Capitalism is free thought, open discourse, and individualism

"Think for yourself," was something my grandma told me when I was a kid. After mulling those words over and over in my mind the past 30 years, now I'm starting to wonder if they meant more than what they imply on the surface.

Bill O'Reilly, in his May 14, 2014 column"Americans Expensive Indoctrination Camps, said the following:

Universities were once bastions of free thought and open discourse, but that is no longer the case, not if your "free thought" is based on Christian or conservative principles. According to a recent poll by researchers at UCLA, 63% of college professors identify themselves as "liberal" or "far left," while just 12% are "conservative" or "far right." And the imbalance has only been getting worse (or better, depending on your perspective) in recent years. Loons like Ward Churchill used to be the exception, but not any more.

Liberalism is basically a modern spin on old progressivism which was a spin on socialism.  While many of my liberal friends will argue that those are three different things, I would argue that they are all the same in that they all champion for redistribution of wealth, or taking from those who make and distributing it to those who make little.  In essence, that is the same thing.

The idea behind the progressive movement was that experts (mainly liberal experts) in Washington were to decide what's best for you.  The idea behind this was that most people are out for themselves, and left to their own devices would only do things to benefit themselves.  This only generates chaos.  Capitalism, on the other hand, resulted in chaos: you had some people who got rich at the expense of the poor.

The entire premise of socialism/ progressivism/ liberalism is that people are not smart enough, or too selfish, to make decisions that were good for the collective.  Therefore, laws must be enacted, or programs, that nudge them one way or another.  In this way, they lose personal liberties; they lose their natural right to make free individual choices (such as whether or not to purchase healthcare, whether or not to support efforts to decrease carbon emissions).

Socialism/ Progressivism/ Liberalism is based on idealism, where there is an ideal world we yearn for. The ultimate goal is a world that is free from man made pollution, where every person receives equal pay, and everyone has healthcare.  This is a dream goal, and the only way to accomplish it is to make laws, or to somehow nudge people into doing the right thing for the collective.  This system would ultimately lead to an end to chaos.

In other words, the capitalist, or individualist, idea of individualism, or free thought, would have to come to an end.  Every decision you make now should be based on the collective goal of creating this perfect goal.

There is an old adage that young people tend to be more liberal, and as they age they become more conservative.  The reason for this, one my presume, is because as we develop experience we realize that Utopian dreams are not possible; that the best results come from free thought.

It is this, I think, that my grandma was referring to when she said, "Think for yourself."  Capitalism is based on a system of trusting the chaos that results from individualism, or free thought.  The opportunity is always there that you might benefit from your creativity, and this is an incentive to try to make it work.  It is for this reason that capitalism is the greatest economic system ever instigated by any government.

So while schools used to be bastions of "free thought and open discourse," they are now places where liberal experts try to indoctrinate our children. It is at this point in your life that you have to hope that old wisdom is remembered by your children, lest they be indoctrinated.