I sometimes marvel (and chafe) at the excesses of American consumerism and our Capitalist drive toward bigger, better, and more expensive. I mean, part of me thinks: Couldn't every person in the whole world have proper food, clean water, protective clothing and shelter, if we didn't have a relatively small segment of the global population obsessing over the biggest house, the coolest toy, the shiniest bling, and the swankiest outfit?

But then I keep stepping myself back to look more objectively at how things really are, or more particularly, how humans really are.

I always thought Communism or Socialism looked really good on paper, with each person getting what they need and working as best suits their interests and abilities. From the schematics, it looks like an efficient machine. The problem is that in practical application there must be a governing engine and the cogs don't always want to do what works best for the whole machine. There must be a group at the top who "knows what's best" but they never really do, or power corrupts original intentions and they never achieve fair distribution of labor or goods and services. The real injury beyond failure to provide is the serious curtailing of freedom.

Though on paper Capitalism seems very selfish, advantageous to only the most ambitious, it actually comes closer to achieving the goals of Communism or Socialism, in practical application. And what about Democracy? Democracy and Capitalism must go hand in hand. Without Capitalism, Democracy has no economic structure to support goals of provision. Capitalism must have Democracy because it must have a free (ungoverned) market system.

Flawed as it is, Capitalism works. It works because people are flawed too. Human nature is more often greedy and ambitious, not charitable or fair-minded. It's driven by self-preservation and fear of loss, plus selfish interests in comfort. Although the vast majority of humans might help their brother in need, they are not as likely to help strangers, especially at their own expense. They will give generously only from their excess and Capitalism is all about striving for excess. Capitalism literally capitalizes on human tendencies, making the best of the worst. Oddly enough, I think it really is a case of two wrongs making a right.

I know it sounds a bit like Brave New World, but Captialism and the consumerism upon which it feeds is actually beneficial to mankind. Classic 'planned obsolescence' is a miracle for making last year's goods and services available to the masses. Sure the manufacturers are always changing up their product for more market share and bigger profits. The engineers are doing it to push the technology envelope. But, the end result is that more people in the world can afford a TV, for instance, because there's a market for the latest and greatest out on the leading edge. That leaves the older styles available for everyone else at a lower cost. Jobs are created to make the new toys, but jobs are still there to produce the old ones too, because there's always a lag between invention and market saturation. And by golly as long as there's a market, the capitalists will capitalize on it. The process of acquisition (consumerism) is the actual energy between the poles of supply and demand. It is natural for people to want more, different, and better. Using this drives them to make more, different, and better.

How does this benefit mankind? Let's look at TVs, a seeming luxury, although most of us in the First World cannot fathom life without them. Well, there's more to television than entertainment, it's a communication medium. Even while the entertainment scatters around the world, it builds common ground. That's what communication IS at its base, finding common ground. The more we do that, the more we come to understand each other, the more we can find commonalities to overcome our differences, then the more likely we are to get along with each other. The computer industry and the Internet is the current leading edge of communication. In some ways it's making television obsolete but again that makes television more available, and so on. As the Third World gets wired, they move closer to the First World in knowledge, experience, and opportunity. The playing field may become a bit more level.

I don't think everyone will ever catch up, because the bar is always being raised. But, step by step the whole world is lifted gradually BECAUSE of the excesses of a few, BECAUSE of the drive at the 'top'. Precisely BECAUSE of the avarice and ambition of a minority, the majority can eventually acquire what they need and find work that suits their talents and abilities.

Reagan's Trick-Down Economics caught a lot of flack, but the theory works. Yes, in a perfect world it might be better to distribute wealth and goods differently, but this world is filled with imperfect beings, as part of our individuality. So why not capitalize on that and ultimately make our worst tendencies work for the greater good?