Politics

I've always been intensely interested in American politics and government, as far back as I can remember. Before I came to college, I based my sense of American history and, thus, of patriotism and morality on what other people told me about American history. When I came to college, however, I was no longer able to assert the same beliefs as I had previously without proving the points myself, which required an extensive examination of the words and actions of the Founders themselves. What I found in my examination absolutely blew me away; everything that I had always been told was conservative was liberal, and everything that I had always been told was liberal was, in fact, conservative.

I believe that free market capitalism, at its most fundamental, is anti-democratic and is therefore anti-American. To explain this point, I offer the following excerpt: "Democracy both recognizes the right of the individual to use his powers to the utmost, and encourages him to do so by offering a fair field and, in case of success, an abundant reward. The democratic principle requires an equal start in the race, while expecting at the same time an unequal finish...Americans who talk in this way seem wholly blind to the fact that under a legal system which holds private property sacred there may be equal rights, but there cannot possibly be any equal opportunities for exercising such rights. It would be absurd to claim that, because all the rivals toed the same mark, a man's victory or defeat depended exclusively on his own efforts. Those who have enjoyed the benefits of wealth and thorough education start with an advantage which can be overcome only by very exceptional men - men so exceptional, in fact, that the average competitor without such benefits feels himself disqualified for the contest." The above quote is an excerpt from The Promise of American Life, written in 1911 by American political scientist Herbert Croly. It completely articulates the ambiguities posed by the pairing of capitalism with democracy; as Croly suggested, the two are philosophically opposed.