I found this old article on my hard drive by Charlie Reese. It reminded me of a very important fact: I can be a believer in freedom without believing in an unrestricted capitalist system, and that too many people equate them. In reality, I look forward to Zion, where there will be great freedom to govern oneself, but there will be restricted capitalism. It isn't communism, though. We won't force anyone to do it, they will just simply be asked to leave... K'aya K'ama, Gerald/gary Smith gszion1 @juno.com http://www .geocities.com/rameumptom/index.html "No one is as hopelessly enslaved as the person who thinks he's free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
By Charley Reese of The Sentinel Staff Published in The Orlando Sentinel on July 22, 1999. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent a delegation to Cuba to discuss free enterprise. Aside from the fact that the group won't find much, the trip offers a good occasion to point out that a market economy and political freedom are not the same thing. Too many Americans seem to think that a country that allows a free-market economy to operate is free. Not so. A free country is defined by the political rights of its citizens not the form of its economy. Other Americans seem to think that a market economy will inevitably produce political freedom. Not so again. Many dictatorships have operated with a market economy, the dictator simply skimming some of the profits. There was free enterprise in Cuba under the dictator Fulgencio Batista but not political freedom. Now, under Castro, there is neither. Keep in mind that one of the purest examples of free enterprise is criminal gangs involved in such businesses as illicit drugs. They operate entirely without government supervision and make enormous profits. Does that make them moral? Political rights include the right to free speech, to assemble and to petition the government, to change the government, to publish freely, to live under a system of laws enacted by elective representatives as binding on the ruler as on the ruled. None of these is present in Cuba or in China, even though both countries have allowed foreign investments and very much want to increase their economic trade with other countries. Frankly, it should not matter to Americans what kind of an economy another country has. We should be advocates of political freedom, not capitalism. Virtually all of our European allies now have socialist governments. Japan's form of capitalism is certainly not the same as ours. What difference does it make to us if the foreign products we buy are made in a capitalist plant, a co-op or a government plant? None. Nor does the form the economy takes have any effect on government-to-government relationships. The Chinese government now allows some free-market activity within its borders, but that doesn't mean that the government likes us. When American-based corporations look for foreign-investment opportunities, they are looking for either cheap labor to build something they will export back to the United States or a way to get a wedge into a foreign market. Unless you own a lot of stock in the corporation, there is no benefit to the average American. The only effect on us is that we may lose our jobs if it's our plant that's shut down and moved overseas. Robert Reich, former secretary of Labor, pointed out long ago that about half of what the ignoratti refer to as trade is really nothing more than intercorporate transfers. Pappy used to say, "Never mix business with friendship or pleasure." What he was saying is good advice for citizens to keep in mind. The purpose of business is to make a profit not to be patriotic, not to advance human rights, not to do what is right for the country. Because big money heavily influences both political parties and owns most of the communications media, often what is good for business is presented as good for the country. Don't believe it. Don't confuse business with politics, benevolence, humanitarianism or, for that matter, even common decency. One of the Founding Fathers remarked that the only country a merchant knows is the spot he stands on in front of his money drawer. The founders of this country did not invent government to be the handmaiden of business. ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
