ZF Capital

IT’S NO ACCIDENT that the infant mortality rate in Iran is more than six times worse than in the U.S.

Nor is it random that income at the poverty level in America is still significantly higher than the average wage in China, where the per-capita GDP is a mere $4,400, compared with $37,600 in the U.S.

And there’s a reason why people typically live 10% longer in America than in communist North Korea, where the average male dies at 68, an age we in the States now consider the prime of life, not the end of it.

How are such immense differences explained? Is the water in Washington, D.C., so different than that of Pyongyang? Does the sun never shine in Beijing? Are Americans born with magic powers that Iranians don’t possess? Of course not.

The reason is capitalism. And indeed, when pressed, even the diehard socialists would have to agree that capitalism works. From vaccines to video games, the quality of life and abundance of wealth created by a competitive, free-market economy simply can’t be denied. (more…)

THE CIRCUS CAME to Chicago last week — not Ringling Brothers, but a colorful band of anticapitalist protesters armed with megaphones, placards and enough eco-unfriendly pamphlets to papier-mache the Sears Tower.

Protesting capitalism, mostly outside meetings by corporate leaders or the WTO, is ultra-chic among the alternative crowd these days. Last week, their target was the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue, an annual meeting of corporate and government officials from the U.S. and Europe working to ease trade restrictions. The event just happened to be held in my hometown.

Although I enthusiastically support the right of peaceful assembly, I’m of the mind that capitalism shouldn’t be protested, but rather celebrated. While “greedy executives” always make an easy target for disaffected youth, the reality is that nothing better exemplifies our national spirit than American business — the thousands of corporations big and small that benefit us all.

First off, let’s not forget just how “big business” gets so big. As Ayn Rand writes in her book “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” “The sole means by which a government can grow big is physical force; the sole means by which a business can grow big, in a free economy, is productive achievement.” (more…)

TRADING IS NEVER PERSONAL. Stocks are just pieces of paper. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have strong opinions about the businesses those stocks represent. You can love a company but hate its stock, and vice versa. For example, I think AOL Time Warner (AOL) (now trading at around $37) is a $25 stock in waiting, yet I also think founder and Chief Executive Steve Case is a terrific hero for whom we should be thankful. Apparently, not many agree.

Most people would agree that America’s prosperity is the product of capitalist free enterprise, but few actually acknowledge the capitalist heroes who make that prosperity happen. So in the midst of giving thanks this holiday season — and at a time when we’ve all been thinking about the meaning of heroism — I’m giving my props to the men and woman who run American business, big and small, because they mostly run it very well and for the benefit of all of us.

When an August Harris Poll asked people to list others they thought of as heroes, the most cited names belonged to figures from the worlds of religion, politics or entertainment. While there probably isn’t an individual on this earth who hasn’t benefited from American business, from Henry Ford to Hank Greenberg, Andy Grove to Adolphus Busch, no business leader made the cut. (more…)