Shibumi:
Excellent and clear points. Great refocusing.
I hate being compared to Obama. . .but. . .
I never mention any "liberal" commentators because they are not "known" names. Currently, the so-called "new media" is all Right-wing commentators, the worst of which are Coulter and Limbaugh. When I mention them, I intend in no way to suggest that I endorse anyone of any ideology using distortions and such in their discourse. Just as any commentary on Bush is not an implicit endorsement of Clinton. I deplore the actions of both.
Now, it is absolutely clear from the record of history than any "theory" based in idealistic or Utopian thought is a failure in practice, as you noted. Socialism, Communism, et al, have no hope of success in action. To me, it is also a fact supported by history that the best possible human system is a foundation in free market ideology (because I believe in the "free," but am less enamored with the "market") with a minimum of socialism (and I mean a MINIMUM) as a moral barometer for the inherent dangers with a truly free market (anything from child pornography and snuff films to crack and heroine have "markets," thus would flourish, even more than they do, without some moral component such as social law to manage the abuse of such a system).
Blind ideological adherence to ANYTHING leads to corruption. Healthy and reasoned skepticism is our only hope for success�or at least a limiting of failure.
I happen to think we are ALL over-taxed; I happen to think government is far too large and intrusive (thus I find the Libertarian perspective seductive, but as you noted, it fails in practice because it is essentially idealistic).
However, I cannot accept as fact part of this premise: "capitalism at its core attempts to create a system which has as its foundation the fundamental nature of human beings." The fundamental nature of human beings is not provable from any perspective. It is like other issues of ontology�great to debate, but impossible to prove.
I would argue that Capitalism feeds INTO the very worst parts of human nature. The accumulation of wealth, capital, and material things is seductive and corrupting. The Free Market beast needs for each of us to be "gi'me gi'me" creatures with little regard for our fellow humans. It takes the best parts of our human nature to pull back from the seduction of wealth and to value all that is not arbitrarily valued in our society.
In fact, part of the American psychosis is that we fail to address the inherent contradiction between our professed belief in Capitalism and our claimed faith in Christian principles. Takes some mighty intense metal gymnastics to make those things mesh.
Contemporary Americans are DEEPLY imprinted by behavioristic assumptions about human nature (that DO match the Christian claim of Original Sin), but I am little convinced that these assumptions are human nature. I lean toward Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in my trust that human nature is far better than we often claim. . .
