2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: How do Hillary supporters deal with her hawkish views and her obvious ties to Wall Street??? [View all]senz
(11,945 posts)The framers of our Constitution were not wealthy by our standards, they did not codify capitalism into our Constitution, and the economy of the United States at its founding bore almost no resemblance to capitalism as we know it today. The early republic was primarily agricultural with cottage industries and small shops.
You, in your insulting manner, characterize me as taking "the mythology you learned in grade school as undisputed fact, and therein lies the problem." While I wasn't a history major -- my B.A. and M.A. are in other subjects -- I do have some exposure to the enlightenment ideas that informed our nation's founders. They fervently believed in the value of the individual and the equality of "all men." They conceived of government as the agency by which "men" could secure their inalienable rights -- and they believed in those rights. They carefully constructed a Constitution that would enable Americans to govern themselves to ensure all citizens a decent chance at happiness. They were concerned with human rights, the avoidance of tyranny (by the majority or a minority), and a stable, democratic republic.
Yes, they lived in a time when it did not occur to most people that Blacks were full-fledged human beings, that Native Americans had any rights, and that women should have the same rights as men. But they left us with a Constitution so thoughtfully constructed that we have been able to address the social flaws of their time and ours, as we became aware of them. And it had nothing to do with capitalism.