Capitalism is getting a bad rap lately by the small but growing contingent of democratic socialists infecting Congress.

So what exactly is this threat from which they seek to save us?

Capitalism is based on free and voluntary exchange of goods.  The only way you can prosper is to provide something other people want.  If you are a farmer and produce wheat, someone else will exchange what he has produced (or use a medium of exchange such as money) to trade for your wheat.

No one is forced to do anything.

If you sell $1's worth of wheat to a billion people, you become a billionaire — without robbing anyone or forcing anyone to do anything.

Socialism, fascism, communism, or any other form of a collective society where government-granted "rights" trump individual rights IS based on force.

Politicians decide who is deserving and who is not, and who shall prosper — based not on their talents or contributions, but on their fealty.

Greed is not a feature of capitalism, but it is of socialism.  Envy also is a feature of socialism.  Politicians use it to divide and conquer.  They pit people against each other by using race, wealth, or any other difference.

Free exchange in capitalism is not limited to the exchange of goods.  If what you produce is labor, you can use that for exchange.  Agreeing to produce a certain amount of labor for a certain amount of compensation in return is a private contract between employee and employer and is no business of anyone else.  Either party can end the contract at will if dissatisfied.

Capitalists, on the other hand, compete for your favor by seeking to provide you more goods you want at less cost than anyone else.

No other economic system in history has produced as much prosperity as capitalism.  Poverty worldwide has plummeted since capitalism produced the industrial revolution.

America has led the world in promoting liberty and prosperity, yet in this country, there is a loud and persistent voice from elements of the media and academia to reverse the progress.

They call themselves "progressives."