When I talk to my parents about how my peers feel in regards to politics, they are shocked. Why? Because so many of my friends consider themselves communists, marxists, or socialists. It may sound crazy, but if you are a high schooler, chances are, you know these people. They constantly bash capitalism and show unrelenting support for their “utopian” systems.

They believe that everyone should be equal. No one should have a leg up on anyone else and we all need to work for the better of our peers because we want to. However, this type of thinking is nothing other than utopian and heres why:

I challenge anyone to reply to this post with concrete evidence suggesting that there could ever be a society of people where someone didn’t want to do better for themselves, i.e. do something greater than that of their peers to create a better life relative to those who they live with. The truth is, everyone wants this. Everyone would prefer to be the king of the world, where everyone bows to their every whim, however, this just isn’t realistic. What is realistic though, is to have the nicest yard on the block because you can afford a lawn service, or having the nicest car in the town. Is there anything wrong with this? To those who reply yes: is there anything wrong with trying to expand your intellect beyond that of your peers? Of course not… No one should be held back to do better for themselves if they are capable of achieving a higher level of success, and thats exactly what communism, socialism, and liberalism as a whole does.

Capitalism however, is one of the few popular systems that seems to reward individual drive/hard work. Anyone in America black, white, hispanic, poor, rich, or members of any other group in our great country can achieve success. What is success? Is it millions of dollars? or a humble life in the country with your family? The thing about capitalism is it encompasses and allows any form of success as envisioned by the people in the capitalist society. One of the largest criticisms of capitalism however, seems to be that some people are restricted the opportunity to achieve high levels of financial success (inner city residents etc.). However, I would argue the EXACT opposite. Take a look at Mc. Donald’s one of their head CEO’s started as a cashier! Two others started as in-store employees.

The following is a quote from a Mc. Donald’s spokeswoman:

“Don came from extremely humble beginnings and with hard work and with the values of his grandmother he made his way up the ranks at McDonald’s”, said Heidi Barker, a company spokeswoman. She later noted that three McDonald’s CEOs started as store employees.

Even more testament to the greatness of capitalism are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Both men started their businesses in their garage! Talk about humble beginnings!

Now, another popular argument against capitalism is that some have a harder time to achieve the aforementioned success. For example, people who grow up in an affluent family have more means to get success. This is true. However, in NO way does America guarantee success, instead our country guarantees us all the pursuit of happiness (success). It may be harder for others but the simple fact of the matter is you can break free from the bonds set for you at birth. Whereas under communism and socialism you’re defined as a person limited to be at the same standard as the others around you.

To sum things up, yes capitalism does create “lows”. There will be poverty, hardship etc. But there will also be extreme potential for success! For not only the affluent or well off but also for the poor! Those stricken with poverty only need to look at themselves in a temporary state as even when working in a Mc. Donald’s they can rise to the top.