The Capitalist Ideal

One weakness of some arguments for capitalism is that doing things for capitalism is not necessarily encouraged. One argument regards doing anything for the benefit of others as being suspect.  It may well be the case that capitalism and altruism do not easily coexist.  However, we need to keep in mind that this is altruism in the sense of a belief that we have a moral obligation to do things for others.  It is important to keep in mind the subtle distinction between this philosophical stance and actually doing something for others.

If egoism is a philosophy that regards assistance to others as blameworthy, then I argue that it is paradoxically a form of altruism.  We are supposed to assign blame and credit based not on how the actions of others are likely to benefit us and the people that we care about, but on how action effects the actor.  Although strictly speaking, we would have to submit that this would only be the case if we asserted that individuals had the obligation to make such assignments.

I noticed, while reading an autobiography of a man who served communism under Mao, that people who serve this movement have an advantage in this respect.  The movement inspires a kind of idealism, where people are motivated to make what appear to be sacrifices for the good of the movement.  If capitalists condemn their idealists, then this will put us at a disadvantage.

It may be natural to admire people who have strict moral and ethical values, but what we miss here is that those moral and ethical values are ways of assigning blame as well as guiding the conduct of the adherent. If someone makes a sacrifice and then asserts that this sacrifice was a moral obligation, we need to be careful here.  Doing things for others should be regarded as praiseworthy.  Falsely claiming that doing so was in fulfillment of some duty is worthy of blame.  In order for people to take claims of duties seriously, these must be universal and general principles.  By saying that you have a duty, you are claiming that others have a similar duty.  To place illegitimate duties on others is to harm them.

If we fail to praise those who have placed promoting capitalism ahead of their own material well-being, then capitalism will be at a disadvantage.  No movement can succeed that doesn't encourage people to act on its behalf.