Word: capitalisme
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It is in the developing nations of the Third World that capitalism today is weakest. Most new countries lack an entrepreneurial class, and they usually adopt some form of statism. Often, existing elites in tribes or clans prefer a centralized system that reinforces their own authority.
Capitalism will face serious challenges in the Third World during the 1980s. The colonial era is only just over; distrust of the old rulers and their economic systems runs high in developing countries. OPEC's price increases are just the first grab by these countries for a
Capitalism's critics likewise have railed against the inequities, uncertainties and the social flux it creates. As Karl Marx saw it, "All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned." Foes charge that the capitalist system perpetuates grave inequalities of wealth and extravagantly rewards success. Communists...
Such charges are extreme and often unfounded. For the most part, the inequality of wealth under the free enterprise system is the unavoidable price that must be paid for genius, hard work or plain luck. The equality of results demanded by many leftist reformers would stultify society; complete equality can...
Certainly, the large divergence of income within capitalist societies can be a cause of serious social tensions. In the society described by Plato in The Laws, no person would be permitted to be more than four times richer than the poorest. In the U.S. the upper 20% of the population...