NATIONS AND CAPITALISM

In a recent speech Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain's former prime minister, talked about capitalism and its role in strong governments. The speech was at Hillsdale College in Michigan, a liberal arts college that doesn't accept any federal funding:

"It is important to understand that the moral foundations of a society do not extend only to its political systems. They must extend to its economic system as well. America's commitment to capitalism is uniquely the best example of this principle. Capitalism is not, contrary to what those on the left have tried to argue, an amoral system based on selfishness, greed and exploitation. It is a moral system based on a Biblical ethic. There is no other comparable system that has raised the standard of living of millions of people, created vast new wealth and resources, or inspired so many beneficial innovations and technologies.

"The wonderful thing about capitalism is that it does not discriminate against the poor, as so often has been charged. Indeed, it is the only economic system that raises the poor out of poverty. Capitalism also allows nations that are not rich in natural resources to prosper. If resources were the key to wealth, the richest country in the world would be Russia, because it has abundant supplies of everything from oil, gas, platinum, gold, silver, aluminum and copper to timber, water, wildlife and fertile soil. Why isn't Russia the wealthiest country in the world? Why aren't other resource-rich countries in the Third World at the top of the list? It is because their governments deny citizens the liberty to use their God-given talents. Man's greatest resource is himself, but he must be free to use that resource."