Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Can Capitalism Be Socially Responsible ???

This article explores several facets of what its author calls "socially responsible capitalism":

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/is-socially-responsible-capitalism-losing

Consider this definition of capitalism:

Capitalism is an economic system where private entities own the factors of production. The four factors are entrepreneurship, capital goods, natural resources, and labor. The owners of capital goods, natural resources, and entrepreneurship exercise control through companies. The individual owns his or her labor. The only exception is slavery. But slavery is illegal throughout the entire world.

Source - https://www.thebalance.com/capitalism-characteristics-examples-pros-cons-3305588

Allow me to point out two things one needs to properly evaluate this definition:

  1. Most natural resources have been stolen from their original owners; and
  2. The value of labor is rapidly falling to zero throughout the entire world.

In the not too distant future, a small coterie of incredibly rich people (perhaps fewer than 100) will own and control all capital goods and natural resources. Robots will perform most "jobs" at lower cost and higher efficiency than any human can. Billions of humans will try to be "entrepreneurs" in an effort to survive, which will drive the individual profitability of their tiny businesses to zero.

At that point, will ANY remaining capitalist be "socially responsible" (in the sense that he or she will help poor people)? Of course not, because one of the other tenets of capitalism is that useless eaters must be allowed to starve to keep them properly motivated.

No matter how you approach this subject, in the end We The People are screwed. GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

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