Liberalism and Progressive Thought are the ONLY reason why the door of Capitalism has been opened further to more individuals in the United States. Either read some American History or scroll back up and read some of my previous posts regarding Blacks, Woman and anyone other than the White Male prior to about 1970 or so. Capitalism has been a historically closed door system and Liberalism and Progressive Thought is the only thing that has pried that door open.
And BULLSHIT that "Anyone" can become wealthy. If that were fuckign even remotely true there would NOT be such of an income Disparity with so few being wealthy and the overwhelming majority not. You are DEAD WRONG and you proved my point most beautifully. (although you don`t realize it)
I agree that in any system based on a concept of capitalism is never going to be set in stone. Obviously the more intelligent and more advanced a society becomes the more equality in terms of equal rights for women and equal rights for blacks. This is
not only ideas advanced by liberals or progressive thoughts it is simply individuals in a society having rational thought regarding such issues. One does not have to have leftist agenda to think in these terms - these ideas are simply rational and throughout the ages many philosophers and intellectuals have had this same thought process.
In your terms then Gandhi who was pro-equality, liberal and socialist argued everyone should be equal lead India (which historically was a rich kingdom) to a more leftist socialist or even sometimes communist regime. Sure his ideas were ideals of what the human race should think, but in practice and economically they will never advance society. India lay dormant with ridiculous draconian leftist policies for years, until finally a more democratic capitalist approach has been accepted - the results speak for themselves (it is now been one of the fastest growing nations in last 20 years). More people have been lifted out of poverty in last 20 years regardless of the huge disparity and inequality of income amongst the people. In-fact India moving to more right wing policies and capitalist approach has now the largest middle class in the world, yet you argue leftist ideals are great economics.
I am not going to say we don't need progressive thought and yes i agree we need liberals to keep the right wing in any system in check but often their is a tipping point. An equilibrium which is achieved with ideal amount of human rights and equality but which allows for economic growth without excessive legal regulation and red-tape.
Regarding the wealth factor, in the USA or most of Europe: any individual has everything in place to succeed. You obviously don't know many Chinese or Indian immigrants as you would understand completely if you did. Check the statistics for yourself, if Indians who are albeit a new addition to American society are the most successful immigrant group. Some of these people have arrived with no education yet their children have much higher mean and median incomes than the general population. However, you argue you cannot make it?
I think like any liberal and with your ideal pursuit for equality, individuals such as yourself truly believe different genetic tribes or races share the same cerebral function. This is certainly not the case, every race which has evolved in various geographical locations are not going to share the same function. Don't get me wrong with all the PC bullshit nowadays we can't say it but every race has certain factors which aid in their survival or success.
You argue that blacks have been kept behind - well i agree but they are a race which is not destined to be successful in a modern cognitive environment - this is a fact. I have done business in Africa many times and make trips to Nairobi regularly, are you saying the blacks their (black government) are limited or not able to progress. Yet still Indians even in Africa seem to own all the businesses, shops and share the majority of wealth.
I feel America has gone too far with progressive thought and has reached a point where it is no longer economically advantageous. The legal system is fraught with excessive costs and with too much complexity. The white middle class was once a glowing beacon of America has become morally corrupt. Progress for equal rights have led to selfish American women (and men of course) leading to record divorce rates and breakdown of family support structure. Children have become so spoiled they think the world owes them something -you see this will fat, lazy disrespectful youth culture around us. Dumbing down of society though sex obsessed media led to record teenage pregnancies and individuals wanting things they financially are unable to afford. More people are depressed and addicted to certain medications (a pill to wake up, a pill to be happy and a pill to shit).
You now have a legal system and human rights system leading to many municipalities to bankruptcy (of-course anyone can argue for ideal but economics does not work this way). Crime and violent crime as well as gang culture does not seem decline. Simply put all your leftist ideals have actually been adopted by many Countries in Europe and as you can see most these governments are highly indebted. The UK with socialist government (Labour party) has more people working for the government (nealry 50% of poulation) which has allocated our resources so inefficiently and made us so uncompetitive that they are on the verge of losing their AAA rating.
I see the breakdown of society all around me - don't ge me wrong i still believe in America as they have some of the best educational centers in the entire world but i also as economist i see the values in other races which will aid them to progress faster than the US.
Can i ask where you conducting all your economic studies considering you seem to think various political viewpoints will have such advantageous effects on society. To let you know i have done various papers on ideal systems and have an Economic degree from London School of Economics. I also invest money all around the world on these very ideas on the macro conditions and systems adopted by various Countries in the world. Can i ask where you are getting all these profound knowledge and results from in all your typical google search based assumptions?