Essay Archive - Capitalism In America
Capitalism In America
"Work hard, save your money, and you can become wealthy - or, at least, "independent!" This is the motto of old-fashioned, "free enterprise." It expresses the idea that everybody in a capitalist society can participate and compete on the same terms with similar chances of success. It implies that the working class is just a collection of individuals who have not yet established their independence (worked their way up) through "individual initiative," rather than a being permanent class.
In the early 19th Century, most Americans (including Abraham Lincoln, for instance) believed this. They thought opportunities unde....
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