Photo by OsakaWayne Studios Getty Images
Critics allege that capitalism causes spiritual poverty. They misunderstand the proper role of an economic system.
Critics once argued that capitalism bred poverty and squalor. As that critique ran up against reality, intellectuals pivoted to attack the supposed spiritual poverty of capitalism, which they claim is alienating us from one another and from nature.
In “The Permanent Problem,” Brink Lindsey contends that capitalism has “delivered” in providing mass abundance, but now that “the task is to convert material plenty into widespread spiritual riches, it is floundering.” It has isolated us and attached us to an impersonal and degrading consumer market. The solution, the author suggests, is to foster small, independent communities that produce more of their own goods. It is a drearier and less-plausible dream than Mr. Lindsey admits.
Continue reading the entire piece at the Wall Street Journal (paywall)
______________________
Judge Glock is the director of research and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor at City Journal.