The summer before I came to Ohio University, I worked in a packaging factory for ten dollars an hour. Every morning, I got up at 5:30, drove forty-five minutes to the factory, and loaded 30-pound boxes onto a skid for eight hours. This is where I first understood freedom and capitalism.
Now you might think that I became a capitalist because I wanted to get rich. The guy who owned the factory took four weeks off to go to his vacation home in Michigan, came back for two days, then took three more weeks to go fishing in Wyoming. But he wasn't the one that inspired me. It was forklift driver named Johnny.
Johnny drove the forklift at the plant for eight hours. At the end of the shift, he drove across town and drove another forklift at the UPS center for eight more hours. Everyday. You would consider Johnny to be the typical working stiff.
But Johnny had one goal. He wanted to start his own landscaping business. He wanted to do so because he wanted to be his own boss, set his own hours, and have his own thing. He wanted to determine his own destiny.
The difference between socialism and capitalism goes beyond who controls the assets and who can get rich. In order for socialism to really work, everyone has to be gung ho on the idea of the government running our economy and, in turn, our lives. Everyone has to be a socialist; it's not acceptable to be anything else.
But in a libertarian society, you can do whatever you want with your life. Johnny can work two jobs so he can save for a landscaping business. My buddy Chris can set up network systems. Laura can write Spanish novels. Brandon can start his loan collection agency. Jen can become a Federal judge. Mike and Steve can water ski nine months a year. Amy and Julie can open their own bar, and Cahill can direct snuff films. You don't even have to be a capitalist; you can put on a Che Guevara T-shirt and join the Peace Corps if you want.
But what's the point of having those dreams if can't really pursue them? What's the point of starting a network consulting firm if the government is going to tell you how to run it? How can you water ski whenever you want if the government mandates how many hours you work? Why open a bar when the government decides what you can serve and whether you can smoke? Why pursue your dreams if your dreams are going to be determined by a bureaucrat?
I'll admit that a socialist system won't nationalize the landscaping industry. But it can stop Johnny's dream all the same. He won't be allowed to work two shifts , so he won't be able to save to start his company. Regulations will limit the kinds of lawn mowers he can buy. The government will determine who he has to hire and their wages and benefits. There will be so many rules and requirements that his project will stall -if he ever gets it started.
This is why I'm afraid of socialism. So often I'm told that socialism protects the people who don't want to be capitalists or don't want to compete or can't take care of themselves. What about those of us who want to be capitalists and want to be in business and want to make money? What about the rest of us?
I can name ten more people just from my section of that factory who had an idea or goal they wanted to pursue. Many of my college classmates have said they want to start a business or do some other project on their own. I truly believe most of us want to do our own thing and determine our own destiny. Capitalism is the only way that allows us to pursue happiness in the way we see fit.
-Jack Keating is a senior accounting major. Send him an e-mail at thecincinnatikid3@ohiou.edu.
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Jack Keating
