As Joseph A. Schumpeter once said, “at the heart of capitalism is creative destruction.” This quote is evidently prevalent in our society as the state of capitalism in America is at the point where inequality breeds more inequality. The more money one has, the more money one wants.
In the podcast, Capitalism will eat up democracy- unless we speak up, the former Minister of Finance for Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, goes further into detail about the destructive qualities of capitalism. Specifically, he delves into his self-identified “twin peaks paradox”. One of these ‘peaks’ represent the increasing amount of debt and the other represents the amount of idle cash belonging to the rich and corporations who are too afraid to invest it. Varoufakis adds that this excessive surplus of frivolous money could be put towards, “all those things that humanity desperately needs, like green energy.” Instead, the purpose this money serves is to solely “[inflate] stock exchanges and [bid] up house prices… So a mountain of debt and a mountain of idle cash form twin peaks, failing to cancel each other out through the normal operation of the markets.” In sum, Varoufakis strongly believes that capitalism encourages gross wastefulness.
Though many Americans mistakenly believe that capitalism inevitably begets democracy, I agree with Varoufakis on the basis that capitalism is actively destroying our democracy. As capitalism grows, so does corporate power and inequality while the twin peaks get taller and a larger amount of human resources and wealth are being wasted.
One prime example that displays the wastefulness and inequality that capitalism produces is the company Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos. While Jeff Bezos lives lavishly on his income of $2,489 a second, nearly 1 in 10 of his employees depend on food stamps. This exhibits the “tug-of-war between capital and labor” that Varoufakis mentions. To further elaborate, this creates tension between those who own but do not work in the company and those who work but do not own the company. The owners gain on the labor the workers produce.
Most free-market cheerleaders like to defend rich people, like Jeff Bezos, by saying they worked hard for their money and deserve it. Not to say that Jeff Bezos doesn’t work hard, but I have the inkling that those forced to work 3 jobs to pay for rent work harder. Therefore, it’s evident that capitalism doesn’t reward hard work. Rather, it rewards race, class, family connections, luck, and other unearned advantages.
In America, we have a mixed economy of socialism and capitalism, though we undoubtedly have more capitalist values than socialist. Since the system we have right now is clearly not working, we should be encouraged to advocate for a more socialistic rooted economy. One that ensures basic human rights and necessities to all people regardless of their financial standing. At the end of the day, in our current system, our value as a human comes from our productivity and it’s crucial that we change that.
We shouldn’t have to tolerate these levels of inequalities that so strongly go against decent morals. Capitalism benefits the minority at the expense of the majority. Since the people capitalism negatively impacts greatly outweigh the people capitalism rewards, why is capitalism still being used? In the words of Albert Einstein, “if you’re not confused, you’re not thinking.”
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Wow!! I have to say, I’m always impressed by your ability to argue for so many different topics (probably because I’m really bad at it and just make boring summaries lol). In this blog, you even took your source and argued against it!! I liked that you said “free-market cheerleaders” as it made me smirk (NOT laugh). I do wonder why you used a quote from Alber Einstein even though you usually hate on him. You know how I feel about fake stans. #carosblogsisoverparty
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I hate you.
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TPWK. I will be speaking with my lawyer.
XX Em
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
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This is impressive work by any standard Caro. You have navigated this complex idea with grace and power and formality, and you have carried through your own position and effectively built on the ideas of the text under discussion. Way to go.
I LOVED this TED Talk, as well. It gave me new vocabulary to talk about the way the problem works. I had already often noticed how much more friendly free-market capitalism is with totalitarianism than with democracy. If the people have a voice, they will express their desire that the super-rich not have everything. Our own country has spent a good amount of money and violence propping up regimes and supporting coups in countries around the world in the interest if “free-markets”.
I don’t know how much time you spend scrolling twitter, but there is a TON of commentary on this right now during the shutdown. Suddenly, we can see the house of cards that our system is built upon, when workers can’t work but are expected to pay rent, when huge companies like the airlines have enriched their stockholders instead of setting aside money in case of emergency, or when some of the most “essential services” are those that we have not considered “worthy” (like stocking the grocery store shelves).
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I don’t use twitter much but I’ve seen a LOT of posts about that on Instagram on accounts I follow. A lot of people are complaining about the fact that the ‘non essential’ workers in companies are being sent home and the ‘essential’ workers are forced to stay, yet often the non essential workers are paid more, even now. I’ve also seen that Donald Trump is now saying he’ll treat people with the virus for free… kind of ironic in light of the whole universal-healthcare idea that he claims to hate because of his free-market philosophy.
Anyways, I hope we’ll get to see our system change sometime soon.
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