Socialism Should Be Used in the Resolution of the Political and Economic Problems - Coursework Example

The Political and Economic Anthropology: Socialism should be used in the Resolution of the Political and Economic Problems that have been triggered by Capitalism Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: The Political and Economic Anthropology: Socialism should be used in the Resolution of the Political and Economic Problems that have been triggered by Capitalism Introduction In societies where capitalistic systems are in play, there are often noted to be serious and ever deepening political and economic problems and even in the event that the leaders in capitalistic system happen to agree on implementation of particular policies to aid in the resolution of the problems ailing the system, these policies are often noted to be largely inadequate. This has resulted in a situation whereby questions challenging the capitalistic system are now noted to be asked more frequently and influentially than they had previously been raised over the past decades. Of note is that historically, problems related to capitalism often led to the leaders of these systems to try and implement a number of adjustments designed to help in changing both the wealth and income distribution models in the country. These regulations often have far reaching effects on markets, enterprises and international relations. Some of the measures that were undertaken as part of these regulations include the enactment of anti-monopoly rules, the legislation of minimum wages and implementation of progressive income taxes. Of concern however is that most of these measures have failed to bring about the much needed changes in the capitalist system and as such, it is now necessary for societies to try and solve the political and economic problems that are currently assailing Capitalism by using the principles developed by Socialism. Origins of the Capitalistic and Socialist Systems The Origins of the Capitalistic System Throughout most of the currently recorded history irrespective of whether this history is Western History or Eastern History, the vast majority of the human population has always been shown to be economically rather poor and these individuals had over the years consistently been taught to try and accept poverty as being their inevitable lot. However, this was soon to change as the European Industrial revolution started to gain steam across Europe as large numbers of individuals quickly realized that there was a possibility that the world can actually change and they could successfully be able to change their stations in life. This vision of progress via the use of human invention was eventually applied to the field of economics in the middle 1700s. When applying this vision to economics, it was assumed that if it was possible for people to successfully improve the means of production and make it more effective, it automatically followed that it was also possible to improve the current economic system that was in place1. It was believed that if society could be able to develop a better understanding of the various inner operations of economic system, it would be possible to cause them to function in a manner that could be perceived to be beneficial for all. As a result of the continued probing and critical analysis of economic patterns, human society was finally able to develop the capitalist and socialist economic theories. The first theory to have been developed is noted to describe what is now commonly referred to as capitalism while the second theory is what is termed as socialism2. Adam Smith wrote the famous book the Wealth and Nations in 1776, a year which happened to be the same year as that in which the United States was born. In the book, Smith outlined some defining principles that have now been adopted by the capitalism and have caused the book to now be commonly referred to as the capitalist theory bible. In his book, it can be noticed that Smith had what was a rather optimistic vision of the future. He is seen to have essentially supported the basic belief that argued in support of the theorization that selfishness is a trait that is inherent to all people, he however was of the belief that it was possible for this selfishness to successfully be used for the common good as long as the government did not interfere and left the market to regulate commerce and production by itself3. Smith is seen to have published his book at a time when there was a massive economic and social dislocation as the gentry had managed to appropriate most of the commons land, and this had the effect of caused large numbers of dispossessed farmers to be reduced to being mere paupers that were continually roaming the British countryside. In some areas of the country, women and children were working in mineshafts for up to twelve hours at a go. Despite the rather deplorable situation that existed in the country, the government which was a the time in the hands of the merchant class and the landed gentry did not try to effect any changes to this situation. Instead, the government often exacerbated matters with the implementation of numerous myopic policies that were designed to essentially serve the greedy financial interests of those individuals that were already in power4. Smith is noted to have argued that the government actually plays a vital role as it has the duty of ensuring that there is an exact administration of justice for all of the country’s citizens. In addition to this, Smith also pointed out that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that it erects public works and institutions that will be perceived to be highly advantageous to the greater society. Smith warned that that the rising industrialist generally a self-serving interest to try and not only deceive but also greatly oppress the country’s general public. Central to his thinking was the assumption that the market was essentially the primary engine that could be used in the development of what would be perceived as being a better market. He was of the strong belief that the market would be able to successfully counter selfishness through competition and according to him, the various free market forces would ascertain that the poor were not subject to any cheating that might ensue in addition to also helping in raising the living standards5. The development of the capitalistic system is widely acknowledged to be important as it would aid society to take steps causing it to move away from the abusive dominator society to a more partnership based manner of living. Capitalism was able to give the much needed impetus to the rather accountable system like republics and constitutional monarchies. Capitalism is also noted to have been one of the critical factors that aided in bringing about the emergence of what is currently termed as the middle class society. Although the capitalistic system had a number of drawbacks, it was for the most part preferable to the mercantile and feudal economic system in which the kings and the nobles were seen to own most of the economic resources. Development of the Socialist System Despite offering a number of advantages, capitalism is seen to have had a number of inherent failings that are seen to have included its emphasis on individual greed and acquisitiveness motivated by profit, it continued the traditions of violence as is demonstrated by its support for wars and colonial conquests, the capitalist system was also faulted for its over reliance on the rankings provided by the traditional class structure. Another drawback that is seen to have been associated with capitalism is that it failed to successfully recognize the importance of caring and caregiving work that was done by women. By the 19th Century, it became quite clear to some philosophers that capitalism was unable to fulfill its intended aim of creating an economic system that benefited the entire society. It as result of this failure that some Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx moved to propose the creation of what was to become a completely different economic theory 6. The theory proposed by Marx and Engles was eventually be referred to as scientific socialism and it worked to challenge nearly everything that had been proposed by Smith and in particular, I greatly challenged the faith he had had on the market forces7. The scientific socialism that had been proposed by Marx and Engels essentially replaced the utopian socialism that had been developed by a number of theorists such as Charles Fourier and Robert Owen8. According to Engels and Marx, the class conflicts were historically inevitable. In addition to this, they also believed that if the merchant class could emerge victorious over the aristocracy, the successes of this victory would be soon emulated by a successive victory over the proletariat by the society’s working class citizenry. Although the socialist policies developed by Marx and Engel helped to bring about an end to destitution and mass hunger in addition to also triggering vast improvements in education and healthcare, the traditions of domination that a part of both the state and the family did not change. This resulted in what Marx had previously referred to as a dictatorship of a country’s proletariat turning into just that- another despotic and violent regime. The Russian capitalist system planners were able to create a form of top-down state capitalism whereby the available resources were primarily utilized and controlled by what was a rather small group of individuals at system’s apex. In towns such as Moscow where the top-down system was in play, it can be noted that government apparatniks were able to obtain a number of perks that included frequent banquets and housing in attractive and covetable seasive villas, on the flip side, a vast majority of the country’s citizenry was forced to at times lack access to staple commodities in addition to their also being forced to live in overcrowded buildings. While this was taking place in the cities, warlords were establishing themselves as communist commissars and they were able to continue terrorizing the people under this guise9. Part of the problem that affected the communist system that was implemented in Russia is seen to have been due to the communist theory itself. Not only did the theory serve to abolish class warfare and private property, it also failed to ensure that it abandoned the presumption that the use of violence was the single most vital means via which any form of power could successfully be obtained. However, an even bigger part of the problem was is seen to have been as a result of the dominator nature of the culture that had been prevalent across Russia before the establishment of a communist system. In the dominator system that had been an inherent part of the Russian culture, the Russian tzars had established themselves in the capacity of despotic autocrats in what was a largely feudal society. In this society, it was not until the 19th century when individuals categorized as being in the class of serfs were to be eventually granted their freedom. The freedom that was granted to them is seen to have been very similar to that which was granted to slaves in the American South in that was for the most part an illusory freedom due to the fact that the country’s power structure did not undergo any major changes. In addition to this, the Soviet Union is noted to have taken on a strictly male dominated culture that is thought to have provided a basic model for the continued exploitation and inequality that was prevalent in the Russian socialist system. It is important to note that the major problems that caused the Russian socialist system to fail are seen to have been a result of some of the major Russian cultural and traditional influences. If the country had moved to try and overcome these cultural and traditional challenges, it can be argued that the country’s adoption of socialism would have been successful. The Political and Economic challenges of Capitalism It can be argued that modern politics in most capitalistic countries are not primarily concerned about the overall welfare of the people (demos) as had originally been envisioned it should do under the classical notions of capitalistic democracy. Instead, modern politics in capitalistic societies is noted to be primarily concerned with which political party is in a position to be able to deliver conditions that will sustain the profitability of both corporations and investors. There is a clash of interests between those individuals that wish to implement measures that will seem them successfully slash the currently exorbitant taxes, implement policies that will reduce labor costs and limit the regulations that are negatively affecting the rich, these individuals are noted to be opposed by those who although also want to benefit by undertaking the measures that are being blatantly advocated for by the opposing side, they also wish to utilize a part of government spending and regulation in concerted attempts to try and buoy up demand-driven growth and higher wages for the country’s citizens. Of note however is that both of these two opposing sides have essentially accepted the sine qua non postulation that argues that causing a country’s economy to become economically lucrative for the class that owns the majority of resources is the very hallmark of what can be perceived to be a successful administration10. It is as a result of these constraints and continuous clashing of interests between the different players in modern political systems in capitalistic states that there occasionally emerge some important political fighting and the periodic throwing of the metaphorical bones to the electorate. However, during periods of economic stagnation, these metaphorical bones usually tend to get progressively smaller and at times even disappear. The hollowness of the democracy that is practiced today in capitalistic country’s today is evidenced by the rather blatant corruption of governance at nearly all the major levels and the accompanying lack of any accountability on the part of the system’s major players. The massive corruption ailing democracy in capitalistic countries has been observed to have trigged an overall degeneration of these system while promoting the dominance of culture that is solely focused on an institutionalized and pervasive greed that is gradually contaminating all aspects of life. A clear demonstration of the pervasiveness of this greed is noted by the fact that during the recent global recession, a number of what have been proven to have been fraudulent corporations, investors and institutions were able to misappropriate billions of dollars of the innocent public’s money. They shamelessly went on to disperse a large number of very attractive multimillion bonuses to the greedy company executives that were leading these very companies that are now seen to be on the public dole. This is seen to have been what was a striking aspect that served to remind society of the inherent limits, that are characteristic of self-government as is paraded by the political economies of capitalistic states11. When the individuals and corporations whose actions had resulted in the creation of the global economic crisis declared that they needed bail-outs in order to stay afloat and not collapse, the governments of the capitalistic states are noted to have provided the bailout with little inquiry, debate or deliberation12. The work conducted by Karl Marx is seen to provide a number of vital searing insights on how it can be possible better comprehend the workings of a society which is different from the image is portrays, an analysis of its principles quickly reveals that it is completely something else. One of the criticism that was provided by Marx targeting the capitalist system is that there is a core contradiction that has been built into capitals between its system of blatantly promoting and advocating for the continued private amassing of colossal profits and its ever increasing enhancement of profit and socialization. In other words, Marx points out that while a key virtue of capitalism as compared to some of the various stagnant societal systems that are seen to have preceded it is that capitalism tends to constantly revolutionize not only the social interconnections between the different individuals involved in a production process, but also the society’s productive capacity, this benefit is negated by the fact that at a point is eventually reached whereby, the system’s highly privatized control of the entire country’s economy often tends to come into marked conflict with the rather high productiveness of labor from the society that the system has been keen to develop13. This can in turn be interpreted as meaning that private control and the various dominant property and class relations serve to act as numerous fetters that impede the further development of not only human potential and the overall development of human society, they also fetter the successful sustainability of this human society. As such, it is found to be necessary for these fetters impeding development to burst asunder so as to allow for the development of what will be new phases of human development14. The use of Socialism to Solve the Political and Economic Problems wrought by Capitalism Most capitalistic state in the developed world such as the U.K. and the U.S. are noted to be at the stage whereby their systems need to burst asunder. Capitalism, which is often perceived as being a system that essentially advocates for what is deemed to be generalized commodity production that is solely driven by the rather incessant quest for extensive amounts of individual private gain without any set limitations, and is as such driven to the greedy amassing of large amounts of concentrated with, an exercise which is at times conducted even at the general expense of both environmental sustainability and public welfare is argued to be past the somewhat productive era that it had previously enjoyed during which period it would have been possible for the system to make a number of claims that would have enabled it to be perceived as having some degree of rationality. It can be argue that in light of the economic and political problems facing major capitalist states such as the UK and the United States, we have now reached what can be termed as the end of rational capitalism15. Capitalism in most states is now seen to be surviving on bloated debt, bubbles, astronomic military spending that can only be judged as bordering on suicidal as well as a rampant deadening hyper-commercialism. Since the class societies first came into being about five or six millennia ago, the ruling elite have continuously demonized and decried any ideas that they deemed as threatening the status quo that placed them at an advantage. The capitalistic society as a class society is found to essentially be no different and the proponents of capitalism that are somewhat advantaged by this system have rustle to now denouncing all the various prospective post-capitalist societies as being beyond any possible legitimate consideration in addition to also being of a largely barbaric nature16. While it is not possible for anyone to successfully defend the argument that socialism is essentially inevitable today as the current odds are noted to be rather heavily staked against it, it can however be argue that the adoption of a socialist societal system is of vital importance if humanity is to eventually have what can be adjudged to be a pleasant future. As opposed to the past, barbarism is currently not the greatest threat that is seen to be posed by capitalism and this title has now been taken over by the concept of capitalistic business. The global capitalistic business environment has resulted in a situation whereby the business as usual mentality is feared to have resulted in the extermination of numerous species of animals. This is as a result of the destruction of their habitats and the global warming phenomenon that is seen to be supported by the companies in capitalist societies. It is currently feared that the action of global corporations that are run on capitalist principles will continue to negatively impact the environment until such a time as when it becomes impossible to survive the planet’s climate resulting in an extermination of the human species17. This drawbacks are seen to suggest that the socialist system which serves to offer the opportunity of what will potentially be a more sustainable, highly democratic, egalitarian and effective response to all of society’s problems is of vital importance if a society is to be able to effectively handle the economic and political problems that are seen to result as a direct result of capitalism. The previous failure of the socialist system in the Soviet Union provides the modern day society with the lesson that if the implementation of socialism is not firmly grounded in a country’s popular power, this will cause it to in effect quickly annihilate itself and cause capitalism to be restored. The acceptance of this historical evidence is proof that the unlike the capitalist system, the socialist system is willing to embrace and work on any critique that might be directed at it. While capitalism was able to emerge victorious in the ideological struggle that saw it compete against socialism and was subsequently perceived as being an immense windfall that served to ascertain the economic prosperity of society, all the various global power soon realized that the victory that capitalism had been able to attain represented a rather hollow victory for the human population. As the global stock markets continued to experience an unimpeded rise, the profits that were being generated by corporations soared and the salaries that CEO’s were given eventually reached astronomical amounts, numerous reports from around the world were able to show that conditions were starting to progressively get worse for the larger part of the human population. In a 2005 report released by the UN, it was indicated that the globalization of what is currently a largely unregulated system of market should be considered as being one of the major factors that led to the creation of poverty. The failing of capitalism were further highlighted by a 2003 UN Human Development report that indicated that 54 countries had over the years become poorer as compared to their economic situation in 1990. The report also showed that the number of poor people in 21 countries was noted to increase as opposed to decreasing18. The largest blow to capitalism came in the form of the recent global economic crisis that affect most of the countries in the Western World and necessitated that some developed countries such as Spain and Greece acquire bailout from other countries. Conclusion The idea of capitalism as a political, social and economic system that is in entirety based on the promotion of private ownership that is solely noted to be directed at helping individuals and corporations to obtain the greatest possible profits is found to be entirely absurd in this day and age. Capitalism has run its useful course and it currently has no rational to human life, politics or economy as is evidenced by political and economic turmoil that continues to affect capitalist states. The socialist system which is seen to provide a viable alternative to capitalism presents societies the with the opportunity of creating just egalitarian system that will be able to completely overhaul the political and economic quagmire that has been caused by capitalism. Bibliography Eisler, R.. The real wealth of nations: Creating a caring economics. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2008. Foster, J. B. The end of rational capitalism. Monthly Review, 56(10), 2005, pp. 1-13. Laidler, H. W. History of Socialism: An Historical Comparative Study of Socialism, Communism, Utopia. Routledge. 2013. Marx, K. Capital: A critique of political economy (i): The process of capitalist production. History of Economic Thought Books, 1. 1987. McChesney, R. W., & Foster, J. B. Capitalism, the absurd system: A view from the United States. Monthly Review, 62, 2010, pp. 1-16. Miliband, R. The Socialist Alternative. Journal of Democracy, 3(3), 1992, pp. 118-124. Perelman, M.. The invention of capitalism: Classical political economy and the secret history of primitive accumulation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 2000. Smith, A., Heilbroner, R. L., and Malone, L. J. The essential Adam Smith. New York: W.W. Norton. 1987. Thomas, P. Marxism & Scientific Socialism: From Engels to Althusser(Vol. 10). Routledge. 2008. Read More