If you allow for a purely capitalistic society, without any type

Hear, O seekers of balance, the fierce words of Serj Tankian, a voice of art and rebellion, who declared: “If you allow for a purely capitalistic society, without any type of regulation at all, you will get one monopoly that will eat all of the smaller fish and own everything, and then you’ll have zero capitalism, zero competition—it would just be one giant company.” These words are not mere speculation, but a warning forged in the furnace of history, for they reveal the paradox of unbridled freedom: when unchecked, it devours itself.

The meaning of Tankian’s cry is clear: capitalism, though it thrives upon freedom, cannot exist without limits. Left untended, the strongest devour the weak, the giants consume the small, and the river of competition dries into a stagnant pool. Then what was meant to be a free marketplace becomes a tyranny of one, where choice is extinguished, innovation suffocated, and liberty betrayed. Thus, he shows us that true freedom requires guardrails, that true prosperity requires balance.

Consider, O listeners, the tale of the Gilded Age in America. In that time, railroads, oil, and steel fell into the hands of titans—Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt—whose empires grew so vast that no rival could endure. The people, though promised the fruits of capitalism, found themselves bound to monopolies that fixed prices, crushed competitors, and ruled with unseen crowns. The market, instead of free, became enslaved. It was only when regulation—the Sherman Antitrust Act and other reforms—was wielded like a sword that the chains were broken and true competition restored.

History offers other examples as well. In Rome, great estates called latifundia swallowed up the small farms of ordinary citizens, driving peasants into poverty and hollowing out the Republic. In Venice, guilds once brought prosperity through shared trade, but when a handful of families seized control, the city stagnated and fell behind. Always the pattern repeats: where the strong consume unchecked, the body of society grows sick, and collapse follows.

Tankian’s wisdom is that unchecked capitalism destroys itself. A system built upon competition cannot survive without fairness, and fairness does not arise by chance—it must be defended. This is why regulation is not the enemy of freedom, but its shield. To limit the power of monopolies is not to deny capitalism, but to preserve it. To restrain greed is not to stifle prosperity, but to ensure it flows to all, not only to the few.

The lesson, then, is not to reject capitalism, but to temper it with justice. In your own life, do not glorify unchecked gain, but honor fair exchange. Support not only the mighty corporations, but also the small creators, the local builders, the independent dreamers—for they are the lifeblood of competition. And in your nation, do not shrink from wise regulation, for it is the guardian that keeps freedom alive.

Therefore, O children of the future, remember Tankian’s words: unchecked freedom becomes tyranny, and unchecked capitalism becomes its own grave. The strength of a society is not measured by the might of one company, but by the vibrancy of many, each striving, each creating, each contributing to the whole. Protect this balance, and your world will flourish. Abandon it, and all will be devoured by the jaws of a single beast.

Thus let this teaching echo: capitalism without regulation is not capitalism at all, but the death of it. Guard your markets, guard your freedoms, and guard your souls, for the health of society depends not upon the triumph of one, but upon the shared prosperity of all.