LIBERAL BASHING
By James R. Cook
The exceedingly liberal Minneapolis newspaper ran a recent editorial on baseball. They referred to Yankee owner, George Steinbrener, as greedy. Liberals love to describe successful people as greedy. They prefer the type of business person personified by Wesley Mouch, a character in Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged. Mr. Mouch was proud of the fact that his heavily subsidized company had never made a profit.
George Steinbrener does what is necessary to win. He doesn’t break any laws and the fans reward him with a profit. Baseball salaries may be out of the park, but blame much of that on inflation, players unions and agents. You don’t have to love the Yankees, but you have to admire their success. George fields a winner and fills the ballpark. Isn’t that his job?
Virtually anyone who makes a lot of money gets written off by the left as greed driven. Most of the animosity stems from envy. The sight of people who have made money through greater ability bothers them. They credit this solely to luck, dishonesty or greed. They forget that under the market system you acquire wealth by serving others. Consumers are king and their buying decisions determine who gets rich and who loses out. Everyone has the same opportunity under capitalism and most of us start from the same place. Those with the ability to provide products and services to the greatest number of people make the most money.
Editorial writers for liberal newspapers don’t fare as well at money making as high-tech innovators. However, they prefer to believe that this income disparity comes through exploitation or luck. They want to believe that someone goes without because someone else gets rich. They root for higher taxes to level incomes. But the money earned by wealthy entrepreneurs does not cause anyone’s poverty. The same process that makes entrepreneurs rich also satisfies the people’s wants and needs in the best and cheapest way. Business standardizes our consumption and enjoyment and every citizen shares in these material blessings.
Envy and ignorance of how free market capitalism works account for both the Leninists of yesterday and the liberals of today. Their animosity towards profit-making has saddled business with a host of regulations and social requirements that competitors in other parts of the world don’t have to deal with. Liberals love government and its multiple cures for every social ailment. They fail to realize that public social programs exhaust the resources of the nation and corrupt the citizenry. The inroads of liberalism are slowly ruining the best country on earth. Their continued success means the death knell of order and prosperity.
