Nature Of Capitalism

John Gardener once said, “there is not so much difference between the ideologies of capitalism and communism…capitalism is the exploitation of man by man, and communism is the reverse.” Although the premise of this paper is not to convince anyone of communism, it is to highlight the exploitative nature of capitalism in practice today, specifically in America and the western world.

Capitalism’s main goal is always to create surplus value. So naturally, that onus falls on maximizing the productivity of labor. When this occurs the level of productivity in a firm or industry jumps. If an industry, is able to increase productivity and lower costs it will enjoy profits at higher than the average rate. More firms adapt and imitate the actions of the original firm, knowing that they will be driven out of business if they do not. As a result, profit rates will fall back to the average. And the cycle repeats.

This cycle is the basis of the capitalism we know today in America. Combined with the societal climate fostered by politics, media, and the culture in general, it becomes a dangerous system in which the most destructive attributes of the human condition are emphasized over and over again, on every level from micro to macro, leading to the detriment and eventual demise of a society.

The difference between a successful implementation of capitalism and failed implantation is culture. In the current climate the cultural values of western society are degenerating under the influences of corporate politics, the commercialization of culture and the impact of mass media. This climate fosters a culture of sedation and distraction to escape the massive pitfalls of American life such as the oppressive and elitist power structures that exist, a...

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...ecessary component of the new form. I have argued previously that the contradictory pulls of integration and disintegration, of collaboration and cut-throat competition are built into the very nature of how network forms of organization grow and develop (Powell, 1990). How these combinational possibilities are realized depends largely on social and political relations and the trajectories inherent in particular technologies.

In conclusion, the system must shift; it must change the things that society values from the wants of the few to the needs of the many. History has shown that a democratic system or not, once the power is taken away from the people, balance is eventually restored. In every case, the firms that have resisted and tried to counteract the change have always failed, while the firms who have embraced the change have always stayed ahead of the curve.