Free market capitalism even with the roles of government limited, but without a moral compass to guide societal behavior, is no better than communism. Both systems of government would result in the same outcome - all of the power and the wealth in the hands of a few people and no middle class. Socialism and its big brother Communism gives it citizens countries like Cuba at worst and China at best. That most people agree on.
But free market capitalism without a moral standard that everyone is expected to live by results in the rich and strong ruling the poor and weak. If you have ever read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" or John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" you see clearly that greed takes over when there are no moral rules to keep the playing field level for all. He who has the gold makes the rules. Everyone else is just a pawn.
The Bible in Romans 6:23 tells us there is a cost for our sins. That principle not only applies to us as individuals, it also applies to our country as a whole. And that principle applies even in an open and free market. Our country was founded as a free market limited government system with the Bible as our moral compass. But our country has been turning away from following God given standards. And time and time again whenever a country turns away from God and relies on its own strengths, the country eventually dies, just as Romans 6:23 says.
A modern day microcosm of a free market system with few if any moral rules is a casino. Casinos are a microcosm of the free market without moral rules. They are wondrous looking from the outside - lots of lights and ornate buildings, billboard ads promising rich payoffs and lots of fun and entertainment, hotels rooms with plush accomodations, and restaurants offering many choices from elegant dining to a smorgasborg of foods at the buffet. Casinos provide lots of jobs to the local economy and tax revenue to the hosting state. Casinos even offer bonuses if you cash your paycheck or government check with them. It is what seems to be a win-win for everyone.
There are few, if any, rules of morality in a casino. They offer free drinks, free cigarettes, free food, and even free hotel accomodations and entertainment if you gamble enough money. No worries.
But there are downsides that the potential customer doesn't see and that the casino does not advertise.
First casinos create no new wealth to society. In the Adam Smith model of a free market, casinos do not mine, manufacture, or grow anything. They simply transfer money from one person's wallet to another's. In fact casinos are the proverbial transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the very rich. Everything in a casino is designed and tailored to get the customer to do one thing - gamble. And the rules of all of the gambling games are structured to the advantage of the casino. The slots pay on average 90 cents on every dollar gambled. The table games pay a little better at 95 cents on the dollar. Imagine if I challenged you to a game of chance (a coin flip for instance) and no matter who wins, I get to keep 10 cents of each dollar you bet, how long would you play? Not very long I presume, but the casinos don't tell you that fact. They would rather lead you believe that you too can win the jackpot. The same principle holds true for other corporate forms of gambling like horse racing, and dog racing were the house take is 15 cents on the dollar; and the lottery whch the government take is 50 cents on the dollar.
Second, 95% of everyone who gambles in a casino leaves the casino with less money in their wallet than when they entered. That isn't what the casino promises on all of those billboards and newspaper ads. Everyone is supposed to win. A few do. Most do not. If you watch people as they play slots, they are mostly people of modest means. Their clothing and their appearance indicate they do not have the money to gamble. But they are lured in by the promise of something for nothing. It is a hope offered with no substance - merely a wish, a dream, or a fantasy.
Finally, in the long run casinos enrich only the very rich who own them. It is a model of capitalism without moral rules. The very few get very rich. The many get poorer. And the middle class disappears totally. That is why capitalism without a moral compass - a standard of behavior like the Bible - is no different than communism. The buildings are just a little fancier.
My 2 cents.
