Capitalism and Morality: Twin Pillars of the West

Jayant Bhandari is not afraid to sound politically incorrect when he speaks about the importance of western capitalist institutions to the third world. An Indian-born Canadian citizen, Bhandari is often asked why he left one socialist country for another. To this, he points out that the difference of dysfunction is an order of magnitude — while Canada’s health care system may require people to wait in line for procedures, India’s general lack of a sewage system forces its citizens to wait in a different kind of line. His harsh words are not reserved for the third-world, but also for the European leaders who left a vacuum in the wake of colonialism, now filled by irrationality, demagoguery and superstition. His main points might be considered hate speech if he wasn’t an immigrant himself. He puts the enlightenment value of reason at the center of the moral fabric that holds the West together —those institutions that grant equality before the law, and encourage empathy and compassion. When the state assumes the people’s responsibility to take care of themselves and one another, the result is corruption — governmentally and, he adds, mentally. Bhandari hosts the annual "Capitalism and Morality" seminar in Vancouver, and writes for a variety of libertarian outlets, including the Mises.org and Acting Man. He joins Bob for the full hour . Tune in to hear Bhandari’s international perspective on capitalism and morality, on the show of ideas, not attitude.