RETHINKING CAPITALISM

In this fast growing world, a great paradox has surrounded our lives. The pace of life has been ever increasing without the same level of increase in the welfare of people. Nations have witnessed spurious economic growth driven by technology and globalisation. It has led to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few. This development is not new - even in ancient times, society and its economic transactions were formulated to produce outcomes in favour of a priveleged few.

All this is known by all. However, what has made me raise them is to look deeper into the reasons for their prevelance. The dominant system of organising economy and society, over the past couple of centuries, has been Capitalism. This article is not aimed at rejecting capitalism or embracinformation socialism, as some might start to think. We have to think beyond this dichotomy in order to find a solution.

Capitalism has reduced the state's capacity of social redressal. This was not a problem according to earlier capitalists since it was assumed that market forces would redress inequalities, which, sadly, has not taken place. Is capitalism to be blamed? I believe that an amalgamation of the different theoretical explanations would provide the best answer.

So, here we'll point out the limits of capitalism. Market transactions are as necessary as food is for our survival. What we should worry about is how capitalism has pervaded each and every sphere of our lives.

It has limited our priorities to economic gains. Even though individualism is central to liberal societies, capitalism has failed to address the issues of the poor, the landless, the workers, etc. An example is the Indian union. Where did we go wrong? Seggregation of social groups and implementing utilitarian goals has been one problem. Another is having dichotomous thinking. If the individual is central to capitalism and liberalism, then that individual could belong to any race, profession or class, among others. Then why is it that we only bestow privileges on a few people? Why is that benefits havent reached all the individuals?

What is worth noting is that the individual and the state, and the individual and society should not oppose each other, but their growth should go hand in hand.

Capitalism, by seeking a nightwatchman state, has rendered the state weak. This can be cited as a reason for the lack of job opportunities, for instance. Even though capitalism has pushed each individual to realise his/her potential, it has failed to help many in reaching the end of the shore.

The root cause of all these problems is that capitalism has taken away propriety from its advocates, namely the industrialists, entrepreneurs, etc.

The goal defined by capitalism is limited and incomplete, i.e., profit making. There needs to be an emphasis on social responsibility as well. Profit-seeking makes its practitioners morally neutral, and thus, they soak up all the economic benefits without leaving any gains for the rest. There's an insecurity that someone else might win the race or surpass their achievements; this is manifested in competition, it makes the participants blind - leaving no room for morality. Therefore, when we view this at a greater level, all these insecurities manifest in their means of achieving growth, for example - development induced displacement, price rise, inflation, world war, etc.

When we view this from a global perspective, capitalism has made nations opt for a policy of hot pursuit along with intervening in matters of conflict subject to other nations, for example, West Asia. Global conflicts have, thus, been perpetuated. Terrorist groups like the ISIS derive their strength from the weakening of nation states and one of the factors responsible for this has been foreign intervention. What is the driver of foreign invasions and interventions? Clearly, capitalist interests -  most evident in oil.

So now we have an aggregate of problems are ever increasing. Let's pause for a while and look into what governs us and how we can improve the existing frameworks in order to achieve the benefit of all rather than just a few.

Let's rethink Capitalism.

Kritika Kaushik