You are absolutely right, Z. And we should be careful to avoid droning off into a rote recital of memorized memes.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t attempt to have our mental house in order for when someone comes asking about these things.
I am not trying to create a literal script which should be followed verbatim. Rather, I want to build an understandable story which I can remember and relate with ease.
If the situation requires some adaptation to fit the needs of my interlocutor, all the better since, as you said, every person has their own view of the world. The better we acknowledge that, the more effective we will be in talking with them rather than at them.
But knowing where to start is a good thing, IME. That is my goal here.
wealth is what humans make by combining raw materials, ingenuity, labor, and time.
people invest these scarce resources in alleviating what they feel are their most pressing needs.
wealth can either be consumed immediately or saved for the future.
some people choose to consume all the wealth they create, others choose to reinvest their wealth into further wealth producing ventures.
since there are more of the former than the latter, collectivist systems will tend toward spending rather than investing.
therefore it is better to allow those who under-consume to decide what to do with their own resources since we all eventually benefit from reinvestment of wealth.
this plants the seed. if you can get them arguing on your terms you’re half way there.