What is Wrong with the Capitalism - Assignment Example

What, if anything, is wrong with capitalism? Capitalism, the innovative monetary system is based on private ownership, and is apart from government control. Most of the developed nations support capitalism because the same suit their needs and demands. On the other side, the developing third world nations are against this system because the same supports free market structure. To be specific, profit is the main aim behind capitalist ideology. Still, the world nations are forced to be accept capitalism because international trade in controlled by a few developed nations. But private ownership and free market structure related to capitalism proves that overall growth does not result in the development of world nations. Thesis statement: Capitalism is technically innovative and productive, but the same leads to dysfunctional social and financial systems, exploitation and unjust social arrangement, unethical life, corruption, and neglects the problems faced by labour class, in practical sense (special references to the works: The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital). This section is divided into: dysfunctional social and financial system, leads to exploitation and unjust social arrangement, leads to unethical life, corruption, and neglects the problems faced by labour class. Dysfunctional social and financial system If a system is to be considered as effective, it must prove itself as functional. This fact is applicable to capitalism, which is projected as an effective social and financial system. To be specific, implementation of capitalism results in economic growth, limited to the context of elite class. On the other side, the society benefits less from capitalism because it does not prove itself as an effective system that can solve societal problems. When crisis occurs, capitalism does not help the society to identify and rectify the same. Besides, capitalism provides less importance to the pauperization of the mass. When profit becomes the ultimate aim, there is no scope for social development. On the other side, the wealth which is amassed by capitalism is not used to uplift the poor. To be specific, capitalism guarantees economic development, but not social development. But economic development within a capitalist society is limited to the scenario of upper-class people. On the other side, the lower-class people are forced to face the drawbacks of capitalism. One can see that equal allotment of capital is just a dream in a capitalist society. In short, capitalism is a dysfunctional social and financial system, but world nations are forced to follow the same because investors and multinational corporations control trade within global context. Leads to exploitation and unjust arrangement Capitalism results in exploitation and is an unjust arrangement. To be specific, less government control on production is the backbone of a capitalist economy. When government control is limited, multinational corporations manipulate the same to fulfil their economic motives. If industries are under government control/surveillance, there is less scope for exploitation and economic injustice. On the other side, capitalism dominates economy and leads to large scale exploitation. To be specific, capitalism allows the accumulation of wealth within its own control, disallowing sharing of wealth. Within the modern context, capitalism allows multinational corporations to exploit and impoverish labourers and the civil society. The governments that are aware of the drawbacks of capitalism will try to control the same by implementing regulations. On the other side, trade agreements force third world nations to be exploited by capitalism. To be specific, most of the developing nations know that capitalism cannot solve the basic problems faced by their economies. Still, these nations are forced to sign trade deals, and capitalism easily exploits human resources in these nations. One can see that individuals must be allowed to make use of their potentials and grow. But in a capitalist society, welfare programmes are usually hijacked by capitalism. This eventually leads to an unjust arrangement, where the civil society is under the pressure of capitalism. So, one can see that capitalism is an unjust arrangement which leads to the exploitation of human labour. Leads to unethical life One can see that human life is based upon some moral principles that are applicable to all. To be specific, those who provide importance to ethical considerations in life never try to exploit others. Shipside (2009, p.2) states that, “Marx’s reflections on sustainable and unsustainable capitalism could just as easily be taken as the starting points for modern business concerns such as ethical consumerism, corporate social responsibility and Fairtrade”. On the other side, some people consider that ethical considerations limit human capability to go beyond the known. They provide importance to materialistic view of life. Besides, material benefits cannot help human beings to feel satisfaction because the same is a temporary status in life. When one tries to go deeper into the core aspects of capitalism, it is evident that capitalism supports consumption. On the other side, consumption is related to materialistic view of life. Besides, consumption and materialism may force the people to be under injustice. Capitalism leads to unhealthy competition in the global context. But this limits the scope of handicrafts and industries (small scale). To be specific, capitalistic economy unknowingly supports multinational corporations, not individuals. Still, ethics related to trade relations is considered as an outdated idea in capitalistic economies. When capitalism is spread to third world nations, the mainstream society is fooled because development related to capitalism is temporary. If it is permanent, the society will be forced to abandon government owned industrial ventures. When profit is the ultimate aim, ethics is totally neglected. So, capitalism forces people to live in an imaginary world where ethics is just a faint memory because profit is the primary aim. Corruption As the ultimate aim of capitalism is profit, it leads to unhealthy competition and corruption. When multinational corporations try to expand their commercial links beyond national boundaries, the scope of corruption is unlimited. When these business groups try to enter a third world nation, first they try to contact the political elite. At the same time, most of the relations between industrial groups and political elite class end up in corruption. For instance, when an industrial group realize that laws and regulations in a nation is against their interest, they will try to manipulate the politicians. When nations are under despotic rulers, corruption related to capitalism is at its peak. One cannot expect a corrupted politician to be the embodiment of justice and truthfulness. So, the coalition between capitalism and corrupt politicians leads to more corruption and exploitation. From a different angle of view, capitalism provides equal opportunity for individuals to grow beyond their limitations. But this equal opportunity is hijacked by the supporters of capitalist ideology. To be specific, capitalism allows big business groups to swallow small business groups and reduce the scope of competition in the market. When people try to act against capitalism, the corrupted politicians help capitalism to survive the same because their sustenance is based on capitalism. In short, capitalism influences politics and eventually forces the people to suffer the side-effects of corruption. Neglects the problems faced by labour class One can see that Marxism and socialism provides ample importance to the labour class and the problem faced by them. Besides, these political ideologies consider that labour class is the economic backbone of a society. When the economic backbone is under crisis there is less scope for economic development. Marx and Engels (2012, p.25) state that, “When the Manifesto’s analysis of capitalism could undoubtedly lead to-especially when it is extended by Marx’s analysis of economic concentration, which is barely hinted at in 1848-is a more general and less specific conclusion about the self-destructive forces built into capitalist development”. To be specific, the problems faced by labour class will affect the monetary wellbeing of a nation. When this idea is superimposed within the scenario of capitalism, one can see that capitalism considers labour class as mere workers. This difference in attitude forces the labour class in capitalism to feel neglected. To be specific, the labour class in a capitalistic economy does not have any role in decision making. On the other side, capitalism depends upon the labourer’s capability to work. But their effort is valued because they are considered as mere tools. The labourers in a capitalist economy know that they are considered as mere machines. So, capitalism is totally against the cordiality between labourers and their employees. From a different angle of view, employees and the labourers are the victims of capitalistic ideology. In short, capitalism neglects the problems faced by labour class because its ideology is based on profit, not humanitarian consideration. Summing, capitalism can boost up economic progress in any nation which is ready to support capitalist ideology. But economic development must not be misunderstood as a phenomenon that leads individuals towards progress. To be specific, social and financial systems face crisis and people face exploitation under capitalism. Besides, life without moral considerations and corruption are other side-effects of capitalism in general. On the other side, capitalism provides less scope for the lower classes (including labourers) to have upward mobility within the social ladder. In short, the development related to capitalism is totally against the basic aspects of democracy because individuals are transformed into consumers and surplus production leads to consumerism and materialism. References Marx, K. and Engels, F., 2012. The Communist Manifesto: A Modern Edition. London: Verso Books. Shipside, S., 2009. Karl Marxs Das Kapital: A modern-day interpretation of a true classic. Oxford: Infinite Ideas. Read More