The Capitalism Site
Laissez-faire capitalism is the political economic system based on individual rights
No. Capitalism is the moral system, since it is the only system that allows man to be virtuous — to pursue the good — by leaving him free to act by the use of his reason. Freedom to act is a precondition of morality. This is Capitalism’s moral justification.
No. As a secondary effect of allowing the creators and innovators of society freedom to create and produce, laissez-faire results in a society where progress is the norm, and the standard of living continuously rises. That capitalism serves the “public good” (properly defined as the sum of the good of all individuals) is true, though this is not its moral justification but is merely an effect of its cause: freeing the individual from the mediocrity of the collective, to live his own life as an end to himself.
Politics is not a self-evident primary. Politics is the result of the application of ethics to social issues. One’s politics depends on the more fundamental branch of philosophy called ethics (the branch of philosophy that helps man answer the question: what should I do?); and one’s ethics depends on the even more fundamental branch of philosophy known as metaphysics (metaphysics refers to the branch of philosophy that studies the universe; it asks: where am I?) and epistemology (the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and means of human knowledge; it asks: how do I know it?).
In other words ones view of what is the proper social system for men to live together in, depends on how one views man, and how he grasps the world he lives in — that is on one’s philosophy.
If a man’s basic philosophy is based on the idea that he lives in a world of miracles, where truth is a matter of revelation, and morality means sacrificing himself for the good of others, his politics will be very different from someone who thinks he lives in a world of cause and effect, that he can understand by the proper use of his mind, in order to achieve happiness.
To concretize this point, observe that if your philosophy is that of a Christian fundamentalist you believe that abortion is murder: a fetus has the right to live in a woman’s body irrespective of the woman’s thoughts on the subject. Life comes from God, and what God giveth let no man take away. If you are an Objectivist, abortion is an inalienable right, since the woman is an actual being — whose body belongs to her — and the fetus is a potential being — a part of the woman’s body — to be disposed of as the woman pleases. In other words, ones philosophical premises shape and determine ones political views.
Politics is an inseparable “branch” of the “tree” of philosophy. Separate a fruitful branch from the tree of a proper philosophy, and attempt to graft it onto dead, rotting oak that branch will wither, crumble, and die.
Capitalism is a political system that if based upon the wrong philosophical base, is like a towering skyscraper, built on a foundation of quicksand. That is what philosophy has to do with capitalism.
Suggested reading:
What Philosophy Is, and How to Study It by Leonard Peikoff
Web sites:
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Rights are not merely political principles, but they are principles that form the bridge between individual morality (ethics) and the moral principles governing society (politics). Rights say that morally certain actions are right, and all other actions that forcibly interfere with those actions are wrong.
Capitalism Magazine