Wanted: A More Just System of Capitalism

I am a firm believer in capitalism, but I don't believe in a capitalist system where some are so rich, their net worth is even more than the GDP of some nation-states, whereas so many others are so poor that their very survival is threatened by poverty. I want a capitalist system in which people can still become wealthy, but where even the poorest of people still have the right to a decent home, a good education, enough food to eat and access to adequate health care. These are rights that I think are just as important as the right to free speech, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, if not more so. Indeed, what good is having the right to speak your mind or worship freely when you're so poor that you can't even feed yourself? 

The unapologetic capitalists out there would probably answer my question by saying that in a capitalist system, all people, including the poorest of the poor, can become rich and powerful if they just work hard enough. So all it takes is hard work, right? I wish it were that simple, but the fact of the matter is that there are many people in this world who work hard but still struggle to provide for themselves and their families, while at the same time there are rich people who barely lift a finger yet still enjoy a luxurious lifestyle. If all it took to become rich was to work hard, then most of the people slaving in minimum wage jobs today would be millionaires.

Now of course, I'm not saying that hard work can't lead to riches. It does in many cases. History is full of so-called "rags to riches" stories about people who started off with next to nothing and eventually became rich beyond their wildest dreams. The problem is that devout capitalists assume that it's in the power of everyone to do this when in fact it isn't. Not everyone can become the next Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Richard Branson. The reality is that some people are just more talented and innovative than others. But does that mean that those who don't have the brains and the talents of today's rich and powerful should be condemned to poverty? Certainly not. The average person should still be able to at least put food on his table and a roof over his head.

Capitalism has always been under threat because it leaves so many people with too little to live a dignified and fruitful existence. It has only survived this long because some of our leaders fortunately realized that they needed to lend a hand to those whose boats didn't rise with the capitalist tide that was supposed to lift them. This explains in part how the modern social safety net - things like unemployment insurance, socialized medicine and free primary and secondary education - took shape. Improving and expanding this social safety net so that those who have less can still feed, clothe and house themselves is essential for the future survival of capitalism. But lately, the opposite has been happening. Instead of expanding and improving social programs, compassion-less governments, like that of U.S. President Donald Trump, are eroding the social safety net. In my opinion, it's like they're digging their own graves, because once capitalism leaves too many people behind, those people will inevitably revolt and capitalism will be overthrown along with its biggest beneficiaries.