Maroon Weekly

By Megan Brown

This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall and the beginning of the end for Soviet Russia’s time as a world super-power. It recalls how much time has passed since fear of nuclear war and annihilation filled the air to a palpable extent, and it emphasizes the progress and remarkable achievement of those former satellite states that have transitioned from dictatorships to democracies in such a short period of time.

Reflecting on the momentous event that heralded these changes provides us, as Americans, with an opportunity to reevaluate the structure of our capitalist system and to determine whether it is flexible enough to withstand the changing demands of today’s environment.

At the time and even now, some considered the Soviet Union’s downfall as the inevitable collapse of an inherently flawed system. The communist idea of government and economic organization was unsustainable when compared to the freedom of democracy and a free market economy. As the iron curtain crumbled and former communist states became new democracies, it was regarded as a triumph of capitalism and proof of its superiority.

However, in the wake of the recent financial crisis and on-going recession, singing loudly the praises of capitalism is no longer as easy as it once was. The United States gave up on a strict laissez-faire policy, in which the government played absolutely no role in the economy, long ago, but even today, identifying appropriate boundaries for government challenges policy-makers. At what point do rules and regulations cease helping markets operate efficiently and instead become barriers to commerce?

Past financial deregulation left markets vulnerable to the perils of risky and poorly understood mortgage-backed securities and derivatives. Consumers fell victim to unscrupulous lenders who sold them adjustable rate loans that they could not hope to repay. Wall Street titans rewarded themselves with hefty bonuses following a government bail out, while almost ten percent of Americans find themselves without any form of income, let alone a bonus.

Such happenings lead to questions of capitalism’s continued viability, whether it can successfully function in reality or if it, too, like communism, is nothing more than a flawed ideology. In order to function properly, capitalism must be tailored to fit its environment. Rules must be put in place and enforced to encourage competition and create a fair playing field. An environment must be established in which a variety of businesses can thrive – mom-and-pop stores as well as multi-national corporations.

Communism demanded strict adherence from its followers, and what we should note today is that adhering too strictly to any ideology imposes its own walls, preventing necessary compromise and pragmatism. Going forward, we must be receptive to other opinions and ideas from both the right and the left. Even capitalism, a system based on the ability of markets to operate without restraint, risks growing into a structure of paralyzing rigidity if it is considered unchangeable and untouchable.

Thanks to the Internet, walls can no longer succeed in either completely keeping out certain people and ideas or in keeping others in. Even in repressive regimes like North Korea, brave dissidents manage to leak photographic and video documentation of conditions. Although the Chinese government does its best to limit aspects of the Internet and track users, it cannot keep up with a sea of bloggers and their opinions.

A piece of the Berlin Wall resides here at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. It testifies to the former president’s skilled involvement in the affair, but its presence in College Station, Texas also represents our connection to events happening thousands of miles away.

In today’s world, distance no longer limits influence and involvement in foreign affairs. Capitalism and democracy must be flexible enough to interact with the different ideologies and opinions of foreign lands. We can’t afford to allow a conviction in the inherent superiority of capitalism to build its own wall around our minds.