To the Editor:

There are those who complain about capitalism yet they do not offer an alternative to capitalism.

The claim that workers create wealth is a bit farfetched. If workers created wealth then each and every one of them would be well-off, if not millionaires! As we know this is not the case. Workers must have skills that are in demand by businesses. If they wish to change their income level they must have the higher skills required by businesses. If they do not have higher skills they must have a bargaining organization that is allowed by law. Or finally they must become an entrepreneur.

In any economic system since it is not the worker who creates wealth, the question is then who does. In the communist/socialist system it is the government because they own all the property –  real and personal; in the capitalist system it is the entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur creates wealth by his/her willingness to take risk, organize, manage the business, hire workers, manage the workers and supervise the workers. The workers contribute to the creation of wealth as they work for an entrepreneur who has allowed them to assist in the operation of the business. Without the clerical staff, nurses, and clinical technicians, a doctor’s office would be limited to the number of customers/patients they could serve.

If capitalism is such a flawed system, why are so many other economic systems incorporating capitalism into their economic system? Both China and Russia, which are basically communist economic systems, have integrated capitalism. Not only has capitalism increased the wealth of these nations, it has made their populations more productive.

Do I work for wages or do I become an entrepreneur; do I work for the least wage offered or do I improve my skill-set so that I can earn higher wages.

Not realized by most people is that the majority of the profits earned by a business are reinvested in the business. The reinvestment of profits allows the entrepreneur to grow the business. By growing a business the entrepreneur is able to hire more workers. Profits may very well be evil to some but they are the funds that allow an economy, be it capitalist, socialist, or communist, to expand putting more of the population to work! Multination corporations have become multinational by reinvesting their profits in the corporation.

For those of you that believe that capitalism is a flawed system, just what economic system would you install? Would it be communist, socialist, or a combined economic system? You must realize that all economic systems have flaws and the flaws of communism or socialism far exceed any flaws that you many find within capitalism!

Ray Shamlin

Rocky Mount