To the Readers Forum:

The recent publicity about Democratic socialism started me thinking about our touted capitalist system, and as I thought about it, I realized that our system is really a three legged base, consisting of capitalism, socialism and government regulations.

To see that capitalism works, one has only to step into a large supermarket, with it’s superabundance of consumer goods at reasonable prices. The law of supply and demand governs, and regulates the price of those necessities so they are affordable to the vast majority of people. Unfettered capitalism, however, would be like living in Jurassic Park, and the average person would soon be eaten alive. That’s why we need governmental regulations.

Regulations keep our food safe; help to assure that the drugs prescribed for our health are safe to take; assures us that the highways we drive on are properly designed and constructed, and that airplanes we fly in are safe. They are there for the protection of the American people, and the one’s who complain about them are those who would profit by cutting corners, and profit by their absence.

The third leg is socialism. We have always had a mixed economy, part of it being socialistic. ever since the colonies paid for the construction of corduroy roads, we have used public funds to build highways, bridges and airports. Socialism is, after all, just the pooling of money so that we can do things together that we would not be able to do individually. People who rant against socialism usually don’t know what they’re talking about – or they are being demagogues.

So it is apparent that all three legs are necessary for the proper operation of our society.

Samuel C. Alessi

Jamestown