CAPITALISM: A SOCIAL PLAGUE
"capitalism: the economic system in which all or most of the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit , originally under fully competitive conditions: generally characterized by a tendency toward concentration of wealth"
Capitalism, since it was first implemented, has led to a corruption of the human spirit. For this “economic system” affects far more than just the economy; it affects Man’s nature, the government as well as the social order. The affects of capitalism have been far reaching and invariably nefarious.
Capitalism has affected human nature, turning mankind into a race of greedy, self-centered, conformists. We are taught from birth that to succeed is everything, that we should always play to win, that anything worth doing is worth doing “right.” Personal goals reach only to the extent of personal success; that is, becoming wealthy. In a society ruled by capitalistic competition, who cares about anyone else? It is all about personal success; one great attempt to become part of the corporate world. For “he who dies with the most toys, wins.” And to win is everything, in nearly every aspect of our society; in sports, school, business, even life itself, all consumed by the incessant, nagging, bred in desire to “make it.” Free thought is a vanishing skill, most except what they are told is right. Thus, with each generation capitalism becomes deeper and deeper seeded in our society. People care less and less for their fellow humans, and become more and more self-centered. Human brotherhood becomes a dream of few; money the dream of many. Capitalism has a corrosive affect on Man’s way of thinking, turning him into a mindless drone, utterly submissive to the god known as merchandise. The masses would prefer to take their chances at becoming one of the rich and submit to private property than risk thinking for themselves. We are forced to except capitalism or be an out-cast, shunned by all. We must choose between conformity and free-thought; ignorant bliss and the painful realization that our society is far from a utopia. Clearly, most choose ignorance.
Capitalism has had equally far-reaching affect on our government, needless to say, these affects have been perpetually abominable. The affect on American government is not always obvious, although always there. It is our capitalistic society for which we may thank virtually every war we have ever entered. The most recent, and one of the most blatantly obvious examples of this fact was the Gulf War. While the official reason for declaring war on Iraq was because they had violated some declaration of the United Nations, to anyone willing to consider other possibilities it was clear that American oil interests were the real reason for the war. For if Iraq held Kuwait, they had a large portion of the US oil supply in their hands, giving them control over prices, etc. Clearly this would not have been beneficial to the Mega-corporations involved in oil trade with the Middle East. Virtually every war from the War of 1812 through the most recent gulf war has been caused, not by America’s “policemen of the world” complex but rather by American based global corporations, seeking to protect their own interests through an all out war. The government, always eager to spawn more nationalism, and gain the support of wealthy companies, eagerly jumps into a war when it seems that business will prosper by it. Naturally, there are many who would oppose war if it were simply fought for oil rights, so the government creates a guise to fool those reluctant to fight for the corporations. They turn it into an issue of right versus wrong; the god-fearing, righteous, democratic, philanthropic Americans against the fanatical, evil, terrorist-loving Muslims, or against the “god-damned commies”.
Those who don’t support the war within the nation are called “unpatriotic,” scorned by a majority which has been duped into supporting a war fought for big business.
Capitalism has had a more obvious affect on our society. In theory the capitalistic system of Adam Smith is supposed to create a society in which hard work is rewarded and all may become successful; in short, a democracy where everyone has equal chances and all can rise to the top if they work hard enough. Time, however, has proven that democracy and capitalism are not compatible. Capitalism quickly created an upper class, a middle class, and the poverty-stricken lower class. The upper class moved to suburbs and rural areas, relaxing and “living the good life,” while the lower class has become permanently stuck in urban areas, lacking the opportunity and education to escape from the squalor in which they live. While the poverty-stricken inner-city dwellers may work a great deal harder than the wealthy upper class, they surely do not rise to the top. In short, capitalism has created a social system in which the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. It created a permanent lower class, which has little hope of escaping from their surroundings.
-Acredited to "Anarchist-Communist Theory and Practice"
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