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Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of US Treasury, says, ‘Americans have traditionally been the most enthusiastic champions of capitalism. Yet a recent American public opinion survey found that just 50 percent of people had a positive opinion of capitalism while 40 percent did not. The disillusionment was particularly marked among young people 18-29, African Americans and Hispanics, those with incomes under $30,000 and self-described Democrats‘.
People are not interested in economic theories which support or reject market capitalism or socialism or any other financial system. All they care about is living a decent life. Mr Summers points to 18-29 year old Americans. At that stage they are probably looking for their first break in their adult life, getting a job, a nice car, dating, etc. What do they really care for Keynes or Marx. Some are brilliant researchers and they deserve a chance to show their skills without having to worry about Dow Jones Industrial index affecting their ability to research molecular biology. Some youths require state support to explore their potentials in science, technology and education. They should not have to worry about rising costs of quality education, or sky high price of medical treatment. These are road blocks that pull the intellectual capital of a nation downwards. What needs fixing is not so much those big markets where billions are traded on speculation, but those small real places where people still hold on to the ‘American Dream’. Mr Summers obviously differs with me, “It is not so much the most capitalist parts of the contemporary economy but the least — those concerned with health, education and social protectionthat are in most need of reinvention”, and this could be why capitalism fails to see real people in a real economy.
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