Welfare

[smoothmoniker]

OK, here's the hardcore capitalist answer to you question.

I believe in a free market. I believe that the greatest benefit to society comes from people being rewarded for taking risks, for innovating, and generally engaging in the task of making themselves profitable. I don’t think this is just good for the individual, I believe it is the most equitable and just way to construct a society.

But I also believe that, by creating at least a minimal safety net, we create a situation wherein people are able to take more risks. They may fail, but that failure will not be fatal. With more people taking more risks, particularly entrepreneurial risks, we have a more robust economy, and that rising tide benefits everyone.

So, I’m still a capitalist, but I believe it is in my self-interest to mitigate some of the risks associated with a free-economy workplace.

[note] this is not an argument for our social programs as they are currently constituted, but just an argument for the idea of some sort of social welfare as part of a robust capitalism.[/note]