Anwar Noor Baloch
This topic itself had led me to study more about Adam Smith, the founder of Capitalism system and author of “Wealth of Nations” and Karl Marx, who came up with the socialism and communism economic ideology and system. Some suggest that Adam Smith is the father of economics and he is the one who came up with the idea of free market and “Economic Individualism”.
“It is about freedom, it is about innovation, it is about making money and at the end it is about individuality and everyone is free to make more and more money”, said Yaron Brook in one of his lectures. Yaron Brook is the coauthor of the best seller, “Free Market Revolution”. The question is still knocking at the economic door, whether the capitalism system is serving today’s society, economically or not? If someone reads Karl Marx, he will not agree that capitalism is a good economic system. Because Karl Marx claimed that capitalism was nothing more than a necessary stepping stone for the progression of a man.
We are in the age where every day the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. Who is to be blamed? Is it me that I can’t manage my personal finance in the shape of wages or salary that I am earning from my employer? Is it really me that I am still unemployed, although I obtained my degrees? Is it me that, after writing and sending hundreds of job applications, but all of them had not been answered? If this is due to the system, then it has to be restudied, otherwise the entire world will sink economically. How it comes, that out of 200 countries there are around 6 rich people? What made them so rich? Is it their hard work and smartness or the system which is called “capitalism”?
The simple answer from any rich person that why he or she is rich will be that, “I work hard” and “It is my money”. And if he was asked that, “what do you do with this money?” he will get annoyed. Of course, this is his right to get annoyed. Because, who am I to ask him about the way(s) he earns, manages, uses or invests his money. At the end it is his money. He has all the right the way he uses it. The question is not here about to be personal or not, but about the system which has been established for some people or for a particular categories.
If that system makes the rich powerful and poor to die in hunger, then that is not a proper or an effective system to be continued. If that system creates more money for capitalists and the poor class “working class” remains just to survive, then that system should be replaced as it is creating inequality within the society. Has not it been seen that, most of the sectors, like, education and health became privatized? Doesn’t it mean that, the rich people’s sons and daughters get better education and health services?
Capitalism doesn’t work. It creates more economic problems. It creates more inequalities. It creates more haters due to rise in the percentage of poor in the world. Who doesn’t want to live in a standard life? Who doesn’t want his kids to be treated well in the hospitals and get good education as well? Unfortunately, capitalism doesn’t solve this human and economic problem.
What if capitalism system replaced by socialism? What if “Karl Marx” was restudied especially his “conflict theory” and “socialism”? It was found that, socialism was better serves human instead of capitalism. This equation may give a good understanding about socialism, which is (EL+LL=TL).
Embody Labours (EL), means the raw materials which can be brought by human. Living Labours (LL), means working classes who work on goods. Finally, the Total Labour (TL), where it means to finish or produce the final goods for sale and consume. The concept of socialism is everything for public, where all contribute the effort and share the outcome equally. The capitalism is for private, meaning for some individuals who can also be recognized by names, where working classes work for owners of the private companies, and get minimum.
So, what is really happening in capitalism system at workplace? Believe it or not under that system, working in any company, where the individual “the worker” doesn’t possess anything except the wages. His knowledge, skills and experiences will be used and controlled by the owner of the company. If this is not a modern slavery system then, what is it?
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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