there is no reason why (capitalists) should believe in hedonism more than any other philosophy or theory of values.
I disagree. Pleasing one's senses is expensive - fast food, plush homes, big TVs, precription anti-depressants, gas-guzzling luxury cars and SUVs, boats, travel, and all the general keeping-up-with-the-Joneses. It makes for nice profits.
I can't find much in the Bible that supports rampant capitalism, especially when money becomes a moral value. Moses said, "Do not steal," and that law implies the validity of property rights.
But the definition of "capitalism" is at issue. This essay defines the word three ways:
freesoft.org
capitalism¹ - a laissez-faire economic system, characterized by the separation of economy and state, "anti-socialism", free markets, free trade, relatively light taxation, and a minimum of government interference in commerce
capitalism² - an industrial model of production, well illustrated by Henry Ford's assembly line, characterized by heavy specialization of both capital and labor, economies of scale, with the cost of goods reflecting the distributed costs of production
capitalism³ - a pseudo-religion of greed, characterized by pursuit of self-interest, often associated with the claim that each individual, by advancing his own self-interest, ultimately advances the good of society
Like the author of that essay, I protest #3. |
