Rob and I are having a bit of a back and forth concerning the subsidization of higher education. I'm having some difficulty following his argument, though, so I want to move it over to a post and get a little more philosophical.
Rob, as you stated earlier, you think capitalism is an amoral system. Yet you believe that the benefits of a capitalistic society establish specific moral standards. Take the case of higher education. Modern, mainstream higher education is made possible by capitalism. Mass production of study materials, construction of buildings and campuses, coordinating of dining services, the instant, all-encompassing spread of ideas around the world and historical amounts of leisure time are just a few indications and example of how capitalism has paved the road for millions to receive a low cost, high quality higher education that they never would have received under any other economic system.
This amoral system, thus, is doing a great deal of good. And you think that individuals have an inherent right to the benefits of this amoral system.
So my question for you is how can an amoral system be the parent of moral standards? In other words, how can higher education be a moral good every citizen has a right to if its creation was the result of amoral forces?
My answer is that it can't, but those in power pretend it can and most people like the simple utopian appeal and buy into it. This, in my opinion, is the essence of politics.
But before I say any more though I am interested in hearing what you have to say.
I would argue that the benefits of capitalism do not establish a moral standard, but provide a vehicle to maximize utility. I would also hasten to say that it is not that people are granted an inherent right to benefits from capitalism, but rather that the distribution of opportunity is not more deserved by those born into wealthy families.
ReplyDeleteDemocratic capitalist society demands inequality, but there is a world of difference between inequality earned and inequality granted. Subjugating quality of education the family you happen to be born into is immoral and does not serve society as a whole.
While I'm at it, I think this would be a good chance to explain why I believe capitalism is amoral. It's not that capitalism is inherently evil, as Marx and Engels would have you believe, or that it has inherent virtues, as Rand would say, but that it is a system by which people are given choice to allocate and consume resources as they see fit. The wage NFL football players earn is not a quantitative measure of their worth, nor is the wage nurses and teacher earn. It is just a fact of how collective individuals have decided to allocate their resources, justified only by the greater efficiency and productivity that capitalism fosters.