The Twilight of Capitalism

I see a lot of garment rending (mainly at Fox) over the prospects of the end of capitalism as we know it, with the firing of General Motors' CEO and the nullification of AIG bonus contracts.

In my younger days, I preached from many a soap box that capitalism is the hope of the world. But the premise of capitalism-- that collective self-interest rebounds inevitably to the greater good-- has turned out to be false. To the contrary, it is that self-interest by the captains of capitalism that has almost brought capitalism to her knees. Greed motivates ambition and excellence. But those who have power and lack the restraint beyond those of most other mortals contain the seeds of their own destruction. Capitalism in the United States today is a house of termites. We cannot create until we first destroy, and there is no doubt that once august financial and manufacturing institutions will soon exist only the the history books.