Tuesday 5 March 2013

TEN CONTRADICTIONS IN CAPITALISM

1. PROMISE: Capitalism creates greater wealth for the the greater number;
REALITY: Capitalism creates greater wealth for the fewest numbers;

2. PROMISE: Capitalism generates employment and makes optimal use of labor;
REALITY: Capitalism creates structural unemployment and underemployment;

3. PROMISE: Capitalism promotes equality and democratic institutions;
REALITY: Capitalism inequality and institutions dominated by elites;

4. PROMISE: Capitalism promotes prosperity on a world scale;
REALITY: Capitalism promotes geographic inequality and polarization that reflects socioeconomic inequality and polarization;

5. PROMISE: Capitalism promises economic expansion and prosperity for society;
REALITY: Capitalism has periods of intermittent growth and expansion, followed by periods of mild or sharp contractions that result in negative growth and destabilize society;

6. PROMISE: Capitalism proclaims that it promotes science and technology to meet the needs of society;
REALITY: Capitalism promotes science and technology to maximize profits for the few, while the vast majority do not benefit;

7. PROMISE: Capitalism promotes the best quality products that best serve the public good;
REALITY: Capitalism has as its only goal to maximize profits at any cost to the public, whether that means defrauding bank customers by manipulating the 'libor rate' or selling horse meat as 100% beef.

8. PROMISE: Capitalism promotes social responsibility;
REALITY: Capitalism promotes atomistic tendencies to the degree of narcissism;

9. PROMISE: Capitalism entails cultural cultivation of society and promotion of creativity;
REALITY: Capitalism entails the commercialization of culture and promotion of creativity, assuming it results in profitability;

10. PROMISE: Capitalism promotes ethical behavior and harmony in society;
REALITY: Capitalism promotes unethical and often illegal behavior in the name of profit and it exacerbates social disharmony;

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