The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Josh Windham, a law student at University of North Carolina School of Law.
Support for “democratic socialism” is growing on campuses across the country. With so many students caught up in Bernie fever, this seems like an appropriate time to bring some diversity to the conversation—some intellectual diversity. Due to word count limitations, I’ll keep this short and sweet. Below are five reasons why I’m proudly pro-capitalist.*
1. Capitalism respects my right to live—not for the sake of the group, the nation, the race, the proletariat, or for any of you—but for my own sake.
2. Capitalism recognizes that my mind is my basic tool of survival and that in order to think, I must be free to use it.
3. Capitalism treats me as the sole proprietor of my own life. Under capitalism, my time and energy—my triumphs and failures—my burdens and my beloved dreams—are my mine alone.
4. Capitalism treats me as the rightful sovereign of my soul, respecting my authority to chart my own course in the one, precious life I have on this earth.
5. Because capitalism does not chain me to any of you—because it does not demand that I serve you or that you serve me—I’m free to value you.
Because my goal here is to stimulate discourse, I’m calling on all like-minded students to let your classmates know if you too are #CapitalistAndProud!
Please visit here for more on #CapitalistAndProud.
*By “capitalism,” I mean a laissez-faire social system that protects each individual’s right to life, liberty, and property by banning the initiation of physical force from human affairs.
