Posted by Tina
The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has criticized capitalism as an evil that endangers the world and thus set his people and his nation on a certain path of poverty and dependency…a path of deprivation and desperation.
“These principles — the protection of life, land and peace — are constantly threatened by a system and a model: capitalism and a model that seems to pursue the end of life and mother earth,” the president, who is running for a third term in office, told the audience.
President Morales remarks followed a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) which acknowledged efforts made to improve indigenous communities’ access to healthcare and education. Morales also called on other nations to “…work to overcome and eradicate extreme poverty and discrimination against indigenous people.”
It would be interesting to hear how this man expects any nation to improve conditions of poverty without capitalism playing a significant part. But people who rail against capitalism never seem to have a plan to replace it.
Another man, Bono, has traveled to poor countries, has worked to aid people living in poverty, and has concluded that capitalism and commerce provide the path out of poverty:
So some of Africa is rising and some of Africa is stuck. It’s a question of if the rising bit will pull the rest of Africa up or whether the other Africa will weigh the continent down. Which will it be? The stakes here aren’t just about them.
Imagine, for a second, this last global recession, but without the economic growth of China and India, without the hundreds of millions of newly minted middle class folks who now buy American and European goods. Imagine that. Think about the last five years.
It’s true that the love of money leads to downfall. It’s true we should be good conservationists But it is also true that people must be productive and provide for themselves and their families. Capitalism is not the love of money. Capitalism is a vehicle that empowers people to move themselves from poverty to a better life.
President Morales may be well meaning in his remarks but his notions of capitalism are distorted. His embrace of socialism (my assumption) will not work any more than it has elsewhere where it’s been tried. Ultimately socialism is intimidating and depressing. it blocks the human creative spirit. Socialist government programs require funding. If his plan is not redistribution (theft) from those that have had the freedom and grit to produce to those oppressed by tyrannical governments, then what is it?
I say set your people free Mr. Morales and let them become great entrepreneurs!