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8 comments
Commentary
joeladickens5y ago
**TL;DR – Capitalism is a utopic system that has been improperly applied and corrupted, but can be used for good**
Admittedly, capitalism is often reduced to its worst traits without much analysis of its societal benefits. It is not given the same _benefit of the doubt_ that socialism and communism are from the modern left. Where anticapitalists argue that many Marxist projects like the Soviet Union failed not due to their fundamental dogma but because of external pressures and _individuals'_ corruption, capitalism is often portrayed as fundamentally flawed. Arguably, capitalism has seen a similar trajectory but proven to be significantly more robust in its survival; capitalism is fundamentally a utopic idea and thus can _only_ be applied improperly.
Adam Smith, the principal figure of modern capitalism (as Karl Marx of socialism and communism), is an oft misrepresented figure. Smith's ideas have been co-opted by right-wing figures globally while his nuances have been effectively erased. In reality, the capitalism that Smith imagined was [far more altruistic and equitable than the corrupted form seen today](https://www.ft.com/content/6795a1a0-7476-11e8-b6ad-3823e4384287).
Ultimately, however, capitalism is a simple principle of private ownership that has run amok. Without an inherent (or, at least not very strong) value judgment on this fact, capitalism is inherently exploitative; private ownership of capital means that capitalists will always reap profit from what laborers have rightfully earned by the simple nature of owning the means of production. Some capitalists are fairer to their workers than others, and the accumulation of wealth has led to some of [society's greatest feats](https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/1259/economics/advantages-of-capitalism/) like rising living standards, decreasing poverty, and mass innovation but [rising inequality and the proliferation of billionaires have adverse effects on society](https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1055681), with many areas of the world allowing more and more capital to be privately owned (neoliberalization).
Seemingly, the only viable solution to capitalism's failures—like exploitation and inequality—is a mixture of private and social ownership of capital. This is, essentially, what almost every state on Earth is (imperfectly) doing; the government controls some forms of capital and individuals own others/ Thus far in world history, neither a system of complete social ownership or complete private ownership has proven to be feasible or beneficial. The issue here is, really, the proportion of collectively-owned to privately-owned capital—we have not found the optimal ratio.
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Turi5y ago
If you're interested in seeing exactly how screwed up contemporary capitalism is (from an ardently capitalist perspective), you couldn't do better than to look at Jonathan Tepper's [_The Myth of Capitalism_](https://www.mythofcapitalism.com/)
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Mixed
eleanorburleigh5y ago
**TL;DR: Capitalism has bad attributes - it causes inequality and prioritises the market over everything else. But so far, it has proven to be the least bad system.**
- [Capitalism] (https://capitalism.columbia.edu/theory-capitalism) = when a country's economic resources are controlled by private owners. As a system, it relies on assisting bodies to step in and help those struggling under it because the Capitalist system itself doesn't provide any. Because of this, inequality is a side effect of a Capitalist regime. In the UK, [the income generated by the top 1%] (https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-economic-inequality-uk) has been steadily rising since 1980, peaking at 13% in 2015.
- Alternatives to Capitalism have been [Socialism and Communism] (https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100214/what-difference-between-communism-and-socialism.asp). In brief, Communism is when economic resources are under state control, and Socialism is when resources are shared equally by citizens as regulated by an elected government.
- In theory, these models seem better than Capitalism because they promote equality. But Communism and Socialism in practice have led to [some of the most infamous dictatorships in history] (https://fee.org/articles/why-socialism-often-leads-to-tyranny/). When applied in real life, their common [Marxist ideas] (https://www.britannica.com/topic/dictatorship-of-the-proletariat) are undermined by human corruption and greed. And it is impossible to separate the idea of a regime from how well it works in practice.
- Overall - Capitalism as a theoretical idea sounds 'bad' because it doesn't prioritise equality and humanity. It divides the control of economic resources between self-regulating bodies. This division puts the pressure to provide help to those who need it on the shoulders of such bodies. So far, however, it seems to be the model that, in practice, provides the least risk of widescale corruption.
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Commentary
freyaehope5y ago
**The pros and cons of capitalism**
• Capitalism is one of the two main economic systems in modern society (the other being socialism). It can be thought of as [“economic individualism”](https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Capitalism.html). In this system, private organisations or individuals own trade and industry, and strive to make a profit from a motive of self-interest. [Adam Smith](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/2_capitalism.htm) explains that in this society “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest”.
• Many believe that capitalism benefits society. Some argue that its model of gain and loss incentivises people to work harder, leading to more [innovations and advancements](https://www.parlia.com/a/capitalism-promotes-innovation#explore). Some suggest that capitalism promotes [freedom of choice](https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/friedman-on-capitalism-and-freedom) in ways that socialism by its nature cannot. Others argue that free-market transactions, inherent to capitalist societies, contribute to a [healthy economy](https://www.forbes.com/2009/11/03/capitalism-greed-recession-forbes-opinions-markets.html?sh=22de146b7f32).
• Others argue that capitalism is bad for society. Many believe that the self-interest it promotes is immoral, and leads to dramatic [wealth inequality](https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2fopinions%2fthe-future-of-capitalism-is-a-crucial-issue-in-2020-the-debate-isnt-simple%2f2019%2f11%2f16%2f8e241b38-0572-11ea-b17d-8b867891d39d_story.html). Some argue that capitalism is built upon the concept that [everybody can work](https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5002/economics/pros-and-cons-of-capitalism/), and therefore excludes people who can’t work (perhaps due to illness or a disability) – these people have no choice but to live under limited government benefits or in poverty. Many also [link climate change to capitalism](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/18/ending-climate-change-end-capitalism), as capitalism encourages mass production and consumption, which can damage our environment.
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Against
MrStrawHat5y ago
Capitalism has proven itself to be the best economic system by far. The standard of living has been raised for everyone regardless of income bracket. At its purest form it represents the will of the people and promotes innovation, most governmental influence only corrupts the system. Is is perfect? No, but no system will ever be perfect and it's foolhardy to suggest that's an achieveable goal. Capitalism has done so much and frankly I'm fed up of people constantly berating it.
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For
Bethan_marsden5y ago
**Capitalism is an unfair system characterised by greed, inequality, and undistributed wealth .**
• Capitalism has been defined as [“an economic system in which a country’s trade, industry and profits are controlled by private companies, instead of by the people whose time and labor powers those companies”]( https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-capitalism-is); in other words, it’s _extremely_ problematic.
• The opinion you hold on capitalism, depends largely on who you are and the role you play in society - for example, a worker or a boss? For those who own businesses and employ workers, capitalism is an economically effective and sustainable system. Alternatively, for those who _are_ the workers, capitalism breeds inequality and exploitation.
• Supporters of capitalism hold the view that greed is good for business and consequently drives innovation and financial development. In theory this should mean that when businesses prosper, so do those who work for them. But the problem is that this doesn’t happen a lot of the time and wealth is not distributed. Capitalism divides society by class and wealth resulting in the unequal treatment of the working-class over the ‘elites’. I think the idea that capitalism is the only practical solution to structuring society, is a myth.
• Capitalism is immoral and encourages the best of humanity to resort to greed and selfishness. It’s also anti-democratic because power and control is dictated by the wealthiest members of society. With poverty as it currently exists today, I cannot subscribe to the argument that capitalism is good for society. [Half of the world’s population - more than _3 billion people_!! - live on less than $2 a day](https://www.counterpunch.org/2007/04/30/anti-capitalism-in-five-minutes/). Is _that_ ethical?
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MrStrawHat5y ago
Capitalism is an absolutely fair system, it's the most free economic system, so to my mind if you're anti-Capitalist you're anti-freedom.
-“An economic system in which a country’s trade, industry and profits are controlled by private companies, instead of by the people whose time and labor powers those companies”
This is not inherently problematic. The alternative would be a country's trade, industry and profit be controlled by the government which would be far worse as the government has ultimate power over the citizens
-For those who are the workers, capitalism breeds inequality and exploitation
This is assuming inequality and fairness are the same when they aren't. It's not equal when my colleague gets paid more than me, but if he's working 40 hours a week and I'm working 30, why should we get the same wage? Is it exploitative if he's willing to do higher quality work than I am?
-In theory this should mean that when businesses prosper, so do those who work for them
Why? My job hasn't changed, what have I done personally to deserve a pay rise? The upper management who are leading the company have made all the risks to prosper, why should it trickle down to the workers if they haven't really done anything differently?
-Capitalism divides society by class and wealth
Capitalism didn't start this, we see socio-economic classes in different societies throughout history. What Capitalism does is make the transistion from one class to another much easier. It's been said that in the U.S. all one has to do is finish high-school, get a full-time job and marry after 21 to join the middle class. Compare this to feudal Japan where if you're born a pesant, you're a pesant for life.
-[Capitalism] encourages the best of humanity to resort to greed and selfishness
Why? Because people get to profit from their contributions? Greed is about taking things from people, Capitalism is about providing a good or service. Consider how Steve Jobs got so rich, because he provided Macbooks, iPhones, and Apple products. He didn't take money, the people willingly gave it in exchange for them.
-It’s also anti-democratic because power and control is dictated by the wealthiest members of society
Power which can easily be taken away should they not innovate or deserve it. Blockbuster held power 20 years ago then Netflix took over due to their innovation. The same can be said for MySpace. The people wanted Netflix more than they wanted Blockbuster, if that's not democratic, I don't know what is.
-Half of the world’s population - more than 3 billion people!! - live on less than $2 a day.
I don't see what that has to do with Capitalism. Are you saying another economic system would work?
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For
Cspa5y ago
Its a system that has long outlived its usage and is now making life miserable for millions
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