Success of Capitalism through Mass Media - Essay Example

Success of Capitalism through Mass Media 1. Introduction Does mass media contribute to the success or failure of capitalism? To answer this and other related questions, a working definition of what is a successful capitalism will be made and mass media will be analyzed on how it has contributed to the said measure of success. This will also discuss the broader implications of the relationship of the two concepts in the light of evidence presented. The paper will conclude on probable chances of success or failure of capitalism in the foreseeable future in relation to the present mass media in society. 2. What is capitalism? When capitalism is considered successful? Capitalism entails money investments by a capitalist or investor who has the right to expect a profit given the risks involved in making the investment (Fulcher, 2004). The word ‘capitalism’ appears to have its origin in long-distance trade in the past where ships went to different islands in search of pepper or spices, with the expectation that those making the movement of the goods would benefit from the scarcity of goods in one place and abundance in another place. Since the ships need to travel and there were costs to the goods and transporting same, revenues above costs or profits from the price of sold goods were expected in return (Fulcher, 2004). However there are also risks in not being able to recover the cost due to other factors that may come into the picture (Fulcher, 2004). Capitalism may have evolved in magnitude from the old times but it is essentially referring to an economic order where there is private property ownership. It could be considered as a consequence of democracy because of the nature of political and economic rights given to individuals. Along with private ownership, the market or the law of supply and demand must be allowed to operate which entails assigning a price to each of the factors of production including land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship (Slavin, 1996). The term capitalism is distinguished from communism where the means of production is owned by the state. In capitalistic system, the market forces of supply and demand dictate what gets produced and how much it gets produced. In communism, the government as planning agency dictates what gets produced and how much it gets produced (Slavin, 1996). Capitalism is also compared to socialism as an alternative economic order. Socialism is closely related to communism since both concepts entail massive government or state intervention in terms substantial degree of government planning instead allowing market forces to function freely (Slavin, 1996). The practice of capitalism is better seen in United States of America and other democratic countries as mass media is allowed to influence decision makers on what needs to be produced and distributed in the market. Companies or individuals create value by finding what will cause them to produce increased capital in the form of profit from their original investment. For the purpose therefore of this paper, successful capitalism means the continuation or/and expansion of the economic order across borders or the elimination or modification of the alternative economic order towards the functioning of market forces. 3. What is mass media? Is mass media a necessary element of capitalism? How does mass media relate to capitalism? Mass media is includes all the manner of communications between the public and those who are made responsible in society because of latter’s power and influence as a result of political and economic structures. It extends to print, broadcast and the Internet. Since, capitalism has the necessary characteristics of the operation of the law of supply and demand where prices of goods and services must be those that are reflected in the market, mass media must be considered as a necessary ingredient or element of the success of capitalism. In simple terms, spreading the information for decision making in capitalism requires an engine and mass media is the engine. In fact, mass media is claimed as “ideological apparatus of the capitalist system” (Babe, 2000, p. 121). The concept of capitalism entails production of goods and services as best served by different private companies under the various industries rather than by governments. To illustrate, an agricultural industry in one country may be better off over that of an oil industry and vice versa for a certain country but not for another country. A company in the Middle East would most probably engage in oil industry than agricultural industry since it would have an advantage in terms of value creation and efficiency. One other hand, a company from an agricultural country in the North America or Europe would most probably engage in food production. After the each company from each country has produced goods trade between the countries would happen for capitalism to work. The decision makers in this example would not be able to properly determine the level of scarcity or abundance each of the factors of production from which optimum combination could be attained without the help of mass media in providing relevant information. Capitalism as an economic order requires the production of relevant and reliable information for decision making (Bello, et al, 1992; Mitchell, 1999; Pereira, 2004). For example in determining whether certain industries are profitable, the annual report of companies engaged in the industries must be known to the existing shareholders and would-be providers of capital. Capitalism therefore is best observed where there is capital market in operation. The existence of capital market is best seen in the presence of the stock market exchanges which allow the buying and selling of stocks to investors. Mass media through the Internet does not only facilitate the provision of Annual Report to shareholders; it also causes the production of news reports and analysis on companies and their respective industries from mass media entities or organizations which have sufficient knowledge on what they are communicating or reporting to the public. As the economy gets globalized, companies search the market to raise capital at the minimum cost and as a way of maximizing their wealth (Ross et. al, 1996; Van Horne, 1992; Weston and Brigham, 1993). The wealth maximization objective is necessarily linked with the profit maximization objectives of companies in capitalism as they employ strategies toward the attainment of their objectives. The role of mass media cannot be detached from all these corporate activities. The mere fact that the Internet has allowed the publication or access of information that would help investors to find the best options to make investments including those of the stock market should be a strong evidence of its inevitable role in the success of capitalism. 4. What determines the mass media that this society has? The mass media can be run by organizations with different philosophies. This makes the necessary creation or existence of corporate entities engaged in the mass media business unavoidable. This premise would then have to take the reality that media organizations must become part of the institutions or entities in democratic societies for them to do their trade. Since democracy carries with it the exercise of freedom of the press and expression, the success of the political order could be best manifested in a free and working media. 4.1. Mass media organizations have different values and philosophies to tell the world. The present mass media is characterized as global (Centeno & Cohen, 2010). The mass media organizations believe in what they tell the world as serving a purpose that is beneficial to users of information. In the global scale, it can be argued that the success of capitalism is best symbolized by the status of mass media. Given the penetration that media today has done to every household in the world via different forms including, print, radio, television and the Internet, validated claims for objectivity reporting have been the marks of those reliable ones from Western world journalists. Independent media as such is espoused as a required support for sustainable and working democratic forms of government (Khan, 2009). It is also argued that a well-functioning democracy has its necessary connection with being well-informed (Khan, 2009). Citizens need to know what are their rights and obligations or to be reminded of these from time to time from the mass media, which may present to them in various ways and works of art. It is in this context that capitalism then can be considered to have that effect of influencing culture (Midgle, 2002; Witte Jr. & Alexander, 2006). There are many ways how one part of world can influence the other part through the mass media. One simple example is the introduction and sale of Barbie dolls in many parts of the world including those of the Arab nations may mean spreading the American culture (Ellwood, 2001). Selling products and services under a free market system fits in to the definition of capitalism, and mass media which has influenced the minds of the producers and consumers of Barbie dolls must indeed be shaping capitalism in many ways. Media organizations make their connections with the need to bring into reality the effective workings of democracy including those of cultural values under democracy. 4.2 The people are the final arbiter on what kind of mass media they will have. The need for information for anyone to make a decision is just like a need for food. Humans need to have a combination of entertainment and information from mass media in order for the former to continue patronizing certain media organizations and the latter’s programs. Otherwise, people can easily switch to other sources or organizations. However, the necessary result is for many people to have almost complete reliance on media for decision making. Using the mass media, people make their view of the world (Simons, 2006). This should make mass media responsible enough although it may not prevent many interest groups in going to media with their own agenda including the propaganda that they want to leave in the minds of the public. Since media-companies survival depends on the patronage they get from advertisers and the public, this should make the people as the final arbiter on what kind of mass media they will have (Khan, 2009). The elements of objectivity and accuracy in news reporting become a necessary part of defining successful capitalism. Since media companies are also moved by profit motive because of their need to sustain their operations, they may overstep the bounds of fair comment. It is said that there is a thin line that divides news reporting from advertising (Allen, 1997). This is very important since advertising aims to inform the consumers but certain freedom is allowed for marketing purposes of communicating the values of products and services in the market. Although it may be presumed that the consumers or users of information may be able to separate the truth from non-truth, such could not be an assurance and should not be made a justification to allow misleading advertising activities by companies. To attain objective and fair reporting, the media must also be regulated or self-regulated. Journalists who are main purveyors of information should be bound by ethical standards. Prohibiting journalist to appear in advertising can be considered a good practice so that listeners of TV and radio programs cannot be easily confused on facts from pure advertising. As to how this regulation is effected in reality appears to have produced confusion as companies wanting to have their products easily known to users would be most probably using personalities like celebrities in order to have a faster access to customers. News personalities however may have attained the level of becoming celebrities (Peri, 2004) or being well known and this could actually create a problem. 5. What are the broader implications on the influences of mass media to capitalism? The broader implications on the influences of mass media to capitalism would dwell how accountability would be demanded from those who have the power in mass media. Mass media people would need a sense of responsibility to practice responsible reporting and entertainment as their influences to the success of capitalism are a necessary part. In other words, the definitions of success of mass media successful capitalism must reconcile to each other; otherwise, more problems could be created than solved. To illustrate, the need of mass media organizations to measure their success in the bigness of their profits may create a problem in attaining the deeper purpose of capitalism. Capitalism may have one of its ends in terms of profits but there are other purposes like efficient functioning of the market while attaining other social objectives. If capitalism is pushed to the extremes, social inequality could result and this would be courting alternatives to capitalism like socialism since in the latter the government can come in to correct the limitations or drawbacks of the market. 5.1. The reality of global media with its effects can be still be checked by regulation and intelligent and responsible users of information. Global media cannot be denied because of the Internet that has become accessible to almost every home. In fact, capitalism is believed to have the tendency to become universal (Nolan, 2008). Accusations pointing one group controlling the media could be an oversimplification (Khan, 2009). However to contemplate that some groups may want to control the same, the same should not be discounted because of the reality of interests associated with being in mass media. Who does not want to control it by the way? Players of capitalism may become tough players of mass media as a necessary consequence of propagating their causes. It cannot be argued that some persons or entities are necessarily deprived to get media attention and therefore capitalism is necessary evil. The collapse of communism in Russia should explain why going back to the argument of giving the power to government or state to empower everybody including those who have little chance to use the mass media. Humans do not believe anything they get from media; they could just consider what they get from media as propaganda. The relative truthfulness of media in terms of how messages are perceived by different users may be examined in the context of how something is received in one country as compared to another country. To illustrate, Saddam may be considered a convicted criminal for many of the Americans, but there are still those like the Iraqis, who would consider Saddam Hussein as a hero (Jeffords & Rabinovitz, 1994). That mass media becomes evil when it gets global does not necessarily follow as there could be some form of regulation. Although people from many sectors can use media to promote their agenda as a way to attain their objectives, effective regulation will do much as when there is vigilance as practiced by the mass media professionals in case of self-regulation and even by the government or other users of mass media. 5.2 Given its strong influence of to capitalism, may mass media bring the collapse of capitalism? This implication proceeds from the argument of cause and effect relationship. As earlier analyzed that mass media has its necessary role in building the success of capitalism, whether the same could cause the latter's collapse of the latter becomes interesting. To argue for the collapse of capitalism, implies creating an alternative. Cole (1948) argued for some sort of Socialism as the only self-consistent alternative to Capitalism at present day. The argument for socialism is to present an alternative to major criticism of capital which is exploitation of labor or working class (Kendall, 2008) by the capitalism in the sense the labor has a price as a factor of production. Socialism argues for the working class so that labor should not be valued as other factors of production. In socialism therefore, the market forces are not to function freely. The alternative is elaborate planning process by the government. Although there is still private property in socialism, the massive intervention in the private economy such as giving subsidies and incentives to industries and workers implies not treating laborers as capitalism treats them (Slavin, 1996). As to whether mass media could influence towards creating socialism is a great possibility but as to whether such will be sustained will be another issue. This would mean giving incentives and subsidies even to mass media people or personnel to do their jobs while taxing them almost double the rate compared to their American counterparts (Slavin, 1996) under capitalism. In other words, although there is no issue that mass media may help to build, promote or bring down capitalism, the final direction is largely determined by human experience of the past and general direction of human interest. With the United States of America and other parts of the world, as the living examples of continuing capitalism, which admittedly is being sustained by the mass media, there is stronger evidence to support the claim that mass media will insure the success rather the failure of capitalism. The trends of globalization and opening up of economies of many countries also point to greater capitalism in the future. In other words, mass media people may choose to destroy capitalism in order to promote any other alternative of the latter, but experience and human interest hint that their support for capitalism would be more likely than not. 6. Conclusion Capitalism would continue in the foreseeable future given the influence of mass media in the past the present trends pointing towards a direction of its expansion. Economies of countries other than the United States of America are opening up to capitalism including that of China and India. That democracy is connected with capitalism is easier to accept compared with other economic orders yet capitalism persist even in non-democratic countries like China. With capitalism's tendency towards universalism, decision makers appear to function better in society under a capitalistic system. Since mass media will necessarily influence how people think and decide, a necessary requirement to be objective and fair must be practiced by those in the media organizations as guided by regulation. The possibility that mass media people may choose to bring down capitalism exist but they would more likely continue supporting the same based on human experience and present human interest. 7. References: Allen. R. 1997. Gordon Conway: fashioning a new woman. Austin: University of Texas Press Babe, R. 2000. Canadian communication thought: ten foundational writers. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press. Bello J., A. Holmer and J. Preiss. 1992. Searching for 'bubbles of Capitalism': Application of the U. The George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics, Vol. 25, 1992, pp. 1-3 Centeno, M. & J.Cohen. 2010. Global capitalism: a sociological perspective. Cambridge: Polity Cole, G. 1948. The Meaning of Marxism. London: Taylor & Francis Ellwood, W. 2001. The no-nonsense guide to globalization: No-nonsense guides. London: Verso Fulcher, J. 2004. Capitalism: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press Jeffords, S. & L. Rabinovitz. 1994. Seeing through the media: the Persian Gulf War . New Jersey: Rutgers University Press Kendall. D. 2008. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. Connecticut. London: Cengage Learning Khan, A. 2009. Understanding the Global Media. Retrieved 15 April 2011 from < http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/concepts/general-concepts/5547-understanding-the-global-media > Midgle, M. 2002. Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature. London: Routledge Mitchell, L. 1999. Trust and Team Production in Post-capitalist Society. Journal of Corporation Law, Vol. 24, 1999, pp. 870-912 Nolan, Peter. 2008. Capitalism and Freedom: The Contradictory Character of Globalization. Anthem Studies in Development and Globalization. London: Anthem Press Pereira. M. 2004. Risk Management for the Age of Information-the New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century; Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law, Vol. 9, pp. 10-40 Peri. Y. 2004. Telepopulism: media and politics in Israel. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press Ross, S., R. Westerfield, and B. Jordan. 1996. Essentials of Corporate Finance. London: IRWIN Simons, G. 2006. The Use of Rhetoric and the Mass Media in Russia's War on Terror; Demokratizatsiya, Vol. 14, 2006, pp. 550-600 Slavin, S. 1996. Economics. Fourth Edition. London: IRWIN Van Horne, J. 1992. Financial Management and Policy. London: Prentice-Hall International. Weston and Brigham. 1993. Essential of Managerial Finance. London: Dryden Publishers Witte Jr., J. & F. Alexander. 2006. The Teachings of Modern Christianity on Law, Politics, and Human Nature - Vol. 1; New York City: Columbia University Press Read More