”-ISM.”

When I was growing up in the 1960s, the safest rule in America was simple:

Be suspicious of any word ending in “-ism.”

Communism.

Socialism.

Fascism.

We were taught to fear the labels before we ever stopped to ask what they meant. But the older I get, the more I realize the real question isn’t which “-ism” wins.

It’s what makes a country work.

And here’s the part we often forget:

Capitalism doesn’t work by itself. It needs a foundation.

You want to build the greatest factory in America?

Wonderful.

But how are the employees getting there?

On a road.

Who’s providing the water?

Who’s handling the sewage?

Who’s putting out the fire if the building catches fire?

Who’s protecting the property?

Who’s educating the workforce?

Who’s enforcing the contracts?

Who’s protecting the country?

Who’s maintaining the ports and airports that connect that company to the world?

We are.

Through government.

No corporation could reasonably say:

“Before we open our new widget factory, we’re going to build an interstate highway, a water system, a police department, a fire department, a courthouse, a university and—what the hell—an aircraft carrier.”

That’s why we pool resources.

And then something remarkable happens.

Government builds the playing field.

Capitalism plays the game.

That’s the relationship I’ve come to appreciate.

I’m not interested in capitalism versus socialism.

I’m interested in figuring out what each part of society does best.

Let government build and protect the foundation that nobody can reasonably build alone.

Then unleash private enterprise on top of it.

Let people invent.

Let them compete.

Let them take risks.

Let them build companies.

And yes—let them get filthy rich if they’re successful.

Because maybe capitalism and public investment aren’t enemies at all.

Maybe robust capitalism requires robust public infrastructure.

So the next time somebody asks which “-ism” is winning, ask a more useful question: Who is fixing the road that gets workers to the factory, moves products to the market and keeps the whole system moving?

Because while we argue over labels, the potholes are making the policy.

And no ideology has ever filled one.