A joke from decades ago–during the Cold War, a golden age as far as the American worker was concerned.

An American businessman visited a factory in the Soviet Union. He was shown around the place. “Who owns this factory?” the American asked.

“The workers,” his guide said.

Leaving the factory, the American noticed three cars in the factory’s parking lot and asked who they belonged to. He was told the cars belonged to a couple of the factory’s managers and a government inspector.

Later, a Russian factory manager visited a Ford plant in Michigan. He was shown around the plant.“Who owns this factory?” the Russian visitor asked.

“Mr. Ford,” his guide told him.

On leaving the factory, the visitor noticed the large parking lot full of vehicles. “Who owns those cars?” the visitor asked.

“The workers,” his guide replied.

The anecdote was intended to show the actual results of capitalism versus communism. It was intended to illustrate how workers under a capitalist system are better off than those under a communist system.

At the time, according to what I have read, Mr. Ford believed his workers would perform better if they were paid adequate wages and had benefits like health insurance.

I don’t know about the Ford family today, but it seems many employers have forgotten that they depend on their employees to produce the products their wealth depends on.

Jobs change. What the products are and what procedures are needed to produce them have changed—whether it’s a physical product, a software program, or support services like janitorial work.

What hasn’t changed is the need for workers to find pride in what they do and to be adequately compensated for it.

Inadequate care of the working class will cost all of society—in alcohol and drug problems, in costs for sickness not treated early, in workers untrained for the jobs of today.

Capitalism is indeed a most efficient economic system—as long as the system itself is not placed ahead of the workers who operate it.