Read David Brooks's recent New York Times column defending capitalism
here.
Read Katrina vanden Heuvel’s recent Washington Post column on capitalism
here.
Yanis Varoufakis explains why he became an “eratic Marxist”
here.
Arthur Brooks talks about capitalism as a force that has lifted 2 billion people out of poverty. According to
Pew Reasearch, over 700 million people moved out of poverty from 2001-2011, mainly in China, South America and Eastern Europe. On the other hand, the middle class has hardly expanded in places like India, Africa, and Central America.
Katrina vanden Heuvel talks about social mobility in Canada compared to the United States. According to
Maclean’s Magazine, Canada is one of the most socially mobile countries in the world. In the US, upward economic mobility
has been declining since the 1940’s. In that decade, more than 90 percent of Americans went on to earn more than their parents. Today, that number has dropped to 50 percent.
David Brooks talks about being a socialist in college, and participating in a debate with Milton Friedman at the age of 21. You can watch that exchange
here.
Do the rich really pay less taxes? For the first time in recent memory, the 400 wealthiest Americans pay a lower total tax rate than any other income group. Their tax rate has been steadily
decreasing since 1950.
David Brooks talks about Scandinavia having some of the world’s freest economies. They have no wealth tax, no inheritance tax, a low corporate tax, and no minimum wage laws.
Here is a look at how countries like Sweden reformed their economies in the 1990’s, introducing greater deregulation and privatization into the market, while simultaneously establishing a flourishing economy with high social support.