Society is FRAGILE. All the things that have been considered strength according to our value system - especially the domination of the "fittest" and the elimination of all that is deemed "unfit" - are actually weaknesses. The fact that Wal*Mart has killed so many small businesses means there are fewer seedlings for after the fire.

The only way out is for our generation to begin working harder than ever to create our OWN society through our enterprise and our willingness to network. I am hoping for a generation of activist free enterprise projects that are designed to outcompete the capitalist businesses that currently dominate the commercial landscape.

 The fact that every single network is telling us the same thing means that we are not thinking for ourselves, but being programmed to do and believe as we're told. The fact that our government has never really cared about what anybody may think about us means that our government has pissed off a lot of people who aren't as dumb as we may have thought. The fact that we have all come to depend upon capitalism to provide for us means that in its absence, nobody knows what to do! Free enterprise means that if you or I want to start a business enterprise, we are allowed to do so. Free enterprise is a dimension of freedom - freedom to earn an autonomous living if one can figure out how to do it. It means "enterprising" people are allowed to start businesses and basically get themselves out of the forty-hour grind by their own ingenuity and industry. Free enterprise, of course, also applies to bad old big businesses being allowed to start up, but theoretically, those big businesses could be competed out of business by small, local brands, right? Enter capitalism.

First of all, take a look at some other societal paradigms, or "-isms". In "monarchism", the monarch is responsible for the answers to the basic economic questions of society, right? In other words, it's up to the monarch what get produced, for whom, and for what ends. If the monarch wants to go to war, he just says the word and it's done. In "socialism", theoretically, "society" makes these decisions. Councils are created to act in "society"'s best interest (whatever that is), and make their decisions based on social science to bring about the best and most equitable distribution of labor and goods.

"Capitalism" means that "capital" dictates the answers to these questions. Put simply and succinctly, those with money make the rules. Dollars are like votes in capitalism, and the more votes you have, the more power you have. Another conclusion you can draw is that a capitalist doesn't just want to make money for himself; he wants to keep money out of the hands of others. This means competition, which leads to the capitalist dream of monopoly.

Wal-Mart and the other chains in your average shopping mall, have altered to the socioeconomic fabric of this country. Homogenized product, low quality, and fluorescent lighting ironically are precisely what you'd see in most Communist countries. Compounding the irony is that all sorts of stuff at Wal-Mart is Made In China.

Capitalism, upon reaching fruition, actually tends to IMPEDE free enterprise. The biggest threat to a monopoly is competition, which is the religion of free enterprise.

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