The Root of All Evil is People

             I’m taking a short winter course on social inequalities, and I noticed that my sociology professor has dogmatic views about capitalism. He bluntly told the class that he is an anti-capitalist and a social democrat when he was not an anarchist. Now, I don’t mind people criticizing capitalism or expressing their beliefs, as I’ve read the works of Karl Marx and others, but I do mind when people don’t tell the whole truth. All the arguments anti-capitalists have about capitalism can also be applied to socialism, communism, etc. As the North Pole asked the South Pole, Do you know what’s the difference between capitalism and communism? The South Pole replied no. The North Pole goes on to say, that in capitalism, man exploits man. In communism, it’s vice versa

As you might have picked out, the story suggests that no matter what system people are organized in, there will be issues of exploitation and that there’s really no moral difference between the two. I’ll add that all the systems brought forth by people will include corruption and the exploitation of others. It’s a moral and ethical dilemma of whether or not capitalism is humane? Moreover, I think economist Milton Friedman does an excellent job expressing his views on this question. 

                People will have their opinions and may not change otherwise, but what science has taught me, is to look at the results instead of people’s good intentions and/or opinions. Opinions only matter to a certain extent until facts override opinions. The great thing about science is that it doesn’t care about your opinions or my opinions, what it cares about is the truth and nothing but the truth. I look at the results and seek to find what system does far less harm to people. Almost anyone can make arguments that look reasonable and appealing, such as when there’s this rhetoric that all the wars were because of religion. This belief may lead others to believe it and blame religion as the issue or as the root of all evil. But I question the legitimacy of that argument, as I ask myself further if that is true? It is only half the truth. What they don’t tell you is that many religious beliefs and traditional doctrines have brought people closer together and prevented wars. In other words, it is easy to blame or point the finger at something that seems obvious, but in reality, it is much more complex than what a simple quote would have you to presume.

Comedian Eddie Griffin has this great joke that says, “The Christians say Jesus is the messenger, The Muslims say it’s Muhammed. I’d say who gives a fuck who the messenger is, did you get the message?” If you observe carefully, you will find that nothing is as simple as it may appear. Religion has its wars and peaceful history. I look at the messages passed down by Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc. You don’t have to entirely agree with their message or agree to follow a particular religion, but there may be things there that are valuable, as I find that there is wisdom.

              One can look at the political divide in the United States, where you have the left and the right. Both of these political ideologies have their extremists and we can very well see what these far-right, or far-left extremists are capable of, as the raid of the capitol shows us. They throw away the idea of morality and will cause harm to others for their own political agenda. Not all Trump supporters are bad, but few of them will hurt others for the sake of their beliefs. The same argument could be made to the other side, towards the democrats and the far left. I choose not to subscribe to any side because I see the way people become corrupted and blinded by these views. There’s also another saying that I question, I would hear people say “Money is the root of all evil.” Really? Is money really the root of all evil? Again, to me, this is only a half-truth because what is really the root of all evil is people. Money has no moral or immoral quality, it is only that we project these values onto money and give it its power. Indeed, money is a useful tool, as well as an abstraction of the measure of wealth. If people recognize that they themselves are the root of all evil, then perhaps, man would not exploit others, people would take responsibility, and the world would be a better place.