Patric Wood: Capitalism would not function without socialist policies

Dear Editor:

During this election season there has been a great effort to cover certain people with "socialist" paint, arguing that these "socialists" want to put the government in control of every aspect of your life. The anti-socialists present themselves as supporting small government and unfettered capitalism.

Of course, neither of these extremes present an accurate picture of either side. The reality is that our government - at all levels - is both small and socialistic. These two attributes are not opposites; they are our right hand and our left hand. We need them both.

Our "capitalist" society would not function effectively without the socialist system of public highways, our air traffic control system, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Fair Trade Commission, the Fair Labor Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Social Security system, the Medicare system, the Fair Housing Act, our park systems, our police and fire departments, our water and sewer systems, our public school systems, our court systems, our post office, and many other government programs that are in place to provide a framework within which all businesses can operate - supposedly on an even playing field.

But there are many ways in which the powerful can manipulate the levelness of the playing field. One way is by adjusting the tax laws to provide advantages to certain businesses or individuals. This is done, for example, to provide tax benefits and subsidies to oil companies, or tax benefits and subsidies to automobile manufacturers. I'm not saying it is right or wrong to provide these advantages only to note that the government does make socialistic policies to advance certain economic policies. And those "socialistic" policies are often supported by people on either side of the political aisle.

Just as these programs and policies of the government are intended to benefit society as a whole, so do decisions by the government that are intended to protect our citizens such as federal regulations that require pharmaceuticals to be packaged in tamper-proof containers.

There is a concept we all should support - it is part of our basic heritage. All of us -- black, white, yellow, red, rich, poor, male, female, Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist or agnostic -- are created equal.

To me, this concept is best evidenced by our support for one another; what I call social capitalism. It is not "socialism" or "capitalism." Unfettered capitalism is not acceptable nor is unfettered socialism. Let us be honest with ourselves and each other: Social capitalism benefits all of us. From many come one. E PLURIBUS UNUM.

Patric Wood

Laconia