This Just In: Capitalism is Not Patriotism

This Just In: Capitalism is not Patriotism

Ah, the election.  So many piles of partisan gobbledygook to choose from.  Wherever you look you can get dizzying amounts of spin on the national debt.  Or unemployment.  Or the tax code.  But rather than get any of that on my shoes, I thought I would just mention one little truth that can easily escape us: American capitalists are not necessarily patriots.  In fact, more than likely, capitalists are not patriots.

How could this be, if we are a country so firmly grounded in the principles of free markets, competition, and profit through creating goods and services?

It really isn’t very complicated.  Simply stated, the goal of a capitalist is to make money.  Period.  The most essential capitalist says to her- or himself, I’ve got to invest my money wherever it will earn the highest return.  Even though I might be an American citizen, why would I invest in businesses in the U.S. that produce little or no profit, with workers being paid $22 an hour, when I can put money in a developing country (like China, say) where workers receive a tiny fraction of that $22 and profits are huge?  China, here we come.

You are unlikely to run across “Capitalist patriots,” who would be saying to themselves, “I know I’m going to lose my shirt, but by God, I’m going to invest in American business because America is where I was born and raised!  It’s the principle of the thing!”  They won’t say this because the principle of the thing for a capitalist is--big surprise--money!

I am going to confess here and now that this is why I am experiencing creeping impatience when I hear the phrase “job creators,” used to describe the wealthiest 2% of Americans.  Because the truth is that these people are never going to create jobs in the U.S if the profitability of a Malaysian factory would be much greater.  Since they’re capitalists, they would invest in jobs in Antarctica rather than in America, if the returns were better.  The wealthiest 2% of us are not going to open up a Pizza Hut in Akron, Ohio.  At best, they’ll buy some stock in Pepsico, a company as likely to open a new store in Djakarta as it would in Akron.

And please keep in mind, this is not because capitalists are horrible people.  They don’t mean any harm to their fellow Americans.  But to accept little return when more is available elsewhere is just against nature.  It would be like their deciding to lop off one of their own limbs. They’re just capitalists.  Trying to make money is what they do. 

To me, this is one of the best arguments for allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire, in effect asking the financial upper crust of America, who have made plenty from the American form of capitalism, to pay three or four percent more income tax.  After all, they enjoy all the benefits of living in the U.S. and ought to be willing to contribute this sliver of their income for the good of the country.  And it will take some pressure off the people in the middle--the ones who actually might open a pizza parlor in Akron.