Amherst professor Richard Wolff, is arguing that capitalism is a failure because events like the housing crisis keep occurring with some regularity. Evil banks are “forcing debt” on more Americans who are downing under their bills. He proposes that we should create low cost “community owned” housing for everyone.
Yes, Richard, because American Express and Discover showed up at your house, put a gun to your head and made you pick up a pen, place the tip of the pen on the cardholder contract, and sign your name to create a legally enforceable agreement. You know, you had absolutely zero choice in the matter yourself.
Nor did you have any choice when you walked into stores and used that line of credit – instead of paying with savings or cash – to buy useless junk that immediately lost value. I mean, you just couldn’t help yourself! The new throw pillows, big screen televisions, cigarettes, and beer were just too much temptation … no one expects you to only buy them if you can afford them, do they? Surely not.
Oh, and when the first statements came and you chose not to pay the balance off in full, that wasn’t your fault, either.
Richard, you are so right. It really is all the big, bad bank’s fault that people find themselves in debt at high interest rates. Free will shouldn’t count for anything after all, and we should all be treated like naughty three year old children who didn’t realize the iron was hot.
But you, daddy, can save us from our own stupidity. Heaven forbid there be consequences for our actions. I mean, I’d like to shove doughnuts in my face all day but then I’d put on weight. Can I complain to God because, if you are to be believed, this is unjust? How dare he create a system where every action leads to a reaction and every cause has an effect!
These wealthy tyrants, making all their money from stocks, bonds, real estate and small businesses … it is all their fault. Even though there is nothing stopping me from investing and owning the same assets they do so I could make money from them (actually, it is easier for me today because on an inflation-adjusted basis the cost of brokerage commissions and investing expenses has fallen by more than 90% in the past 50 years, making it more affordable than ever before to start investing).
But, dammit, Richard, you are just so wise. I shouldn’t have to have any personal responsibility whatsoever. After all, the world owes me the lifestyle I want regardless of my individual choices. Those pesky folks who work for everything they have, live within their means, pay cash, and avoid debt are just keeping their boots on the neck of the “real” Americans. I mean, they all must be miserable anyway, right?
We are going to conveniently sidestep the whole technology productivity increase and say that companies are pocketing all of the savings at the expense of workers. We’ll forget that the cost of everything from clothing to coffee has fallen on an inflation adjusted basis over the past century. We’ll also ignore that the world has changed in such a way that a software developer can work from home with his kids, create a game on the iPhone, and sell 100,000 copies for a $500,000 profit without having any employees.
Sure, I loved the game and he made it but the fact that he doesn’t have any employees (because he doesn’t need them) and all of the profit flows to him is just totally unjustified! He should have just created the game for free. He owes it to society to give up his labor, time, and ideas without getting anything in return for all those years he spent learning his craft. How dare he consider the welfare of his children more important than some kids he’s never met a few thousand miles away? Doesn’t he realize that he can’t work and expect the benefit to go to them only? He shouldn’t show favoritism towards his own family when it comes to food, shelter, clothing and education.
Anyway, all of this is to say, Richard, that I am just overjoyed that people like you are telling the rest of us how the world should be when it comes to living our own lives, managing our own money, choosing our own careers, and deciding how our own family determines its priorities.
Now that you have shown me the error of my ways, I feel so incredibly stupid for having lived within my means all these years so I could afford the lifestyle I want. It is clear to me now I should have just run up massive amounts of consumer debt for worthless crap and then blamed everyone else for it.
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I'm a private investor who loves architecture, furniture, clothes, history, philosophy, books, cooking, and music as much as I do finance. 
