Our Excruciating Modernity

On capitalism

[12]

I do not know nearly enough about socioeconomics to share any absolute truth that may aid the world in creating concrete and implementable policy, but then again, there is no absolute truth or one right answer, for there have been debates concerning economics which have never been attenuated, and in the rare cases in which there has been an outcome, it has never led towards sustainable prosperity for the concerned group. With this in mind, I would like to share my visibly simplistic, but again not worthless, thoughts on capitalism.

If I write on "capitalism", I must clarify what I mean by it. The IMF puts forth a definition of capitalism which you and I can surely agree with, which is that capitalism is "an economic system in which private actors own and control property in accord with their interests". [13] In addition, I believe that under capitalism, the large majority of the "interests" of private actors are motivated by one element: profit. This forthright greed for profit, for the increase in money and wealth of you, me, the corporations, and every other private actor, fundamentally incentivised innovation and allowed new goods, services and processes to not only be created but also become widely available on a scale and for prices never before seen, all in a system of almost free trade, namely, capitalism. This original version of capitalism I have found to be beautiful, for it is fair. 

If a consumer has no interest in an element, that element disappears, along with the organisation responsible for its creation and distribution, and then it is replaced by elements that are more competitive, advanced and relevant than previously, which leaves the consumer in a more favourable position. On the other hand, if a consumer has an interest in an element, it shall be used and consumed in exchange for another element, typically money, which leaves the consumer satisfied, for he has voluntarily made an exchange he considers worthwhile, and leaves the individual who has exchanged with the consumer with something he considers more valuable than the initial element, and which can, additionally, be used to increase the quantity and quality of that initial element. But, in this example of fairness we have not considered what the means employed for there to be things to exchange were, and how the exchange came to be considered as worthwhile by both parties. This is where I believe the beauty and fairness of capitalism has waned, and where the prosperous garden that it was turns into the incinerator that it is. If this exchange takes place today, in a global environment of extreme competitiveness, the parties who engage in the exchange must, to make it worthwhile for themselves and their interests, generate an economic return by maximising the extraction of value from resources, which is the means utilised by the parties for there to be elements and for the exchange to be worthwhile in the current climate.

Put simply, for there to be a good or service to exchange, resources are used, and for the exchange to be worthwhile, so for the good or service to bring in more than it brought out, and this on a global scale, resources are exploited. These resources are social and environmental, and their selfish exploitation is a crime which has been committed in the name of profit and economic growth, by the children of capitalism, corporations. I believe capitalism has exploited socio-environmental resources and we can blame its key actors, the very largest corporations, for creating the storm that is slowly but surely looming over humanity, man-made climate change. To extirpate the world out of the prospect of a disastrous and fatal future, we need a reformed version of capitalism.