Capitalism

The Capitalist age began around 1500 in Europe and the British Isles. It unleashed a process of change unknown and unimagined in in earlier times, and after it had begun, the world would never be the same. <ref> Barone, Charles. Class Lecture. Capitalism Shakes the World PowerPoint. </ref> Merriam-Webster's Online dictionary defines capitalism as, "an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market." <ref> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitalism </ref> It is a class-based system with its own distinctive property rights and control of the labor process. Its key distinguishing features are generalized commodity production, private ownership of the means of production, wage labor, and production for profit. <ref> Barone, Charles. Class Lecture. Capitalism and Profits PowerPoint. </ref> Capitalism is one way to organize production and distribution. Also, capitalism has not always existed; it began in a definite period of history and in particular places. Capitalism by its very nature is changeful, even revolutionary: it uproots old ways of life and old production methods, causes massive population migrations. Finally, Capitalism has both positive and negative aspects; it's done some good for the world as well as created some problems. <ref> Barone, Charles. Class Lecture. Capitalism Shakes the World PowerPoint. </ref>

Capitalist Contradictions

According to Charles Barone, Capitalism generates many contradictory forces:

• Wealth & poverty
• Efficiency & waste
• Freedom & domination
• Competition & monopoly
• Increased productivity & worker alienation
• Free labor force & slavery
• Technological advance & decline of leisure
• Economic growth & stagnation
• Mass consumption & ecological destruction <ref> Barone, Charles. Class Lecture. Capitalism Shakes the World PowerPoint. </ref>

Shortcomings of Capitalism

The shortcomings of capitalism discussed by Bowles, Edwards, and Roosevelt include:

• Wealth inequality
• Unequal chances
• Racial inequality
• Gender inequality
• Conflict in the workplace (conflict between workers and employers)
• Poverty
• Uneven development
• Unemployment
• Inflation
• Too much money and too few goods
• Environmental degradation
• Global inequality <ref> Bowles, Samuel, Richard Edwards, and Frank Roosevelt (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195138658. </ref>

References

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