On Capitalism
Lecturers try so hard to teach us business students ‘critical thinking’ by exposing us to anti-capitalistic ideas. This ‘reveals’ an angle that contrasts our dominant way of thinking (Going against the grain). These days I actually enjoy these theories because weirdly enough they actually do give us clearer picture of the world (as a supporter of capitalism). Anyway here are some conclusions that I have reached.
- Capitalism makes money the ‘be all and end all’
- It encourages consumerism (because a society of buddhist monks aren’t profitable)
- It creates a culture where ‘non-material life affirming qualities’ are unimportant
- It discourages everything except a sedentary lifestyle (Especially nomadic lifestyles)
Now these suck, My ideal society takes the opposite position on all of these.
But even with these downfalls capitalism still wins, our quality of life is incredibly high and alternatives will most likely detract from this. I think that the US constitution has embodied the idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness well and the result is exactly as we hoped. The problem arises in that giving a human being too much choice is problematic (Plato’s republic shows that liberty is the downfall of capitalism).
Anyway so studying the downfalls of capitalism is great, it gives a competitive edge in life because you become aware of what can screw you over.
There are 2 types of people, those who complain and bitch about the unfairness of it all, and those who say ‘Okay new rules, lets play’. (Can’t remember where this came from, think it was mystery)
In conclusion, people need to stop complaining about how unfair capitalism is and they need to take advantage of its good aspects.
Strikee 