Capitalism: Bill Gates unclear on the concept?

According to an article by Pete Winn on CNSNews.com, Bill Gates may not completely understand capitalism, the process by which he’s earned his [m|b]illions.

While not dismissing capitalism outright, he seemed to claim that it wasn’t helping the poorest people in the world fast enough.

David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute said “What I think he’s missing there is that capitalism hasn’t failed the poorest people in the world – it simply hasn’t been tried in the poorest countries in the world.”

What does help people is property rights, the rule of law, and a market economy.

In many countries of the world, capitalism hasn’t been tried. Socialism, fascism, communism, and dictatorships of various kinds, have all been tried to the detriment of citizens. A recent example, that of Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, shows that taking property and work incentives from people only makes a country and its economy worse. On the other hand, the economy of the United States from the late 1700’s took off like a rocket because of private ownership, rule of law, personal freedoms, etc.

Apparently, capitalism works, but seems to be a hard concept to grasp for many people, even those who have benefited greatly.