On Wealth
Food and water are essential for survival. Shelter and means of protection come second in importance, but vital nonetheless. Medical treatment is certainly important for long life. Beyond this, the question is less one of survival, and more of quality: education, electricity, air conditioning, vehicles, restaurants and video games.
Each and every one of these things, vital to life or not, must be earned—either by the person benefitting, or by a generous giver. By this fact of nature, mankind labors in order to gain wealth; in order that we may achieve our own desired levels of comfort.
But through the science of economics we learn that much greater wealth can be earned if we specialize in a skill and trade our product for that of another. And by this, it so happens that the more a person can meet the needs of his fellows, the more wealth he can gain.
I am a strong believer in the Capitalist economic system, in which individuals are free to create and exchange, and values are determined by the relevant parties. It is only through a system such as this that every individual is given the same chance at unlimited economic achievement; that the needs of society are met with efficiency, and without the coercive hand of government; and that all members of society benefit from created wealth, either directly or indirectly.
The drawback of a free-enterprise system is economic inequality, in much the same way as a race ends with different outcomes—people who are free to act will necessarily make different decisions. But as free competition in the marketplace rewards productive choices, and increases innovation, quality and accessibility, I believe it to be the only practical and ethical system.
