No. Capitalism “distributes” wealth justly, i.e. to those who earned it, in proportion to how much they produced.
Archive | wealth
Whom does our “nation’s wealth” belong to?
Wealth is not a “collective resource” to be distributed by some totalitarian or his cronies, but is produced by individuals. Wealth belongs to the individual who produced it. It is not an amorphous public good to be distributed by looters for the aid of moochers.
What is wealth a product of?
Fundamentally, wealth is the product of man’s mind — and belongs to each man to the extent that he created it.
In a joint venture how does one determine one’s share of wealth?
If many individuals took part in that production, each deserves his share in accordance to how much of it they produced — as mutually agreed upon amongst themselves by their own free-will. The principle in such instances being: those who produced less, receive less, those who produced more, receive more. A man can neither demand more then he deserves because he is full of “greed”, or demand more then he deserves, because he feels “need.” All he can demand is what the market — the uncoerced judgment of others — will offer him. What is the name of such a principle? It is justice — the judge in all such cases being the marketplace.
What about “production for use”?
What those who demand “production for use” as opposed to “production for profit” mean is the forced expropriation of the production of some (who are said to have “greed”) for the use of others (who are either unwilling or unable to produce it) who are said to have “need.” The proper name for this is theft, or slavery.
Are there any limits to wealth?
Wealth, like its corollary knowledge, is not a static quantity, but is potentially limitless. The only limit to one’s wealth, in a capitalist society, is the power of one’s ability to think and produce and the ability of those around him to think and produce. If one wishes for the wealth of all men to increase only one requirement is necessary — freedom.
Doesn’t capitalism “centralize” wealth via inheritance?
As wealth is not a static quantity, to be looted and stolen, the wealth that you can earn is not affected by how much wealth someone else has, creates, or inherits. Since wealth is the result of man’s mind, as long as someone has a mind, and is left free to use it, wealth is his to create.
As the creation of wealth is not automatic, those who cannot manage their wealth, will soon lose it. As evidence of this fact witness what happens when a rich man passes on his money to a worthless heir — the heir soon loses it. Such is the meaning behind the popular American saying, “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.”
0 | inheritance, wealth
What is the source of all wealth?
Wealth is the result of man’s ability to think applied to the sphere of production and trade. Reason, ultimately, is the source of all wealth. As capitalism is the only social system that on principle leaves man free to think, capitalism is only system of wealth creation.
What’s the difference between paper wealth and real wealth?
Paper wealth is only of value if it can be used to purchase real wealth. Real wealth is something of value that helps you support your life, i.e., food, housing, Atlas Shrugged, etc.
