Critical Evaluation of the Ethical Underpinnings of Capitalism - Term Paper Example

Should London be Occupied - Can Capitalism be morally justified? Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Name (13, November, 2011) Can Capitalism be Morally Justified? The debate on the ethics of capitalism kindles up every time an economic crisis affects the masses. From ‘The Great Depression’ to the recent economic recession of 2008, people have always cried out their reservations on the overall capitalistic system. The recent Occupy London is another attempt by the general public to raise their voices against ruthless capitalism. It should be seen as an extension of the overall public dissatisfaction about the economic system that governs lives of everyone. Increasing unemployment and rising costs are main motivators behind the protest. This protest has again raised ethical questions about capitalism as a whole; whether the system is just or not. The question we must ask is that whether capitalism can be morally justified or not. In this article we will take on the daunting task of answering this question. We will provide an ethical analysis of the philosophy behind capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that argues in favour of private ownership of means of production. The system is based on the idea that people should earn as much as they work, and they should also be free to sell their labour to an employer in return for a payment. The system of capitalism became dominant in the 19th and 20th century in Europe and America. The main criticism of capitalism is that it is celebrates greed. There is no limit on accumulation of wealth and people are free to own proceeds of their ‘hard work’. This makes them greedy and they want to hoard more and more money. People are only motivated by profits therefore they can go even beyond public good to fulfil their desires. The freedom given to people, in capitalism, is tremendous to a level that it may be detrimental for public good. The criticism of capitalism is not easy to ignore. It is true that capitalism attracts crises as honey attracts bees. Economic recession of 2008 is an example which caused troubles for the whole world especially the developed world. The cost of the crisis was actually paid by the general public as they even today face unemployment and inflation. The problem with capitalism is that it accumulates wealth in the hand of rich ‘few’. Corporations become stronger and stronger, by earning more and more profits but this wealth is not trickled down to the people. Also in the wake of a crisis people are forced to pay out from their pockets (bailout packages) for these rich corporations, as happened in 2008. This is the main problem that has caused many to question the overall efficacy of the system of capitalism. Some argue that capitalism is a moral system because it is based on voluntary exchange that is people are free to take part in transactions and are not coerced in any way (Dr. Younkins, 1998). Freedom is important for the society and because capitalism offers that it is deemed as just and in turn moral. Absence of coercion is considered essential for freedom and capitalism offers that. But this will be a shallow analysis of a system that has been treated as sacred as religion. This is mainly because of the cold war between America and Soviet Union. People, in the west, were made to believe that communism was evil and capitalism was the only alternative. Capitalism was preached as a religion to the society and this did not allow development of any other system. The majority of the world became obsessed with the system and little attention was given to the perils it had to offer. Capitalism has now developed corporations that are so big that without it government cannot function. The rampant deregulation of financial markets in the 1980s gave rise to innovation in the financial sector. This innovation was supposed to make life easier for everyone by offering different products and ways of raising money. Instead it increased complications which eventually led to a worldwide economic recession. Global integration of finance, which was advertised as a solution, caused the crisis to propagate to the whole world. Capitalism assumes that everyone will be willing to fulfil his or her moral obligation (Bishop, 2000). This assumption is not logical because it cannot be expected of people to remain moral in their daily transactions. People are greedy in general and they will always try to find ways to earn more and more profits even at the expense of public good. This is especially true for corporations as they attempt to find loop holes in the system. They are also not always honest to consumers thereby violating the freedom that is argued by capitalism. In short people might not be as free, under capitalism, as it is argued. This is a serious ethical issue that capitalism raises for the society. The Occupy London protest is an outbreak of public rage against the overall system of corporations. The protest is supported by people who are not satisfied by the current system that has robbed people of their tax money. It should be kept in mind that large investment banks that are considered responsible for the whole economic recession were bailed out by the money of tax payers (LaBonte, 2010) and even then the lives of the rich people did not change at all. This is the reason behind the rage of people who are actively taking part in Occupy London protest. They are normal people who believe that enough is enough and now it’s time for change on a large scale in the system. People are also unhappy about the increasing unemployment (De Leo, 2011). Most of them are not aware of the technical information about the recession but still they have an idea about what happened during the crisis. They are mainly angry at the consequences of the crisis that gave rise to unemployment. The main problem is that the economic recession of 2008 has affected the normal people. They want to use corporations and capitalism as a scapegoat. They just want to live their lives in a normal way but now it is impossible because inflation is increasing and they have no job to support their families. In such a situation people do not know what they should do, and this has brought them to street. The protest was also not very well organized. Many experts have also agreed upon the same fact that there is no organization in the protest (Hitchens, 2011). People from different walks of life are taking part but mostly people who have no place to go are ending up in the camps. This is a weakness of the protest and it seems that it will not yield any major results, at least in foreseeable future. It was also visible that protestors were not happy about the distribution of wealth in the country. Unequal distribution of income is another thing that disgruntled them. They held signs saying “We are the 99 Percent”. They want to forward their reservations on the system that has given up one crisis after another. The recent crisis had a worldwide effect on people and economies all over the world, especially European economies are yet to revive. This is why people are so much angry with the corporations and the government. Occupy London protest is against the whole system of capitalism which calls for rampant profit making. There is no protection for poor and rich can get richer to no end. This is why this system is not appreciated by everyone especially the poor. The criticism of capitalism seems to be valid when we see the protestors because wealth has been accumulated by large corporations while people are getting nothing. It is also very easy for corporations to declare bankruptcy without any major problem. Executives get paid with large amount of salaries but general public lose their money. This is why the protest is actually an extension of the problems that capitalism poses to the society. The problem with capitalism is that people do not get equal opportunities. Corporations keep on expanding their operations and they get stronger every day. This gives monopoly to corporations and they do not let other firms enter the business. This makes rich richer and poor poorer. Unfortunately people have been enamoured with the same system until this crisis. Now people are starting to feel how bad things can get if a recession hits the world and this is the driving force behind occupy London protest. Occupy London protest signifies the public concern on the system of capitalism. The system of corporations and free markets is not full proof and policy makers should understand it. Protestors may not be extremely organized but the world has seen protests of Egypt and Tunisia. Dictators were toppled after public struggle that was independent. Governments should pay heed to the voices of protestors and changes should be made to the current system. The concerns of the protestors are valid and capitalism needs to be revised so that future recessions can be averted. Bibliography Bishop, John Douglas. 2000. Ethics and capitalism. Vancouver: University of Toronto Press De Leo, Mariagrazia. 2011. In pictures: Occupy London protest swells. Al-Jazeera. Accessed on 13 November 2011 from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2011/11/2011117201951241331.html Dr. Younkins, Edward. 1998. Capitalism and Morality. Impact, Summer Edition. Accessed on 13 November 2011 from http://www.quebecoislibre.org/younkins21.html    Hitchens, Peter. 2011. Everyones terribly sweet... but what a festival of drivel! Daily Mail UK. Accessed on 13 November 2011 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2058102/Occupy-London-Everyones-terribly-sweet--festival-drivel.html LaBonte, Marc. 2010. Recession, Depression, Insolvency, Bankruptcy, and Federal Bailouts. New York: The Capitol Net Inc Read More