Goldberg on Capitalism

Jonah Goldberg of National Review is one of my favorite conservative thinkers, and a recent column of his ranks up there in his best work. Here's a bit worth thinking about...

"People ask, “Why is there poverty in the world?” It’s a silly question. Poverty is the default human condition. It is the factory preset of this mortal coil. As individuals and as a species, we are born naked and penniless, bereft of skills or possessions. Likewise, in his civilizational infancy man was poor, in every sense. He lived in ignorance, filth, hunger, and pain, and he died very young, either by violence or disease. The interesting question isn’t “Why is there poverty?” It’s “Why is there wealth?” Or: “Why is there prosperity here but not there?”

The answer is capitalism....and capitalism is something we should be incredibly proud of.