COMMENTARY | According to ABC News, the political party of staunch capitalist principles is, ironically, forced to debate those principles during this 2012 election cycle.
This is because the Republican frontrunner, Mitt Romney, is a wealthy former CEO whose gaffes have made him appear out-of-touch with ordinary Americans. His fellow conservatives, therefore, are going where they smell blood in the water: Romney's biggest weakness is his past as a venture capitalist, seen by many voters as a Wall Street stooge in a fancy suit.
Capitalism and free enterprise are diverse concepts, ranging from lone entrepreneurs to vast corporations. As a high-school social studies teacher, I am currently teaching a batch of sophomores about the Industrial Revolution and the development of Industrial Capitalism. Back then, capitalism wasn't so rosy: Free enterprise primarily benefited only those who were lucky enough to get into industrialization first. For decades everyone else toiled with few workers' rights and protections. The most vociferous capitalists today would have a hard time defending the "Lord of the Flies" capitalism of the 19th century.
While it's easy to hate big corporations and link them to Industrial Revolution and Gilded Age excesses, particularly the "robber barons" who controlled monopolies, it's hard to be down on small businesses. Everyone is supposed to love small businesses and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are the link between free market capitalism and liberal populism: The entrepreneur is championed as the common man who uses the principles and lessons from the wealthy and established to make his own way and become successful.
By arguing conservatism through the lens of entrepreneurship and supporting small businesses Republicans can avoid looking like fat cat capitalists. Which explains why, right now, Mitt Romney's fellow Republican candidates are attacking his big-money past at Bain Capital. Romney is a true capitalist but, according to competitors like Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, is one of the wrong variety.
A small business that operate ruthlessly and is draconian in its pursuit of profit is smiled upon by society, but a big corporation that does the same is not. Unfair? Yes. Unexpected? No. Socially, we must support the common man. Appearing elitist is considered taboo, even for conservatives with Ivy League backgrounds. Though attacking a fellow Republican for being a capitalist success story may seem ironic, it's not against social norms...so expect the practice to continue.
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