Free Enterprise

Free enterprise and capitalism are not concepts or philosophies, or even "ism's" like the others (communism, fascism, socialism, nazism, etc). Free enterprise and "capitalism" are how people naturally interact with each other when allowed the opportunity to do so. The others are constructs that are forced on people.

Free enterprise and capitalism are NOT synonymous with greed and exploitation etc. Greed and exploitation are human conditions. For instance, the most oppressive and exploitive regimes in the history of the world have been communist.

Which brings me to religion. While not religious myself, I've grown weary of the propensity these days to blame religion for everything. Religion didn't commit all these sins against man and nature, humans did. Whether religion or communism or capitalism is employed as the "cover", exploitive acts are always committed by humans. To "blame" one construct or another implies that these would not have taken place without the existence of that construct. I just don't think that's true.

In my opinion, free trade and "capitalism" with an emphasis on family and education are the keys to successfully mitigating the "bad apples" that use whatever construct works for them to exploit others.

I also believe that religious belief (in whatever form) and faith was instrumental in the advancement of the world. Otherwise, what poor dope would ever have gotten onto a little wooden boat (whether in Fiji or Portugal) and set off into the unknown?

While I'm at it, it's also fashionable these days to knock corporations. Well, I believe the notion of pooling resources and sharing risk while limiting liability (a corporation) is the greatest single innovation in the history of human development. From Marco Polo Caravans to Dutch trading ships, these efforts led to the development of the modern world. And make no mistake, we enjoy the highest standard of living the world has ever known.

My greater point is that ANY organization (religion, government, corporation) is susceptible to abuse. Our best chance to realize the benefits of these organizations and mitigate the problems is, again, freedom of choice, a skeptical eye toward our "leaders" and an emphasis on family and education.