By Chris Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor
Sometimes it takes drinking a beer in Scotland to realize that
capitalism isn’t for everybody.
While in Scotland, I enjoyed a freshly drawn Guiness Stout with
a copy of Marx’s Communist Manifesto in a small pub. To be honest,
I felt a little guilty and un-American purchasing the text. Just
mentioning the former Soviet Union stirs images of huddled masses
anxiously waiting in line for one-ply toilet paper guaranteed to
tear upon first wipe.
Compared to these horrific images, capitalistic America seems
great.
But values in America have evolved. The biggest concern in
America is no longer political or religious freedom. The value that
Americans have placed above all else is the freedom to make a
dollar.
One might argue that there is nothing wrong with economic
freedom and that government regulates corporate America enough to
prevent capitalism from crushing small business. I agree to an
extent.
However, there is a distinction between realizing economic
freedom and valuing the pursuit of the dollar over anything
else.
The media is being adversely affected by capitalism. Those in
control of the media are not motivated primarily by truth or what
might be considered good old American family values, but instead by
what brings in the most cash.
The art world is also suffering from the effects of capitalism.
Good art is not necessarily defined by its aesthetic or creative
value. Instead, the market that exists for the art decides.
Some argue the market naturally selects which art is good
because the public will only buy what it likes, and whatever the
public likes is good art. Although there is some truth to this
populist argument, it is a hard pill to swallow when shows like
Beavis and Butthead are so popular.
And, at the same time, funding for the National Endowment for
the Arts is being decreased.
Something is wrong with America today. If Americans don’t start
realizing that earning more money cannot be the highest value in
any utopian society, this great democratic social experiment will
not work.
But that’s all right – the beer is good in Scotland, my passport
hasn’t expired yet and the Atlantic Ocean flows both ways.