INTRODUCTION:
Along with the advance and development of the society, capitalism is acquired by lots of countries among the world. But in the meantime, an increasing number of problems are brought to our attention, one of which is the pros and cons of capitalism. As to whether it is a blessing or a curse, people take different attitudes. Capitalism can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe, and this economic system has been contributing to the whole human race for centuries. However, people are attaching more importance to what capitalism is really doing to us, and they start wondering if another world is possible. My paper will focus on the question “Is capitalism good or evil”, and discuss different views about it.
Capitalism is currently one of the two major economic systems that are being operated among the world. For my interpretation, its basics are privatization and individualism. That is, capitals are privately owned, profit of production is also privatized, and the society exists more on the basis of individuals than of groups. From an economic aspect, we undoubtedly acknowledge that capitalism is making great progress and wealth. As an example, the most powerful country in our time, the United States is a typical capitalist country. Yet, we also cannot deny that this system is causing problems and they are gradually getting widely concerned. Therefore, this controversial issue is often brought into public focus. The question is, is capitalism actually good to keep or it is evil to be replaced?
There has always been a debate nowadays over the topic of capitalism. Those who favor capitalism argue that it is doing more goods than bads for us. But people who criticize capitalism, on the other hand, hold...
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...m various angles and let time prove for us.
References:
Jonathan Korman (Apr. 15 2005). ‘Liberty and Capitalism’. Retrieved on Mar 22, 2011 from:
http://miniver.blogspot.com/2005/04/liberty-and-capitalism.html
David McNally (2006). ‘The Invisible Hand is a Closed Fist: Inequality, Alienation, and the Capitalist Market Economy’ from Another World is Possible: globalization and Anti-Capitalism, 2nd edition, Arbeiter Ring, 60-95.
Ursula K. Le Guin (2006). ‘The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia: Chapter 5’ from The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia, Victor Gollancz Limited, 126-153.
Anonymous author (Mar. 1 2007). ‘American Capitalism, A Necessary Evil?’. Retrieved on Mar 23 from:
http://www.theshieldnewsletter.com/?p=112
Lynn Harsh (Nov. 2002). ‘Capitalism – A Deal with the Devil?’. Retrieved on Mar. 23 from:
http://www.effwa.org/newsletter/2002_11b.php
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Capitalism is an economic system where people and private businesses are able to control their own trade and means of production for profit. It emerged as technology, production and trade began to increase. During the industrial revolution, capitalism started to influence people more. Some characteristics of capitalism are capital accumulation, competitive markets and wage labor. The government isn’t supposed to interfere with trade. Individual markets raise or lower their prices due to competition and demand for goods. There has been a lot of debate over the usefulness of capitalism. Some believed capitalism had negative effects while others saw more benefits. Adam Smith and Andrew Carnegie pushed for a capitalistic society, but had different beliefs on how economic wealth should be distributed; Karl Marx advocated for a communistic society where wealth was evenly distributed.
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Capitalism dominates the world today. Known as a system to create wealth, capitalism’s main purpose is to increase profits through land, labor and free market. It is a replacement of feudalism and slavery. It promises to provide equality and increases living standards through equal exchanges, technological innovations and mass productions. However, taking a look at the global economy today, one can clearly see the disparity between developed and developing countries, and the persistence of poverty throughout the world despite the existence of abundant wealth. This modern issue was predicted and explained a hundred and fifty years ago in Karl Marx’s Capital.
Capitalism is an economic system in which the production and distribution are privately owned, the government involvement is minimal,and there is free enterprise. In Capitalism, the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit in a competitive market. Also the economic investment, ownership and profits are all owned by individuals. Under capitalism the state is separated from the economy, which means that the government has no role in business. In other words, everyone works for themselves. The market forces in a capitalist country runs by supply and demand which it determines the price and later on it turns into profits. Supply is the quantity of goods and services a business is willing to sell, while Demand is the quantity of goods and services consumers are willing to buy. Therefore, Capitalism is the best economic system because it rewards the ones that work hard and since the government does not control trade, there is a large variety of goods and creates options for consumers to fit their personal needs.
Capitalism is a very complex system that is discuss by many authors, scholars and economists. Robert Heilbroner is a famous American economist who creatively discusses the system of capitalism in Twenty First Century Capitalism. He reveals the abstruse capitalism system and its role in society. Heilbroner begins by comparing traditional society with modern capitalist society and differentiate capital with wealth, which facilitate the reader to understand the basic definition of capitalism. He then illustrates the most crucial aspect of capitalism, that is, the two realms of capitalism. According to Heilbroner, the two realms of capitalism are state and economy or government and business. The relation between these realms is interesting in its nature, because one aspect of their relationship make them beneficial for society and another aspect turn them into dysfunctional in society. Realm of the state and the economy are beneficial when they rely on each other, as they support each other they results in peaceful state and economy of a society. At the same time, they have power to proceed independently. As soon as they split, they are dysfunctional for society because state might block the path of the economy to grow freely and economy can independently survive without supporting the government resulting in weak society. Western societies are the living example of capitalism. They present very languish condition of moral and social values, however, they proudly presents their materialistic life. This unbalance situation is because of the contribution of capitalism in modern society. The insatiable feature of capitalism results into accumulation of capital, which diminish the value of the human being and enhance the value of money an...
Shawki, Ahmed, Paul D’Amato (2000), “Briefing: The Shape of World Capitalism,” International Socialist Review, [http://www.isreview.org/issues/11/world_capitalism.shtml], accessed 19 May 2012.