Capitalism ≠ Commerce

Even the political class needs help understanding the system they defend.

Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash

Is it too much to ask for capitalism’s defenders to understand capitalism?

I’m not surprised online debate bros don’t have a coherent definition, but it’s absurd professional political commentators confidently disregard critiques of a socio-economic system they don’t comprehend. For instance, below is a statement from polling guru-turned-pundit Nate Silver, proprietor of the

Silver Bulletin

. In reply to a Tweet criticizing de-growth (an economic philosophy I’ll explain another time), Silver claims capitalism has existed for “thousands of generations.”

Source

Silver is neither a coattail-riding sycophant nor a nepo-baby: He earned his political career through merit, successfully predicting forty-nine states in the 2008 Presidential election, as well as the 2012 and 2020 victors. He was named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People,” has worked as a consultant for ABC News, founded the acclaimed FiveThirtyEight.com, and has used his forecasting models to pick World Series Champions and win prestigious poker tournaments. Like many of his media colleagues, Nate Silver is an intelligent and attentive individual. 

So, how is it possible he still has no idea what capitalism is? And why is he so vigorous in defending something he doesn’t understand?