Is Capitalism Truly the Problem?

We are at a period in history where we truly need to question what we used to accept as fact. This questioning, inspired by the movie Money&Life which premiered in San Francisco today, has brought me to a serious, and very controversial question: is capitalism truly the problem?

As a black man, I have grown up seeing and experiencing the inequity and inequality  which springs from capitalism. For this current system to work, there must be scarcity, whether this scarcity is actual or not. In our current society, there must be haves and have-nots; this is generally accepted by all who view or current situation as unacceptable.

Why I ask the question “is capitalism truly the problem” is because, upon mediation, I began to realize that capitalism shares a common thread with its predecessors. Feudalism, Slavery, Modern-capitalism and Soviet-style communism all have had one thing in common: exploitation. As long as exploitation exists, things, by definition, cannot be equitable nor equal. Until the mindset which perpetuates exploitation is cured, we will never make any type of progress toward the utopia so many of us crave.

The perceived crux of our generation is how to do we move forward from this point. Are we to try and fix capitalism or are we to move toward socialism or communism? I think this proverbial fork in the road is slightly misunderstood. Whether or not we continue in capitalism, or shift to another system, if we do not overcome the need to exploit, whatever progress made will be for not. Take China for example. Tired of being control by the Bourgeoisie and Feudal Lords, an army arose to empower the people. They did not work to eradicate the disease of the exploitative mindset, however, and paid dearly for it. Once in power, government officials began taking more than they needed, acting as if they deserved more due to their rank. They ignored the fact that there actions would have dire consequences, the rest would suffer because of their arogance. After many years, the Chinese grew tired and the Bourgeoisie was able to reclaim the economy. The same happened in Russia. Where exploitation exists, there is no peace and there is no utopia.

By no means am I advocating capitalism, I believe the system inherently encourages greed, but communism can do they same if left unchecked. We, as a people, must decide that we no longer want to be exploited, nor do we want to exploit. We must realize our interconnectedness and work to strengthen our communities. I believe it doesn’t matter what framework we choose to barter in, as long as we agree on a way to do it equitably. Getting caught up on the name of the economic system makes it too easy to loose sight of the underlying factors that support the actions we despise. No, I do not like how the human race allows some to live in extreme poverty while others are ridiculously wealthy. No, I do not think the way currently live is the optimal choice. I do think, however, that simply switching economic systems will not solve the problem. Here’s a metaphor: A dirty player will break the rules no matter what sport you are playing. If they are cheating in football, what makes you think they will change their act in soccer? People will attempt to exploit no matter what economic system they are in until they know better. Until the want of exploitation is eradicated, we will continuously run into the same problem.