[Flame Of Liberty]

Here is a a good article (and even better book) for those of you who believe in evil capitalism, glory of collectivism, for those who have been told myriads of economic and historical myths (Great Depression and FDR, etc.) and still believe them:

The title of the book may initially seem to be an exercise in hyperbole, but such is not the case. How Capitalism Saved America is indeed the untold history of our country. After a brief introduction and two very crucial introductory chapters on the nature of capitalism and the perpetrators of anticapitalism, DiLorenzo takes us through nine chapters of American history — from the Pilgrims to the recent California energy "crisis" — and shows "how, from the very beginning, capitalism has been vital to America's growth, and how excessive government interference in the economy has only exacerbated economic problems and stifled growth."

Because it was Marx himself who coined the term, it is no surprise that capitalism has been falsely thought to benefit only capitalists and the rich while exploiting workers and the poor. DiLorenzo dismisses as Marxist propaganda the idea that capitalism is "a zero-sum game in which 'somebody wins, somebody loses.'" Instead, "Capitalism succeeds precisely because free exchange is mutually advantageous." And not only does it succeed, it is "the source of civilizations and human progress." Capitalism has "brought to the masses products and services that were once considered luxuries available only to the rich." Capitalism is not only "the best-known source of upward economic mobility," it "actually reduces income inequalities within a nation." In short, capitalism alleviates poverty, raises living standards, expands economic opportunity, and enables scores of millions to live longer, healthier, and more peaceful lives.

The author spares no one in showing the tremendous anticapitalist bias in existence today: the entertainment industry, universities, intellectuals, private foundations, journalists, radio and television personalities, columnists, government regulators and agencies, environmentalists, politicians, egalitarians, ministers, priests, religious leaders. Indeed, even "most businesspeople are not even capitalists." DiLorenzo indicts large corporations, not because they are large or because they are corporations, but because "many corporations support interventionist or anticapitalist policies like trade protectionism or corporate welfare because they hope to benefit from the policies at everyone else's expense."

One of the most common objections to the ideal of a free society based completely on private property is the matter of transportation-railroads, canals, and roads. In "Highways of Capitalism" DiLorenzo tackles this concern head on and destroys the myths of the "free-rider" and "eminent domain" problems. The fact is "most roads and canals were privately financed in the nineteenth century." Because economics is the main decision-making criterion in private road building and politics is the main decision-making criterion in government road building, "private road building is inherently more efficient than government-run road building." DiLorenzo labels the calls for tax-funded transportation projects for what they are: "corporate welfare."

An even bigger myth than the cause of and remedy for the Great Depression is that FDR's economic policies got us out of the Great Depression. DiLorenzo calls this the "biggest economic myth of the twentieth century," and appropriately makes "How the New Deal Crippled Capitalism" his longest chapter. Roosevelt's grasp of economics was even less than that of Hoover. Because he believed that low prices caused the Depression, FDR paid farmers to burn their crops and slaughter their livestock. This was followed by paying farmers not to grow crops or raise livestock. Roosevelt's alphabet soup of new federal programs and agencies (NRA, NIRA, AAA, CCC, WPA, TVA, Social Security, Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, etc.) destroyed jobs and hindered recovery.

What They Won't Tell You About Capitalism