Speech by
James R. Keena at Walk for Capitalism (Draft)
Good afternoon, fellow Capitalists.
My name is Jim Keena. I’m
an author, a patriot, and a radical for Capitalism.
My novel, Insurrection Resurrection, is a resounding
celebration of capitalism and freedom. It
is a dark satire that features a resurrected Thomas Jefferson leading a radical
reformation of American government consistent with the principles this nation
was founded on. The novel also
satirizes religious fanaticism and the barbaric effect religion has had on the
free exchange of ideas, and therefore on freedom itself, which is a particularly
important lesson, given the events of 9/11.
Today, we celebrate Capitalism, which has been a
spectacular success wherever it has been allowed to flourish. I can spout statistics to prove the stunning ability of
Capitalism to generate abundance and improve humanity’s standard of living
around the globe. But, I’ll let
others do that, because I believe the material effectiveness of Capitalism is so
obvious that it’s not worth wasting time here to affirm it.
There are far more important things to talk about than statistics.
When we celebrate Capitalism, what is it that we are really
honoring? Are we celebrating price
theory, supply and demand, and the profit motive? Perhaps a few economists do handstands over these dry
principles. I believe most
Americans, however, are deeply passionate about the freedom
implicit in Capitalism. Capitalism
is the economic manifestation of the much larger principal of human liberty.
After all, isn’t Capitalism essentially the free movement of labor, the
free movement of prices, and the free movement of capital?
Capitalism is wonderful in its ability to generate abundance and
efficiently allocate resources, but it cannot exist without the freedom
that underlies its market forces.
Let’s explore the essential role of political freedom in
Capitalism further. America is
considered the bastion of world Capitalism, but Thomas Jefferson’s 1776 Declaration
of American Independence was not a Capitalist manifesto.
In fact, what could be called the Capitalist Manifesto of that time was
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, published in Scotland, also in
1776. Jefferson’s Declaration
didn’t set forth new economic theories, but rather defined a much broader set
of political principles. These
principles--sovereignty of the individual, constitutionally limited government,
and inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—were the
universal prerequisites that Adam Smith’s Capitalism needed to flourish. The Capitalist splendor of America is a direct result
of the political principles that this nation was founded on.
So when we celebrate Capitalism, we honor the political
principles that make America great, because they are inseparable.
But I believe we are honoring something deeper, too.
Today, we are honoring a moral code that is unequaled in its scope and
clarity. When we celebrate
Capitalism and the broader political freedom it is founded on, we are also
paying homage to the fabulous moral principles that every person has the right
to their own life, and that all interactions between citizens of this planet
must be voluntary. Any other
alternative to these profound moral principles will inevitably yield slavery,
organized aggression, and therefore pure evil, even if the alternatives are
sweet-sounding, good-intentioned, altruistic movements like socialism.
When the world loses sight of the exacting moral principles of
voluntarism and individual sovereignty, we get corrupt governments, horrible
tyrants, brutal socialistic regimes, and barbaric concentration camps.
There is something even deeper that we venerate when we
celebrate Capitalism. Thomas
Jefferson turned the world upside down when he proposed separating Church from
State. In the grand context of
history, this was an intellectual revolution more stunning than the political
and military revolution against Britain, because all other power structures that
came before were somehow tied to religion.
Jefferson knew that free men require free minds, untainted by mysticism
and unbounded by dogma. Recent
events are gut wrenching reminders. When
extremist Muslims flew planes into the World Trade Center, did they do it
because they hate Capitalism? That’s
not what motivated Al Qaeda. Did
they do it because they hate the political principles of America?
That’s not what motivated the Taliban.
Did they do it because they were teaching us a moral lesson?
Of course not! Only a
preposterously insane madman could divine any moral purpose from the slaughter
of 5000 innocent people.
The maniacs who murdered our fellow Americans on September
11th did so because of mysticism and religious dogma.
Their minds were not free. Osama
bin Laden and the World Islamic Front met in 1998 and declared a Jihad against
Jews and Crusaders. By heeding this
alleged call from their almighty god, they surrendered their rational minds and
enslaved themselves to an irrational, barbaric strain of Islam.
When mysticism supplants reason, Islamic zealots murder New Yorkers,
Nazis incinerate Jews, and Communists starve proletarian peasants by the
millions.
The events of September 11th make the
interconnectedness of reason, morality, freedom, and Capitalism startlingly
clear. The terrorists didn’t
attack Capitalism directly, but rather they attacked rationalism, the foundation
of the moral and political pillars of Capitalism.
Here is how all of these things are connected. The right to life is not sacred in an irrational world
consumed by mysticism, where gods can apparently order massacres, and martyrs
can apparently gain eternal salvation by murdering women and children.
If the right to life is not a moral absolute, then political freedom is
impossible. If you do not own and control your own life, you aren’t
free. Without political freedom, we
become slaves chained to each other and our governments.
If we are such slaves, Capitalism is a mirage, because Capitalism is
nothing more than the free movement of labor, capital, and prices, with private
property and the rule of law as the guarantors of this economic freedom.
America’s war on terrorism is a microcosm of a bigger war
that has gone on for thousands of years. It
is deeper than a battle for Capitalism. It is a battle for the mind of man, as Ayn Rand has told us
in her many writings. This battle
has permeated all of human history. It
is a battle of reason versus mysticism. It
is a battle of sovereign individuals versus gods and kings.
It is a battle of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, versus
governments that have stepped beyond the bounds of protecting us.
If reason wins, if sovereign individuals win, and if life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness prevail, then Capitalism is the economic system that
will flourish forever. But if
mysticism suffocates our minds, if gods and kings use us as playthings, and if
governments become an end in themselves, then there will be no such thing as
Capitalism, and there will be no safe place in the world for those of us
celebrating here today.
The wonderful news today, though, is that we are winning
this war, slowly but surely. Jefferson’s Declaration and the
subsequent rise of America was an astounding victory—a political, moral, and
intellectual triumph. In the past
two centuries, tyrants have fallen around the globe and the seeds of liberty and
free markets have been planted. Communism
has been unmasked as an immoral, bankrupt, and brutal failure.
Capitalism is slowly coming to life in Russia and even China.
People are discovering the wonder of freedom and the integrity of
America’s founding political principles.
And once again, we will kick the ass of mysticism and tyranny in
Afghanistan and wherever else we find it in the war on terrorism, just as we
have whenever the world has leaned on us before to carry the banner of liberty. Capitalism, freedom, and reason will prevail.
And sovereign individuals, exercising their free and rational intellects,
will revel in the joy of it.
The battle is far from over, though.
Even in America, there remains much confusion about our identity and our
principles. So let us commit ourselves today, with the energy and
enthusiasm that we have demonstrated with this Walk for Capitalism, to champion
the cause of reason, to defend the cause of political freedom, and ultimately,
to lead the charge for world Capitalism. All
that is right and just in the universe declares that the future belongs to us!
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak with you today. If you are interested in reading more about such things, my novel Insurrection Resurrection can be purchased through Amazon.com and Borders.com. In closing, let me give thanks to all the great intellects who have gone before us to fearlessly and independently blaze our trail, especially Ayn Rand and Thomas Jefferson. Capitalism forever!
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