Why do so many intellectuals hate capitalism?

Why do so many hate capitalism? More narrowly, why do so many intellectuals hate capitalism? In a paper from 1998 published by the Cato Institute, Robert Nozick provides some excellent insight into the questions.

Nozick provides two major explanations. First, intellectuals do well in school and expect to win praise as they enter society, but find that capitalism does not reward them as well as they think they should be rewarded. They see people with far less intelligence than themselves making great income while they receive a modest professor's salary.

They also assume that intelligent, trained planners can better distribute the society's goods and services than allowing the chaos of the market determine that distribution. Surely, people like them could allocate scarce resources in ways that would raise the living standards of extremely poor by preventing undeserving people from getting too much money.

Why should some dumb jock get paid millions each year when a brilliant Marxist history professor gets paid a pittance? Social planners would take the excess income permitted by capitalism and distribute it properly to the history professors of the world.

Supermercado de Walmart: An example of how capitalism innovates.

The Financial Times reports that Walmart plans to open its first stores this summer focused on the Hispanic market in the USA. This provides an excellent example of the innovation and flexibility of capitalism to meet the needs of its customers.

No socialist enterprise would ever create entire businesses to serve its customers better. One size fits all in socialist enterprises. One need only ask whether the Post Office would develop its locations in Hispanic communities to better serve the clients. Undoubtedly, they would not do so.

The report indicates that the signs, store layout and product lines will better meet the needs of the local Hispanic customers. The store employees will be bilingual.

Of course, an equally important aspect of capitalism works here. If customers do not find Supermercado de Walmart meets their needs as Walmart assumes, they will not trade at the stores and they will not make sufficient profits. Walmart will close the stores or convert them to the successful Walmart business model.

If the Post Office somehow built an Oficino de Correos for an Hispanic community, it would remain in operation regardless of any lack of support from the community.