Capitalism- n. an economic & political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
"The forces in a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer."
Capitalism is simple. You buy a product for five dollars and sell it for ten. Why? Exchange value. You decide to hire someone to make the product. You buy it for five, pay them one - and you still make profit. Production value. Capitalism is fool-proof system where as long as there is a demand for newer and better, a demand for competition, the economy flourishes.
Consider monopolies. A corporation is funded through a cluster of rich stock holders, with the heavy players seeking an immediate return. Investments are used to purchase material, location, employees and every other aspect contained within the production process. In order to turn a wide margin, companies allocate the production to cheap, fast labor. This labor is generally gathered in China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and other poor countries where workers rights, unionized wages and tariffs can be legally avoided. The managerial seat of large industry competitors seeks the cheapest labor in order to advance investments of existing stockholders. If cheap labor is not demanded, then the company up-charges for their product and prepares for bankruptcy against an available competitor with cheaper production rates.
Social justice does not exist in a world-market with a capitalist stronghold. Workers are often times abused with harsh regulations: no bathroom breaks, expectations for overtime and silence throughout the work day. Earning 54 cents an hour, sweatshop employees are required to exhaust their full work day without any opposition.
May 8th, 2013- 112 die in a factory fire in Bangladesh. The majority were children who are expected the same skill-set as their parents, working side by side. The incident gathered sweatshop opposition worldwide, but a bigger headlining story was released a week later: 2,500 Americans laid off, Starving.
Social justice cannot exist due to the priorities of a profit. Investors seek return and companies seek cheap labor in order to compensate that return. The production process does not concern the investor, nor the company, nor the consumer. Yes, cheap labor creates social disadvantages, problems, health concerns, union opposition and workers oppression- but it creates profit. And to the big boys with the cash, thats the priority.
When people argue the ideology and social aspects of Capitalism- how to destroy it or make it better, people often turn to the "cause". Money. Theorists, economic analysts and critics argue that if it was not for money, then capitalism could not persist. However accurate that presumption, the easiest would be a shift from a consumer based society. A society where companies dig for opportunities for every individual, where they appeal to every customer, every possibility.
And that starts with us.
Reference links and interesting reads.
- http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/richard.robbins/legacy/chap_2_intro.html
- http://www.uwyo.edu/sustainable/recent-research/docs/global%20consumer%20culture%20arnould.pdf
- http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205407412.pdf
I like that you brought the issue back to us, the consumers, rather than just sitting back and blaming "big business". The consumer demand is definitely the core of the capitalist system. The corporations are in service of our appetites and desires. Where could this endless accumulation of wealth come from if not the pockets of the eager consumer?
ReplyDeleteI like your aspects of capitalism, especially "social justice".
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I find myself blaming the big businesses for the harsh and poverty stricken conditions of low wage laborers. But you are absolutely correct in pointing out that consumers should also share in the blame.
ReplyDeleteAs a heads up this post is mainly in response to your post but will probably draw a little on the reply you made to mine because it's easier to reply in one spot. I think you give a very accurate but very pessimistic overview of the American capitalist system. I would like to offer up a few counter examples for you to consider. In your post you talk about monopolies and in your response to me you talk about the inevitable failure of the mom and pop store. While there are the Ticketmasters and Monsantos of the world Competition Laws do wonders to preserve the status quo and keep companies from forming super monopolies. In addition to this I would say that the current market is rife with opportunities for startups and the competitive nature of Capitalism is largely responsible for this. Amazon, Apple, and Google all started in garages in the last 40 years and are remarkably young companies compared to some other industry giants. The app market is absolutely massive as is social media and both have sprung up in the last decade. There are also well over a thousand people making a living off of youtube channel views and Kickstarter is huge as well. People are coming up with increasingly creative ways to get their ideas off the ground and I would argue that capitalism is what allows this to happen.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would also agree that the buying policies of many American super giants promote social inequality throughout the world. But I don’t believe that capitalism in and of itself is the cause. New policies giving incentives to sustainable practice, a tax system based not on the cost of labor but the cost of the product and markup caps would all do wonders to improve conditions. I totally agree that change does need to start with us.
http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-partner-earnings/#adearnings
Your ideas actually helped me understand capitalism more than I did in the readings. I am now gaining more opinions about capitalism. As I am sure you have read in my post I didn't really believe capitalism worked at all. After reading your post I understand it can work, but I also tie in my ideas that are many faults with it.
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