Let’s start with the basics. What is capitalism? In short, it’s the economic system we operate under today. In it, the government has no control over the economy. There are many reasons why capitalism isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, and how bad it actually is for our environment, social structures and economic growth. Here are a few:
Inequality
For capitalism to work, a capitalist class and a working class are needed. Capitalists are those who own factories, companies etc., and the working class is ANYONE who gets paid by a capitalist, no matter how much money they make. The capitalist class generally makes a lot of money off of the workers, generates tonnes of profit, but only gives the working class a very small portion of it. This is why only a few percent of the world bask in riches, and the remaining scrape whatever goods they can get their hands on. We have enough wealth on Earth for everyone to live comfortably, but poverty still remains because capitalists don’t want to share the pie.
Privatization Isn’t So Great
Basically, most government owned companies became privately owned. A bunch of rich individuals got the power of providing people with the services they need. For example, a hospital that becomes privately owned automatically aims for profit, not to help people. Whether we like it or not, corporations rule the world today, and everything they do is based on increasing profits, regardless of who it’ll impact along the way.
Greed
The system facilitates greed, because the more money you have, the more money you can make. The system is built in a way that allows and encourages greed-based behaviour by capitalists, and expects the opposite from the working class, who should sacrifice for the cause of profit generation.
Pollution and Depletion of Resources
Capitalists, unfortunately, only think about their personal gain, and don’t care about what happens in the long run. Factories cause so much pollution, but it’s more than just that. We have super high rates of deforestation and air pollution. We’re generating more waste than ever before and we’re using up whatever finite resources we have left. Unsustainable development isn’t development.
Basic Needs
Basic Needs Like we mentioned earlier, the government lifts its hands away from all aspects of the economy, including health and education, which were previously provided by the state. This is dangerous because many end up without these basics, but also because, as we mentioned above, privatization leads to corruption. The needs of the people fade into the background pretty fast in a capitalist system.
Harmful Industry Practices
To name a very few, the beauty industry and the pharmaceutical industry have done horrible things to our society. To make profit, the beauty industry infiltrates the media and convinces us that there’s something wrong with us, that we need the lightening creams to closer resemble Western ideals of beauty bought by colonization, or the metabolism boosters to closer resemble the photoshopped models on the cover of magazines. Industries don’t just sell products to consumers anymore; they brainwash them too. Thanks, capitalism.
In short, whilst we don’t know what’s coming next, capitalism isn’t the destination in this journey. Yes, capitalism is just a little better than what came before it, but that doesn’t take away from all the harmful things that we have to live with everyday because of it.
