Kyle Buckman
Ms. Caspari
College English
17 December 2014
Capitalism Works Imagine a life world without cell phones, or cars, or the Internet. Sounds like a caveman society, right? If you’re wondering, the people who invented all of these are called entrepreneurs, and the only reason they were able to go out and create these was because they had ambitions and they lived in a Capitalist country. Otherwise, these people would have been thrown in with the rest of the “normal” society and none of these inventions would have ever prospered, or even been thought of. For this reason, capitalism is the World’s best economic system and a pivotal reason to America’s long-lasting success. In a capitalist country, the market is fair and open, unlike other economic systems where the government controls everything. Businesses can make their own decisions and choose their line of business without any government interference. A person who can make their own business decisions is going to be much more motivated than a person who is assigned a position and told exactly what they have to do (“Capitalism”). According to Andrew Walter, “‘Businesses thrive when people have a personal interest in their work’” (“Capitalism”). This meaning that a person working for a business of their choice is going to work much harder and diligently than someone assigned a position for a business in which they have no interest in. Having a reason to want to succeed gives an individual a reason to succeed, which in turn helps the economy grow. In a fair and open market, people with the most creative ideas and plans will be rewarded, and those with no motivation will fall behind (“Capitalism”). Using a capitalist economy also limits the power of the government. Governments run essentially everything in socialist and communist economies and don’t allow people to work and earn to their full potential. The government sets prices on products, and the idea of individual or corporate profits are unheard of. In free market economies, however, “‘Businesses succeed and fail based on how well, compared to other businesses, they produce their goods, price their merchandise, invent profitable modifications to production, and market their products’” (“Capitalism”). Without any competition, things would stay the same and nobody would feel the need to design or create anything new. Anybody with ambitions and motivation to succeed can succeed, because everybody has the same opportunities. A person with absolutely nothing at all can prosper if they set their mind to it. Trung Dung, a man who came from a poor Vietnamese family and who fished for a living, came to America with wide eyes, earned a college degree and eventually started up his own company (Rather 315). Dung states, “‘the important thing is how do you recover from the mishaps. There’s always more opportunity. There’s never a lack of opportunity. That’s what I love about this country. So many opportunities (316). Dung not only was born into poverty, but also was born poor in a completely different country; a country that did not have the best relations with America, yet he still lived the American Dream! In “From Ragged Dick,” the protagonist, Richard Hunter, is a poor man looking for a job in New York City. While on a ferry, he saves a little boy from drowning, and to repay Richard, the son’s father gives Richard a high paying job (Alger 297-302). Even though Richard was a poor man, he was still a good person and was rewarded for his good deed and evidentially got out of poverty. This is an example that being poor does not mean that you do