Steve Forbes Defends Capitalism in Interview

In an interview, publisher Steve Forbes argues that free‑market capitalism has dramatically improved global living standards, noting a 99 % drop in famine deaths over the past six decades and a ten‑fold rise in average wealth. He contends that markets create the environment for individual creativity, liberty, and mutual benefit, contrasting this with socialist systems such as the former Soviet Union, Cuba and North Korea, which he says suppress opportunity.

Forbes also responds to criticism from actor Mark Ruffalo, who claims capitalism harms future generations. He counters that capitalism, when free from government cronyism, is a moral system because wealth is generated through voluntary exchange rather than coercive taxation. The piece frames the debate as a clash between market‑driven prosperity and socialist policies that, in Forbes’s view, consistently fail to deliver.