How Capitalism Channeled Masculinity

What is America’s greatest gift to the world? This question is widely asked as our country is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. My answer: America has decisively shown humanity how to deal with toxic masculinity.

Hear me out. The concept of toxic masculinity is, by and large, a liberal trope that’s largely unhelpful to our national discourse. Ideologues use the phrase to decry perceived injustice and demand a broader societal restructuring—naturally, along far-left lines. But for all its partisan baggage, the concept speaks to a problem inherent in human nature.

Since the dawn of time, talented men have used their gifts to dominate and destroy. The Roman emperors were almost entirely awful men. Genghis Khan was the worst kind of guy. You don’t kill at least 10% of the world’s population without giving into your toxic masculinity. But it wasn’t just those at the top of the food chain. For virtually all human history, survival was usually synonymous with brutality. That was simply how the world worked, and with few exceptions, men did the brutalizing.

Obviously, America has had—and still has—its fair share of such men. But if you honestly look at our country’s history, it’s clear that we’ve largely channeled men’s abilities and ambition into empowering others, not oppressing them. That’s especially true for the most talented among us.

Consider a man like Elon Musk. At the risk of inviting a fire-and-brimstone lawsuit, it seems to me that Elon would have been a dictator in a previous age. His intelligence, his ego, his intensity, his appetites—he has the combination of characteristics that would surely have vaulted him into unfettered power, circa 1000 AD. But in the 21^st Century, he’s an entrepreneur who founded a truly innovative electric car manufacturer and a space business that literally catches reusable rockets in robot arms. The real destruction Elon Musk wreaks is creative destruction—the kind that generates jobs and wealth.

That’s not to say that Elon Musk is perfect—far from it. He has plenty of critics, but they’re largely shaking their heads at his antics, not quaking in fear at the mention of his name. The same goes for other titans of our time—Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos—and the barons of yesteryear, like Morgan, Rockefeller, and Astor. Yet they broadly applied their masculine drive in beneficial, not toxic, ways. Andrew Carnegie built steel mills when he probably could have ruled an empire with an iron fist.

How did America break the historical trend? In 1776, across the world, brutality was still the norm. Ambition and ability had next to no outlets except the pursuit of oppressive power. But our founders created the first country in history dedicated to the proposition that the mighty should not oppress the many. They deliberately created a constitutional structure and cultural system that channeled brutal and tyrannical impulses to the betterment of others. While plenty of people have tried to arrogate power to themselves anyway, more have applied their prodigious talents in productive ways that benefit the American people.

In other words, toxic masculinity has met its match in our system of free enterprise. The strong, the smart, and the ambitious have largely devoted themselves to building businesses and improving lives through innovation. Of course, countless women have contributed to America’s economic progress, too—they are every bit as creative as men. But in the sweep of history, men’s brutality has been the issue. America has shown how the men most at risk of holding humanity back can instead channel their abilities to move humanity forward.

In this year of celebration, Americans should recognize and applaud our country’s unparalleled success in giving men a positive outlet. But we should also recognize that we could easily revert to the historical mean, which still very much exists in large parts of the world. In our country, the constitutional framework and cultural foundations that ward off the mighty are under siege from across the ideological spectrum. The political left, which has long despised any restraint on government power, is a particular threat. Ironically, the liberals who most frequently warn against toxic masculinity are the ones most likely to unleash it on America, turning men from the pursuit of progress to the pursuit of power.

The danger is real. The warning signs are already flashing, as government expands and entrepreneurial spirit wanes. As Americans look to our country’s next 250 years, we must continue to push men toward a life of contribution through free enterprise. This is our country’s greatest gift to the world, and for the sake of human happiness, we must ensure it’s a gift that keeps on giving.

John Tillman is CEO of the American Culture Project and Founder of the Hall of Giants.