Only capitalism holds people accountable.  Anything else is evasion, disguise, or brute force.  Capitalism requires no scapegoats, no apologies, no distractions.  It demands results.  Under capitalism, failure isn’t subsidized, it’s punished.  Under statism, failure is rewarded with bigger budgets, more power, and new titles.  It’s not about avoiding mistakes.  It’s about: who pays for them?

In capitalism, the entrepreneur answers to the consumer.  Mistakes are punished.  Waste is punished.  Ignoring the market is punished.  The consumer is king, and the entrepreneur serves.  Accountability is real because feedback is real.  You can’t fake profits.  You can’t fake losses.  If people don’t want what you’re offering, you lose money—fast.  That’s the market’s justice.

Under statism, there is no justice.  There is bureaucracy.  Bureaucrats are never fired for being wrong.  They get promoted.  Their failures are turned into talking points.  Their incompetence is labeled “unexpected” and used to justify more interference.  The market is blamed.  The people are blamed.  Anyone but them.  No matter how bad it gets, the same people keep their grip on the controls.  That’s not accountability.  That’s theft with a flag on it.

When a capitalist screws up, he pays.  When a state planner screws up, you pay.  The state never says, “We were wrong.” It says, “We need more power.” The more it fails, the more it grows.  It can’t shrink, because it’s not built on feedback.  It’s built on force.  There are no customers, only subjects.  There are no entrepreneurs, only insiders.  There are no profits, only plunder.

We’re told this is “progress.” We’re told this is “compassion.” We’re told this is “fairness.” It’s none of those things.  It’s parasitism dressed in noble language.  The spin doctors hide behind slogans, but the results are clear: shortages, inflation, dependency, decay.  This isn’t theory—it’s history.  It’s every place where the unaccountable have been allowed to rule without consequence.

Capitalism isn’t perfect, but it’s accountable.  Statism is never accountable.  Not in real terms.  Not where it matters.  That’s why it must be rejected.  Not reformed—rejected.  The system that punishes success and protects failure will destroy anything it touches.  It can’t be saved.  It must be abandoned.

Freedom requires accountability.  Accountability requires capitalism.

Otherwise, we’re all just waiting for the next collapse—on someone else’s dime.

Reference

Ludwig von Mises; Selected Writings, Vol. 2