V-Gram 17

May 1, 1996

Capitalism Unmasked (at last!)

Appropriately for May 1st, The Washington Post today ran a column by Robert J. Samuelson, "Capitalism under Siege." I suggest it is time that we get rid of Capitalism altogether. By this, I refer to our use of the word. As for Capitalism itself, it simply does not exist. It never did.

The word was invented by Marx in an attempt to create the illusion that his "-ism" is combating an already existing "-ism" on the other side. In order to qualify as an "-ism," society must be organized according to a pre-ordained structure. As Hayek observes, not only has our extended order of cooperation evolved without being organized - it would be quite beyond human capabilities to organize it deliberately.

Since we communicate using words, the adoption of more and more Marxist terms in our daily language is a matter for concern. Why take our cue from an unhappy man who hated everything and everybody? A man who taught Lenin, Stalin and Hitler the concept that entire types of human beings can and should be eliminated? A man who demanded that the family as we know it be abolished? It might be time for academics, journalists, judges and script writers to put aside "Das Kapital" and re-read the Constitution.