the Economic Club of Pittsburgh and declare, “I am a capitalist.” Yeah, bravo, she definitely couldn’t say America’s social programs have benefited us all and has to gingerly dance around the idea that the government can work for us if we do it right. No, that doesn’t win elections in 2024 because 50 years ago some jerk from Hollywood, who made movies with a chimpanzee sidekick, came to Washington and declared that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” And with that he erased history, we’re really good at that. We’ve kind of been conditioned to forget because well, you know, I mean you do know right? And if you thought the guy who came from Hollywood was Clint Eastwood, well, that was an orangutan, get it right. Know your Great Apes, that’s what I have to say.
Anyway, will we ever be able to have adult conversations in this place? What most Americans consider to be American freedom was not brought to us by capitalism or unfettered market forces. In fact, capitalism, and market forces, usually stood in the way of progress until enough people gathered together and forced the government to do something about it. What do we call those kind of people again? There’s a word for that, oh yeah protestors, I think that’s become a bad word now. Well, that’s the real history of America and most Americans have no idea because somehow we’ve been conditioned to believe that free market capitalism gave us everything great, enough so that Kamala Harris had to say that…, oh never mind, you get the idea.
So let’s play a game. Weekends? Free market capitalism or people forcing the government to do something? Ding ding ding, the latter. Women’s right to vote? Same. Ending child labor? We’ll give that one to free market capitalism. Haha, just kidding, they fought that one, and still do as a matter of fact. Because that’s how it works. The government can either help protect people and the environment and make the majority of our lives better or market forces and those who favor profit over every other concern can coerce the government to get what it wants and what it wants is access to cheap labor without the hassle of worker protections and environmental laws. It is really that simple.
If you dropped a young person off in America anytime before I was born they would hardly recognize this place. What we believe to be America today was just getting started around the time I was born and it was the result of the millions of unsung heroes fighting tooth and nail, and often dying, to make it happen. How’d they do it? Check this out, by pushing our government to do what they wanted instead of what the greedy capitalists who are endlessly gaming the system wanted. Not all capitalists are bad, and not all bad people are capitalists, but America has always had its fair share of bad capitalists. What was slavery but completely out of control unfettered capitalism? What were company towns? Look up the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where 123 women and girls (see there’s that child labor thing again) died because they were locked inside the warehouse where they worked. That was a common practice back in the early 20th century until the free market solved it and made that illegal. Oh, wait hold on, let me google that just to make sure. Oh, my bad, it was labor unions and women’s rights groups, decent law firms and attorney generals and finally local and then state and then federal legislation that finally put an end to that practice. Sorry, I don’t know why I mixed that up. Maybe it was growing up with Reagan and those damn jelly beans. See, I’m not above succumbing to the brainwashing either.
The America most people consider to be their home, where they have freedom and a decent shot at life, started because of the labor battles, the women’s rights battles, the civil rights movement, the environmental movement and many more. All of these were, and still are, fought endlessly, tirelessly, by well-financed free market capitalists. Don’t mean to sound like a pinko commie, it’s just a fact. And don’t get me wrong, controlled capitalism can be very effective and has its place. But if they had their way we wouldn’t have the government policies and protections that I would argue modern Americans are accustomed to. Women’s right to vote, and getting bank loans and credit cards all happened in the 20th century, getting access to credit came as late as 1974, and protection from discrimination for having children when renting an apartment in 1986. Seriously, until 1986 there was no law telling landlords that they couldn’t deny women an apartment. Why’d it have to become law? Because tons of landlords were denying women with children the right to rent apartments. The New Deal gave us access to mortgages, student loans, the GI Bill, Social Security, the FDIC and much more. Investment in infrastructure in the 1950s and 60s gave us crucial highways, ports, bridges, telecommunications and much more. LBJ made good on expanding the New Deal with Medicare and protecting civil rights and equal housing (but not yet for women at the time, as I mentioned that comes later). But yeah, capitalism, we’re capitalists, where would we be without it?
The freedoms we have are based on social programs and progressive ideas that gave us mobility and opportunity against the wishes of many of our free market capitalists. They serve a purpose, they just need to be held in check. And right now their ideas about what makes America great are driving the narrative. To the point that Kamala Harris can’t run on the accomplishments of the Biden administration. Arguably the first reversal of the failed trickle-down economics instituted by Reagan and codified by every president since, until Biden. George HW Bush once called it Voodoo Economics, so they knew it would never work for the middle class when they started it. To me, it’s not nearly enough but between the IRA, the Chips Act, and The Infrastructure Bill combined the biggest investments into the middle class in my lifetime. But because we’ve all been brainwashed by this government can’t work idealogy and free markets cure all ills nonsense enough of this country can’t understand this and will vote in a group of people that will quadruple down on this failed mindset.
That’s what we need to get over or we’ll never get the government we all (well mostly anyway, except for those that don’t) want and deserve. Because, heck, we’re worth it. I just hope that one day I can hear some politician, besides that handful that does, say to cheering crowds that it was government action like the New Deal and the Great Society and organizers, dare I say protesters, in Labor Unions, in Women’s rights and in Civil rights that took to the streets made America what it is today. Because that’s what happened and I’m into reality, it’s a thing I dig.
One last thing. If we don’t get out of this brainwashed spell and get back to reality, we are in for a very rough ride and the young people of this country will be let down by our collective irresponsibility. If we think that climate change and whatever AI or technological change brings to disrupt economies and the mass migrations, environmental disasters and wars that they are likely to bring will be solved by the Free Market, then we are truly delusional. It’s times like this that we need sober minds to make government work for everyone. But right now, Kamala Harris had to, repeat had to, get up before an economic club and declare that she is “A capitalist” because that’s how you win an election in 2024.
I hope one day it’s different and we can admit what works.