Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Anti-Capitalist vs. Pro-Capitalist

Better Essays
976 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Anti-Capitalist vs. Pro-Capitalist
In a world of perfection there would be no hunger, no poverty, and no crime, but no such world can truly exist. There will always be suffering, hurt, anguish, and despair. Yet, shouldn 't we strive to provide a good future for all? This concept of the most amount of good for the most amount of people is called Utilitarianism. Contrary to popular belief, the United States doesn 't believe in such a state of being. Instead, through capitalism and economic globalization the United States has proven to believe in the exact opposite of utilitarianism. Globalization has changed the traditional trends of international relations. Now states are struggling to gain more and more economic power. This economic power is related to their social, political as well as technological development. However, the means to develop economically with a faster speed is the capitalist ideology. Capitalism is commonly understood to mean an economic system in which the means of production are predominantly privately owned and operated for profit, often through the employment of labour. Money mediates the distribution and exchange of goods, services, and labour in largely free markets. Decisions regarding investment are made privately, and production and distribution is primarily controlled by companies each acting in its own interest. So what are the pro-capitalist views verses the anti-capitalist views? We will first take a look at the capitalist theory presented by Adam Smith in his work, "The Wealth Of Nations" published in 1776, elaborated these notions of moral philosophy into a theory of economic behavior (Peet, 25). The contemporary economic trends are formulated on the roots of capitalism as every state is heading towards regional economic integration and following the policies of free trade, market liberalization, and privatization. All these approaches are an adaptation from Smith 's work of "Wealth of Nation". However, smith has presented a systematic analysis regarding the behavior of individuals. These individuals if taken with in the domestic sphere are the various business merchants and business organizations, while in the international market are the countries. Therefore, every individual and country perusing its self-interest and national interest are facing the various challenges in the competition of economic development (Peet). Therefore, now the foreign policy of states and the political dominance of any state have nothing to do with the business policies of any business company. To help better understand capitalism let 's take a look on the economics of capitalism and its development. Briefly stated, the economics of capitalism grew of the interactions of the following five items: commodities, money, labor power, means of production, and production (Robbins, 41). These are the five things that are necessary in order to have capitalism. So let look at the Nike Corporation for example, they invest money to buy commodies, consisting of things such as leather and rubber, machines to make textiles, and factories, which they combine with labor, the people who design , produce, and assemble the commodity with they sell for a profit (Robbins, 42). To keep the cycle going this means that they must have labor and machinery working for a low price. However, this development of Industrial Capitalism gained serious opposition. Anti-capitalism believe capitalism, by its ' unnatural constraint on the free flow of wealth, decreases the quality of life for most, while only increasing it for the few. Consider all the aspects of life which can be regarded as contributing to the quality of life; housing, food, education, health, the arts, and social activities. Anti-capitalist believes that capitalism does not actually improve any of these things. They feel capitalism is a system that allows an oligarchy or a plutocracy to accumulate capital and thereby restrict the natural circulation of wealth through the economy. So who does this help only the wealthy. For example, Maquiladoras, are referred to as "in bond" or "twin" plants, are allowed to temporarily import into Mexico (free of tax) machinery, equipment, replacement parts, raw materials, and just about anything that was used in the assembly or manufacture of semi-finished or finished products. The largest issue surrounding the Maquiladora industry is the exploitation of cheap labor (film). The working conditions are often unsafe, workers are not compensated adequately for their labor, attempts to unionize are discouraged; and sexual discrimination and harassment are too common. The conditions in and outside the Maquiladoras are terrible. Workers perform tasks such as welding without protective masks, leather gloves, or goggles (in many instances) and industrial accidents and toxic exposures are common (film). This, along with malnutrition caused by low salaries, produce skin illnesses, cancer, irregularities in menstruation, abortions, tumors, intoxication and birth of undernourished or disabled babies. Anti-capitalist does not believe in this kind of labour. As long as the capitalist are earning their profit this will not stop.
So my question is why does no one agree on capitalism? It 's hard to answer this objectively. Apparently there has never been a clear agreement about the linguistic, economic, ethical and moral implications, that is, the "political economy" of capitalism itself. Rather like a governing political party that everyone seeks to control, regardless of ideology, the definition of "capitalism" at any given time tends to reflect the current conflicts between interest groups.
Despite opposition, capitalism continued to expand and prosper. It has succeeded due to its enormous ability to create wealth and to raise the real standard of living for the wealthy. New demands imposed on the economic system included ending environmental pollution, extending equal opportunities and rewards to women and minorities, and coping with the social costs of unsafe products and working conditions. Presently, the only economic challenge to capitalism is to keep employment high and prices stable.

Bibliography
Notes on the Free Slave Trade film
Robbins, H. Richard, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalist, Article
Peet, Richard, Theories of Development, 1999, the Guilford Press.

Bibliography: Notes on the Free Slave Trade film Robbins, H. Richard, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalist, Article Peet, Richard, Theories of Development, 1999, the Guilford Press.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Capitalism is a system that can be used in different areas such as political, social and economical. Capitalism is a system where the country makes money by people having private businesses. Under capitalism, the country’s economy is run by people owning capital. The goal of the businesses under capitalism is to make money. The businesses want to make the value of the company as high as possible. When a country is under capitalism, the government makes laws to make sure that all businesses are fair. Capitalism takes place all around the world in places such as the United States and Germany (Demott).…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Growing up with the catholic faith and its rules of ethics and morals, along with my father’s favorite quote, “we make our own paths, all decisions we make have consequences- whether bad or good”. This belief makes it hard to argue that we don’t have a choice. Yet, we do have a choice to do things, go along with societies choices or our skewed version of those choices we call our own. Our actions have been filtered through the many things we have come across in our life- everything leaves an impression. Capitalism in the world and in our own country has affected us, in which we have all participated in and in which we have all been influences by. This is best described by Marx’s ideal type and in his explanation of objectivity.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Capitalism refers to the factors of production being privately controlled rather than by the state and that money is invested in businesses to make a profit. The foundation of capitalism was created by Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher and economist, during the Age of Enlightenment. Smith’s objectives differed from those of the feudal empires and monarchies. The natural laws created by Adam Smith, which characterize the Industrial Revolution in the United States, led to a dramatic increase in competition and a transcendence in the rate of innovation, it is best exemplified through Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla’s war of currents.…

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Wealth of nations (1776) is a book, written by the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790) in which he describes the nature of capitalism. (CN, 2010) The word “Capitalism” is derived from capital and the word capital itself deriving from the Latin word caput, meaning head as in a head of chattel, in other words a unit of movable wealth. In capitalism, money takes the place of chattel as the unit of movable wealth, and individuals, not the government, privately explain wealth’s use and circulation through acts of exchange. (Smith 1776,p 638) (M. Cahn 2014)…

    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is an economic and political system in which industry and trade are managed by individual owners for profit, rather than by the government. There are both benefits and negative consequences to the system of capitalism because of this it is in my opinion impossible to reap to reap the benefits of capitalism without experiencing any of the negative consequences.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is a hegemonic global, economic, and social order that increasingly shows a fatal contradiction between reality and reason, where it threatens human welfare as well as but also the continuation of most sensitive forms of life on the planet. Three critical crises make up the contemporary world condition originating from capitalist development: the emergence of global imperial instability associated with shifting world hegemony; the Great Financial Crisis and stagnation/depression; the growing threat of planetary ecological collapse.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Capitalism & Greed

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the article, "Capitalism and Greed"(1982) by James L. Doti the author states, “In his path breaking work, The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith described an economic system based on self-interest"(1). This economic system based on self-interest is the foundation for capitalism and pertains to the 21st century where America still uses capitalism as its economic model. In the article, "America's Disease is Greed"(2004) by Andrew Greeley, he discusses and makes many points how greed comes with capitalism. First glance at a capitalist economy the morals of the self-interest theory might get questioned, but a more in depth look at the capitalist society it shows that it is the best way to gain economic performance.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (commonly abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations) is considered to be the first full treatment on the study of Economics. This work essentially lays the foundation for the economic system known as Capitalism. Interestingly enough, Capitalism was a term first brought into the public debate, somewhat pejoratively, by Karl Marx himself in describing a "capitalist" as a private owner of capital or the means or production. ("Capitalism" (Wikipedia), 2008). A consensus definition of this idea is an economic system based on private individual ownership of property in which the distribution of goods is determined freely by competing market forces and investments are made by individuals. ("Capitalism" (Merriam-Webster), 2008). In a Capitalist society, individuals are free to own property and invest their capital in the pursuit of profit with relatively limited…

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism And Socialism

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership. It is good because there is a welfare capitalism. John Maynard Keynes said, "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of reasons, will somehow work for the benefit of us all." Capitalisms…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith was first published in 1776. The book alluded to create a new understanding of ‘classical economics’. It aimed to overturn the disallusion of mercantilist systems, and simultaneously preached the benefits of free trade, particularly encouraging the usage of government intervention through regulation, but not with vested interests. Smith also frequently inserted policy recommendations combined with moral philosophy to extend his arguments and create a sound and particularly well justified piece. The book itself is substantially long, and is split into 6 books, each with a specific theme. In my review I will examine each book, picking up on the major themes and analysing their relevance to economics today.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    the Wealth of Nations.”Edited by Edwin Cannan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976. Available online at: http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html, 14/3/2013…

    • 2673 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Classical school started during the late 18th century, when Adam Smith published his work, Wealth of Nations. It is a very important work that established economics as an independent field of study and set forth the development of modern economics. Their ideas such as division of labour and comparative advantages are still discusses and implied in today’s world.…

    • 2641 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    References: Bales, K., (2004). Disposable people: New slavery in the global economy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press…

    • 3388 Words
    • 97 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Adam Smith, recognized as the grandfather of the modern market economy, understood the link between markets and morality. Contrary to his common portrayal, he did not believe that a successful economy could arise from the raw, unbridled pursuit of self-interest. Himself a moral philosopher, he maintained that self-interest could fuel a successful economy only if it were narrowed by the constraints of traditional morality. Today, we are witnessing what happens when these constraints are relaxed.…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    miss

    • 1800 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Adam Smith is regarded as the father of modern economics and considered still one of the greatest minds in economics today. This is greatly due to his groundbreaking classic work; The Wealth of Nations. Smith addresses two main concepts that contribute to the wealth of nation. This essay will reflect Smith’s understands of the division of labour and exchange and how these two concepts relate to the wealth of nations. By trying to understand these concepts it is important to recognize the consequences of these phenomenon in the eighteenth century. Smith therefore acknowledges the difficulties that arise out of these concepts and suggest solutions therefore.…

    • 1800 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics