Capitalism?

Question

I thought that this country could not establish a national religion. Isn't that exactly what they've done with capitalism? Capitalism is a religion. Its God is Money. It is particularly nasty. It disregards this planet and all its inhabitants in the name of its god. Even our government officials are doing its bidding. When will we see that as a people? This is still our country and something has to be done.

“Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless... the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is [now] while our rulers are honest, and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going downhill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion.”
-- Thomas Jefferson in “Notes on the State of Virginia”, Query 17, p. 161, 1784.

Answer 1

The national religion is materialism and celebrity worship.

Answer 2

Religion, by legal definition, deals with questions of spiritual belief and the relationship between people and the universe.

Contrary to common practice, religion does not have anything to do with who owns what property.

Capitalism is an economic model that promotes private ownership of property, with varying degrees of govt regulation over commercial activity.

While people may get fanatic about that in the same way they get fanatic about religion, the same can be said for politics and sports. However, none of those are religious activities.

Answer 3

Capitalism is the free exchange of goods and services. It just also happens to be the freest and most efficient way to distribute resources to the most people.

You don't have to love money to be a capitalist. You don't have to be rich to be a capitalist. All you need to believe is that the government has no business interfering in the private financial contracts of consenting adults, just like the government has no business interfering in what other things consenting adults want to do, like having sex or doing drugs.

Many capitalists want to be rich, but if they're truly proponents of the free market, then they won't ask for handouts if they fail. See, that's the other side of the capitalist coin. Yeah, if you make a lot of money, you don't have to share your money with anybody else, but if you fail, nobody will be there to pick you up. It's honest in that way.

Now explain to me how communism/socialism isn't just as (if not more) greedy. They want to take property that belongs to others and redistribute that wealth to themselves. They want safety nets so that they can be taken care of like children in case they fail at life. They sound like a bunch of losers who can't move out of their mothers' basements.

Answer 4

Uh. Capitalism is not a religion.

Answer 5

There will always be rich and there will always be poor.With capitalism you will have less poor.