Liberal Capitalism, a Proposal For a New Party

It’s an old joke of mine but the response is, that’s me

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

For years if asked what I am I said jokingly, I’m a liberal capitalist, or Lib Cap. Intended as a joke, the universal response was, surprisingly, that people liked that concept. In other words, rather than laughing they took it semi-seriously.

I’m starting to think more seriously what that phrase might mean. Liberal capitalist. Let’s look at it literally. Liberal implies a belief that government serves a role to help level the playing field for those struggling with the divisions between the haves and have nots. Capitalist implies a fervent belief in the capitalist economic system that enables anyone, in theory, to succeed in a fair system.

In my mind these days, those two goals are not exclusive to each. We can have a government that strives to help those who want to move up while shoring up businesses with a fair playing field that provides a path to both job growth and prosperity.

Its not a message we are seeing from either political party as they stand today. Excessive progressiveness mistrusts capitalism and pushes the socialist idea of a classless society. And classic capitalism has been too willing to look aside as businesspeople ignored civic duty in the name of building wealth. But as a system, it has been spectacularly…