Today I came across a Twitter account @taygogo with the following pinned tweet:

Users of this “movement” share some of the reasons why they #ResistCapitalism:

Capitalism profits from rape culture? You have a GPA of 3.9, but don’t get a big enough discount on your education? Oh, you’re at no fault for using a cell phone, but capitalism is at fault for using fossil fuels? That’s it, I cede. These arguments are so compelling that at this very moment, my only option is to “violently #ResistCapitalism”.

Before I continue, there is one quick distinction to be made for any potential #ResistCapitalism supporters:

1. Democracy is to Dictatorship is to Totalitarianism – Political Systems

2. Capitalism is to Socialism is to Communism – Economic Systems

So, before anyone starts interchangeably using communism with socialism, or democracy with capitalism (because these are the stereotypical relationships between the two), be sure to make clear whether you’re arguing for political or economic reform.

Continuing on.

Today, anyone with internet access can rally mindless, irrational followers into believing that any cause is noble and just. The #YoungLeft, as they call themselves, has a wholly distorted perception about the positive realities of capitalism, and a hyper-critical view of its pitfalls. Social media’s greatest shortcoming will forever and always be the utter ignorance of the users. But, it is important to understand that capitalism is an imperfect system. I would be just as ill-informed as some of the claims made above to declare it is the only system. There is greed. There are people who are taken advantage of. There are uneven wealth distributions. Yet, what people who oppose capitalism fail to realize is that it is the reason we are here. Capitalism is the reason that the world is what it is today, whether anyone likes it or not. Capitalism is the lesser of all economic evils.

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” – Winston Churchill

America is a land of immigrants. People from all over the world left their respective countries to start a new life in “the land of opportunity” because anything was possible. Our great-great-grandparents came here with a desire to build a better life and the blue-collar mentality to earn what they wanted. They did not expect an easy life, nor did they wish for one. They wanted to leave the oppression of tyrants and have the freedom to become what they desired. That is capitalism! Our elders saw the beauty in the idea of working hard toward a better life. There is absolutely no reason our ancestors would have left their respective homelands to come to “the land of shared benefits."

Winston Churchill illustrates this point in the above quote. Being slightly less miserable by sharing the fruits of labor equally with those who hadn’t earned it was not the appeal of America. The immigrants who helped build our country were willing to live with the vices of capitalism, compared to the dystopian world of socialism. Yet, nowadays, millennials expect the world to be handed to them on a silver platter and everything to be equal.

There is a harsh and bitter reality to this unrealistically idealistic view of the world: no one is equal and no one is that important. I did not choose the social or economic status that I was born into just like anyone else. However, the crucial truth is that, under capitalism, we have the power to change our positions. Under socialism, we’re all equally miserable with no room for growth.

It is also extremely important to note that Karl Marx, the father of communism and advocate for socialism, admired capitalism. Daniel Indiviglio of The Atlantic wrote an article titled “Did Karl Marx Secretly Love Capitalism?” that cites a professor’s analysis of Marx’s relationship with the system he “opposed."

In a thought-provoking essay, Terry Eagleton, a visiting professor at Lancaster University in England, the National University of Ireland, and the University of Notre Dame explains that Marx's view of capitalism was more nuanced than simple hatred. He writes:

"This is not to suggest for a moment that Marx considered capitalism as simply a Bad Thing, like admiring Sarah Palin or blowing tobacco smoke in your children's faces. On the contrary, he was extravagant in his praise for the class that created it, a fact that both his critics and his disciples have conveniently suppressed. No other social system in history, he wrote, had proved so revolutionary. In a mere handful of centuries, the capitalist middle classes had erased almost every trace of their feudal foes from the face of the earth. They had piled up cultural and material treasures, invented human rights, emancipated slaves, toppled autocrats, dismantled empires, fought and died for human freedom, and laid the basis for a truly global civilization. No document lavishes such florid compliments on this mighty historical achievement as 'The Communist Manifesto,' not even The Wall Street Journal.”

Even the man who created a system to oppose capitalism couldn’t deny its inalienable truths. The world we live in today is a direct result of capitalism. The reason why China has lifted massive amounts of its population out of poverty, the standard of living has spiked in India, or inequality falling African countries is solely the result of capitalism. Under socialism, though, none of this would be possible because there would be no incentive to improve the world.

Here’s an example: Option A or Option B.

A. A class of students can study for a test and earn the grade that reflects the amount of studying, knowledge, IQ, etcetera that each possesses. Thus, the distribution of grades will range from A-F, which can be attributed to the said factors above.

B. A class of students can study for a test and earn a grade that is an average of all the grades in the class. Studying, knowledge, IQ, etcetera have no effect on your grade. Rather, everyone will share the grades.

What is lacking in Option B compared to Option A? Incentive. In Option A, students will earn what they deserve. Because they earn what they deserve, they can work harder and use this to leverage a better position in the class. The better position in the class will lead to better opportunities in life as a reward for working hard. In Option B, however, a student's work does not reflect the grade he or she deserves. What ultimately comes from this example is that students have no incentive to earn a better grade and will stop studying, thus lowering the shared grades even further. This is a direct example with the economy. A lack of incentive will lead to a lack of effort, which will, in turn, lead to a lack of any meaningful progress.

So, if anyone out there truly wants to #ResistCapitalism, ask yourself this: Are you willing to sacrifice the potential to positively change the world and reach a higher potential in lieu of being equal to everyone?