By Dr. Bryan Van Gorp
The very concept of capitalism, as the word implies empowers capital. It is not interested in social issues, sustainability, or truth. It only has one value and that is increasing wealth. Wealth is generated by extraction of natural resources and extraction of labor from people without capital. Natural beauty, unused resources, individual lives, justice and sustainability are never entered on the balance sheet nor calculated in the GDP. Capitalism requires continuous growth to generate ever increasing amounts of capital. Reason, of course dictates that infinite growth on a finite planet is illogical. To think of endless growth is to deny limits, denying limits does not mean they do not exist. Economic growth is often proposed as the solution to inequality, this is illogical because the new income from growth nearly all goes to those that already have the most.
Markets are man-made constructs and are manipulated to the advantage of those in power through subsidies, tax breaks, regulatory capture, and externalization of costs like pollution and low wages. The concept of a “free market” is ridiculous and is propaganda used to sell class warfare to us. This is a class war waged by the capitalist class on the environment and the poor and consistently won by those who make the rules. If you were to think the poor are waging the class war; then you would have to explain how those with little power are able to make rules that discriminate against those with much power.
Capitalism is built on several key principles:
• Individualism – everyone acts in their own self-interest. There is no value to the commons, community or sustainability. Those with capital are not only allowed to, but encouraged to bully workers and exploit nature. The fight against a living wage, the bank crisis of 2008, for profit education, for profit prisons, and pollution are a few blatant examples. Wealth is passed off as merit and bad luck is seen as bad character.
• Violence – imperialistic violence against nature, based on class, and against other populations to access resources. Nature and the common good are sacrificed for private gain. Costs of pollution or damage to societies most vulnerable are externalized for growth and fetishized consumption. Warfare is justified to control resources and expand markets. That warfare is paid for with public funds but the benefits are privatized.
• Politics of private opulence and public squalor – we have an excess of consumer goods filling storage buildings and landfills while many citizens cannot access healthcare and education. Our democracy is no more than theater, a facade to appease us. We all understand that the corporations and a few wealthy elites have purchased both parties and that we do not have a choice that represents our real interest. The elites need a militarized police force and a corporate controlled media to protect their interests because so many citizens are frustrated and disillusioned.
Capitalism is incompatible with social, economic, or environmentally sustainability. The cast system created by “free market capitalism” is also incompatible with democracy. This idea first expressed by Thomas Paine in his pamphlet, Common Sense, was instrumental in starting our Revolution. We all know the playing field is not level. A minority child from a bad neighborhood does not have the same opportunity as the Walton’s (owners of Walmart) children. We know this, yet we pretend this is a meritocracy. It is a selfish ideology that defines what is good for me, as good, without consideration of the Commons or those most vulnerable among us.
The alternative to capitalism is not communism but democracy. In a democracy, workers would have a say about polluting the river they drink out of, a voice against shipping their jobs away, and would not allow all the increased profits from improved worker productivity to go to those with the capital who own the business. In a democracy, full-time workers would not need food stamps to feed their children. Our paying to subsidize low wage workers so owners and CEOs can make more profit is a form of welfare for the rich.
Let us put our minds together and see what life we may make for our children.