Individual Liberty — Individual Responsibility 

The Dalai Lama misses the point

I was reading AllahPundit’s article about the Dalai Lama’s statement that he’s a Marxist and something bothered me about it. Here’s what the Dalai Lama had to say…

“(Marxism has) moral ethics, whereas capitalism is only how to make profits,” the Dalai Lama, 74, said.

He went on to remark how Capitalism had raised the standard of living in China while pure Marxism had not, crediting Beijing’s embrace of market economics for breaking the iron fist of communism. In other words, he acknowledged that the philosophy with “moral ethics” left the people impoverished while the urge for profits had raised the standard of living for most Chinese.

At first you would think that the Dalai Lama is starting to get senile at 74 based on these statements. Either Marxism (communism) is morally superior to capitalism and should result in a better society and standard of living for its people or capitalism is morally superior because it results in a better society and standard of living.

I think the Dalai Lama is simply wrong.

Marxism has the appearance of moral ethics – it doesn’t actually have them. Neither for that matter does capitalism. Both systems by themselves produce “social injustice”. Marxism does this by punishing the innovators and entrepreneurs and capitalism does it by ignoring the downtrodden and the weak. Neither system by itself is ideal. Nor is a mix of the two such as we have today.

In fact, a mix of the two is ultimately just as bad, because it pits the “haves” and the “have nots” against one another. It punishes those factors that result in success under capitalism and rewards those that lead to failure and ruin. Ultimately it will have to collapse into chaos as we see in Greece, or destruction.

People have argued that the United States was founded as a capitalist nation. That’s simply not true. Nowhere in our founding documents do you find a mandate for capitalism. What you do find is a mandate for Liberty, and Independence. You find protection for the rights of the individual, particularly for the right of the individual to recognize and honor his Creator. Throughout the writings of the founders you will find statements that a virtuous and faithful people are fundamental to the success of a republic such as ours.

The founders recognized what the Dalai Lama, the Chinese government, and the political left do not. Capitalism by itself is morally bankrupt but liberty and a free commerce coupled with Judeo-Christian ethics and faith is a path to both prosperity and social justice – without coercion. And THAT is the system that they left to us. That’s also the system that the “social progressives” have willfully abandoned in our name.

Marxism uses the force of government to take from those that have to give to those that will not produce. Capitalism ignores the plight of those stricken by misfortune because it will not reward failure. Both of these are evils. Judeo-Christian faith produces voluntary sharing of accumulated wealth with those in actual need. That is true moral ethics.

It is not moral to reach into your neighbors pocket to give to the downtrodden. It is moral to reach into your own pocket to give to the downtrodden. Punishing success will ultimately have the affect of causing less success. Rewarding failure will ultimately have the affect of producing more failure.

The Dalai Lama and other leftists miss the point. What makes a great society isn’t Marxism or capitalism. It’s faith in God, coupled with the liberty to do His will that makes a man, or a nation, great. Isn’t it strange that a “religious leader” would miss the point so badly.