Is capitalism a coercive system that creates poverty, as a recent op-ed in the Washington Post argued, or is it a system of voluntary exchange that has led to the greatest reduction in poverty the world has ever seen?
According to the article, “capitalism is a coercive economic system that creates persistent patterns of economic deprivation,” and should be altered through the introduction of a universal basic income. While a guaranteed income is an interesting policy proposal with pros and cons, the article’s claims that capitalism is coercive and creates economic deprivation are both unfounded.
First, let us consider whether capitalism is “coercive.” The author writes,
The only way to break the coercion at the core of the employment relationship is to give people the genuine ability to say no to their employers. And the only way to make that feasible is to guarantee that [they] have some way to support themselves whether they work or not.
Of course, people already possess the genuine ability to say no to their employers. In the United States alone, around 2 million people voluntarily leave their jobs every month—and that’s despite a lackluster economy. Employees in a capitalist system choose to engage in a relationship of mutually beneficial exchange. Employers recognize this and companies compete to become more attractive as workplaces. According to Gallup, the majority of Americans are satisfied with most aspects of their workplace—particularly with their job security, the flexibility of their schedules, and with their immediate supervisors.
Second, let us examine the article’s claim that capitalism creates economic deprivation. According to the author, capitalism harms both workers and those who cannot work. If that is so, can the author, or anyone else for that matter, point to a time in history when the vulnerable were better off? In many ways, today’s poor live better than the kings of yesteryear.
Over the last few decades, infant and child mortality have been drastically reduced, lifespans are at an all-time high, fewer people are undernourished, educational attainment is growing, gender inequality is decreasing, and access to technology is expanding.
Free enterprise and innovation have done more to uplift humanity from a state of universal poverty than any international aid program or welfare scheme. Capitalism, far from being a cause of poverty, is the reason that there is enough wealth today to even contemplate a proposal like a universal basic income.