Dear Friends,
It seems to me that the Capitalists Prayer sums up my thoughts about the role of the Market System in society. The Capitalist prayer is:
“Lord God… I pray that somehow and in some way, I improve the lot of all of humanity, and that my life be a blessing on mankind forever… Amen”
Prior to the advent of the Market System all of humanity lived under some form of the feudal system. (A large portion on Mankind still does). This is a system of government where your prospects for life is determined by your birth. If you were born to a peasant then you would inevitable be a peasant, if you were born a serf then you would grow up to be a serf, there is no class mobility.
Another attribute of the feudal system is that it stagnates the wealth and growth of a society, unless there is some external source of food, ie, a wealthy capitalist society. This stagnation is because there is no incentive for individuals to innovate. Innovation under the feudal system can lead to the death of the innovator for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that the aristocracy are very jealous of their power and position which is backed up by a quick temper and willingness to kill any offender.
So prayers under a feudal system will naturally dwell in pleadings to God for benevolent rulers and favorable harvests because these are the things that have a direct impact on the lives of people under such a system. Improving the lot of others while your personal lot is so bad is unthinkable.
But under a Market System not only is there constant motivation to innovate in every way but there is, inherent in a market based society, class mobility. A person raised in an orphanage can become wealthy enough to save the US stock exchange almost single handedly. A person can go from the lowest rung in society to the highest, in his or her lifetime, as long as they keep the Capitalist Prayer in mind.
Not only for the class mobility that a Market System provides, but as was first proposed by Voltaire, toleration. Toleration of others is a natural effect of a Market System. As I have used the Couch salesman as a example before I will use it here. The couch salesman doesn’t care who buys his couches. He is indiffrent if the buyer is a different race, religion, sexual orientation or sex. His primary consideration, when serving a customer, is whether or not the customer will be able to pay for the sofa. The market system thus teaches the common man toleration.
Voltaire went on to argue that the real question, for or against the Market system, is; equality or abundance? History since his time has proven his hypothesis beyond a doubt. The only way to still hate the Market System is by a blind, ignorant, rage that allows for no argument and will broach no dissention. This bigoted way of looking at the world is counter productive and is the opposite of what the Capitalist Prayer intends and motivates Mankind to do.
The Capitalist Prayer also embodies the dynamism that embodies a true Market System. That dynamism is the Market’s ability to innovate by complex means. The basis of the prayer is a set of instructions to individual actors within a complex system that results in emergent phenomenon, that manifest themselves as a steady improvement in the standard of living, or the material welfare, of Man. This is the mechanism by which the Market System improves the lives of people who participate in it.
The Capitalist prayer shows the underlying nature of Capitalism in many ways. As we have shown here Capitalism and the Market System improves the lot of Man, materially. In his health by producing sufficient food, her welfare is protected under the modern incarnation of welfare state capitalism, his property is protected regardless of his political affiliation, her children have access to a minimum of education (as a necessity element of a modern economy), his old age will not end in a hoodlum killing him and his wife to steal a few dollars and she dies knowing her grand children will live a better life than she was able to.
All these goods are a direct result of the Market System. The best way to create one where you live is to say the Capitalist Prayer every day. It will instill a mode of thinking that will open doors. Walking through them will serve the ends of the Market, to change that which was luxury into necessity and to introduce new luxury to replace the old.
