The thing that blows my mind is that Capitalism, as it existed in it’s as-pure-as-it’s-ever-been state from the late 1700s until the mid 1900s in the United States, as it has existed nowhere else and as it exists still to the fullest extent here, although we’ve come a long way from anything resembling capitalism since Teddy Roosevelt, is ridiculed as being a failure by some blogs that I stumble upon, saying:

Capitalism is rightly credited with having unleashed enormous forces of productivity and technology. But it has also reduced much of the world to ruin and squalor. After four centuries of triumph as the dominant mode of global development, capitalism has furnished for itself a world in which one out of two human beings lives on $2 per day or less, and more than one in three still lacks access to a toilet. Most children in the world never complete their education, and most will live out their lives without dependable medical care. As the world economic crisis deepens, already deplorable conditions in the Third World will only deteriorate further.

I would like to be the first to point out that what this country has done to become rich has not “reduced much of the world to ruin and squalor,” but has merely left the “ruin and squalor” that was the status quo during the time and made something for ourselves. Due to trade, we dragged Europe (kicking and screaming) and eventually Japan and to some extent China out of their squalor as well; the rest of the world has yet to catch up. We aren’t holding them down. In many cases, it is corrupt individuals in their governments that make situations in the Third World unhelpable to a large extent by any external force. In short: they have to get out of a lot of it themselves. Yes we can, and we do, help, through charity.

But my point is that 200 years ago, no one had access to a toilet. Formal education was for the super rich only, and only for men. When people were poor, they starved. Anywhere in the world. The difference? Now the countries that have embraced capitalism have wealth.

Rich guilt be damned. We have what we have through the sweat of our own brows, and at no cost to others who condemn our way of life. If you’re feeling guilty, give some money to the Red Cross or something.

There is not finite wealth. We are not richer because the Third World is poorer. We are just richer.