If we do not agree on the meaning of words, we can never agree on anything. Dictionaries can be very helpful in this regard.
The recent election led me to the conclusion that a majority of Americans do not understand that free enterprise causes social justice. So let’s break it down. All definitions below come from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New College Edition, 1980.
Free. 1. At liberty; not bound or constrained. 2. Discharged from arrest or detention. 3. Not under obligation or necessity. 4.a. Politically independent. b. Governed by consent and possessing civil liberties. c. Immune to arbitrary interference by government or others.
Consent. 1. To give assent; accede; agree. 2. To agree in opinion; be of the same mind.
Assent. 1. Voluntary acceptance or allowance of what is planned or done by another; permission.
Enterprise. 1. An undertaking, especially one of some scope, complication, and risk. 2. A business. 3. Industrious effort, especially when directed toward making money. 4. Readiness to venture; boldness; initiative.
Price. 1. The sum of money or goods asked or given for something. 2. The cost at which something is obtained.
Social. 1.a. Living together in communities. b. Characterizing such communal living. c. Of or pertaining to society. 2. Living in an organized group or similar close aggregate. 3. Involving allies of members of a confederacy. 4. Of or pertaining to the upper classes. 5. Fond of the company of others. 6. Intended for convivial activities. 7. Pertaining to or occupied with welfare work.
Welfare. 1. a. Health, happiness, and general well-being.
Justice. 1. Moral rightness, equity. 2. Honor; fairness. 3. Good reason. 4. Fair handling; due reward or treatment. 5. The administration and procedure of law. 6. A judge. 7. A justice of the peace.
Moral. 1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character; pertaining to the discernment of good and evil. 2. Designed to teach goodness, or correctness of character and behavior; instructive of what is good and bad. 3. Being or acting in accordance with standards and precepts of goodness or with established codes of behavior.
Good. 1. Having positive or desirable qualities; not bad or poor. 2. Serving the end desired; suitable; serviceable.
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To summarize, a voluntary, agreement based transaction, is the basis for forming orderly communities that maximize fairness, goodness, welfare, and efficacy.
No alternate construct does this.
This system regulates and balances itself, encourages creativity, rewards efficiency, conserves resources, discourages waste, generates wealth, resists corruption, and improves the standard of living for everyone. All attempts to control this system have led to corruptions, dislocations of resources, and false applications of utility.
Somehow, over the past 40 years or so, our educational system failed to teach these basic truths to several generations of Americans who now constitute a ruling majority.
B_Imperial