There is a rising faction amongst the general population that believes that capitalism is inherently exploitative and unfair. This has lead to a trend of many smart young people withdrawing from society, creating a choke point for fresh ideas and entrepreneurship to enter the markets.
Entrepreneurs are the life blood of any economy. They are the founders of industry and the engines of progress. An economy that fails to spur new growth by creating incentives for it, quickly loses momentum and starts to fall behind.
This creates a feed back loop where the assumption that capitalism is biased becomes the reality. When people refuse to participate in industry for ideological reasons, they starve themselves of all potential for success. Thus it is a self fulfilling prophecy. It would be as if they were playing poker and always folded, because they assumed their opponents would always have a better hand so they don't take the risks, until they run out of money.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Unfettered capitalism is exploitive and unfair. “The most important thing is the concentration of capital, and it means that we prioritize profit and the accumulation of money above all else, and we seek it at any human and environmental cost… But when we talk about ideas like democratic socialism, it means putting democracy and society first, instead of capital first; it doesn’t mean that the actual concept of capitalistic society should be abolished,” AOC
jniece
Level 6
Oct 15, 2019
1
I could make a strong semantic argument about why this quote doesn't make any sense, or poke holes in the fact that you are relying on someone else for information and ideas, effectively meaning you have none of your own, but I've played those cards already, so I'll make a fresh argument.
There is a difference between the concentration of capitol and entrepreneurship. If someone in the middle class starts a business and it is successful, then they sell it, they might make a few million dollars. There is hardly anything unfair or exploitative there, they took the risk and so they should reap the reward. So long as everyone had the same opportunity to do so, there is no problem.
The problem is there is a connection between opportunity and power. That is to say, the rich can afford themselves new opportunity through lobbying and social engineering. There is no reason a business interest can not protect the environment, unless outside factors, such as political climate and natural factors impede your development.
For example,
You have probably heard in recent years about honey bee colonies dying due to a mysterious condition known as colony collapse disorder. However, honey bee populations have remained relatively stable despite massive die offs. This is because beekeepers have breed more bees to counteract the die offs, because they have a vested business interest in keeping bees alive.
Meanwhile, the recent attack of a Saudi Arabian oil refinery by Houthi rebels saw marginal increases in oil prices, and the damage has already been repaired as of yesterday. This fast turn around should be shocking and has a lot of implications for our society. If the workers doing the repairs were in charge of making the financial decisions, do you think they would have been willing to risk their own money to make the repairs?
Capitalism is not exploitative and unfair. The uncontrolled capitalism is. There are ways to do it right and ways to do it wrong.
Do you know which country's constitution was considered the best written constitution in the world?
It is not the British, not American. It was the constitution of the USSR - the former Soviet Union. It included the best rights for the common man with the best controls over injustice.... but what happened?
It was also the worst implemented constitution in the world. The same thing with capitalism. American capitalism is capitalism run amok.
This is true about most things in life. Things look good on paper but bad in practice. A well written software is badly configured for a client. This is a common story with the expensive ERP software suits. But people commonly associate the failure and blame with the plan, the software and hardly with the bad implementation efforts.
St-Sinner
Level 9
Oct 15, 2019
2
1of5:
Thanks, just saved me a bunch of typing.
Your argument doesn't explain China. Or Russia, for that matter. Both were backwards, rural countries, until Socialism spurred massive industrial growth. You also don't consider that both Capitalism and Socialism can coexist in the same economic framework. And that Socialism is most successfully applied in already-advanced Capitalist countries.
davknight
Level 8
Oct 15, 2019
0
China has its own entrepreneurs, as does Russia. In fact, Chinese entrepreneurs have a harder time than in the US because they face more competition, they still fundamentaly have a free market economy. My argument applies to both capitalism and socialism alike, because socialistic countries still need growth in the form of new businesses and industries, and that starts with people having novel ideas and implementing them. All ideas not tried automatically fail.
I assumed you were above 70, with such rigid thinking and knee jerk beliefs. I was surprised. Sadly theres lots of people like you, who can't frame anything outside of their own viewpoint of greed and predation and exploitation.
MarkiusMahamius
Level 7
Oct 15, 2019
1
There are also tons of people who didn't start investing early on and are broke after retirement. There are just too many people who totally rely on their occupation as their sole source of income. You want a rigid, antiquated idea I will show you one.
@Happy_Killbot
Are you talking about me? 
Totally agree. Capitalism and the encouragement of the entrepreneur should be lauded. The Industrial Revolution, coupled with the Northern European Protestant work ethic, as pointed out by Weber, is a testament to this
The problem is corporatisation which does nothing for the creators of innovation. It grasps resources and then re-distributes for control.
Money is not the problem. Allocation of resources is.
Geoffrey51
Level 8
Oct 15, 2019
1
Absolutely. When people at the top are relied upon for development, they take the lion's share. There need to be more people at the bottom moving up, and that starts with the belief that they can.
established capitalists take every opportunity to squash the competition, squeeze every penny from its employees and consumers. it has become exploitive and unfair. the exceptions aren't enough to add up to anything.
hankster
Level 9
Oct 15, 2019
0
The majority of millionaires and billionaires are self made. Exceptions are the rule.
[cnbc.com]
If you don't play the game, you can expect to lose. Most people don't even learn the rules.
@Happy_Killbot or play a different game, that's not rigged or full of unnecessary greed.
@Happy_Killbot different rules.
@hankster Like it or hate it, greed is part of the human condition. Either you leverage it to try and make society better, or it destroys you. The reason capitalism has been dominant for so long is because it creates incentive for individuals to continue and promote society. That is why capitalism has raised more people out of poverty than any other system.
@Happy_Killbot I'll say it again.... or play a different game. greed and selfishness are part of the human condition, but generosity and compassion are also. capitalism does not get a free pass. it's good, but it's not ideal. I feel like those who are greedy should choke on a piece of Gristle.
@hankster Generousity is the secret to winning in capitalism. You lower your prices to maximize profits. Everyone seems to forget that.
@Happy_Killbot seems well forgotten. once you buy the laws surrounding regulation you can do whatever you want. it's out of hand.
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