“Capitalism”, a word that means many things to many people, but what is the actual manifestation of the word in our world? It means the expanding transnational corporations concentrating the largest slice of all the social wealth in fewer and fewer hands. This in turn, results in ever expanding impoverishment among the many. Its incessant drive for profit creates endemic job insecurity, and the persistent threat of unemployment, with the resultant deprivation. Another of its features is the inherent corruption that perpetuates the privileges of the ruling elite, wealth buys privileges. The bedrock of "Capitalism" is a banking system that accumulates vast mountains of capital that in turn, fosters the growth of financial predators slashing their way through societies, creating human misery in an endless endeavour to increase that mountain of capital. A banking system that has the power to create homelessness by means of evictions, and by its ruthlessness fosters misery and suicides.
“Capitalism” in its drive for perpetual growth creates a world of endless wars, wars for resources, wars for markets, resulting in destruction across vast swathes of our planet, bringing death, misery and deprivation to countless millions of innocent people. These wars give birth to racism, and the vile poison of xenophobia, and the persecuting of minorities of all shades. In “Capitalism”, money is the governing factor in the quality of your life, which opens the door to organised crime, this in turn allows the state, in the name of “law and order”, to move towards ever increasing authoritarianism, eventually criminalising political dissent.
Because “Capitalism” is a system based on cost and profit, we are witness to thousands of displaced individuals and families, fleeing death and deprivation, being abandon on the shores of Europe to survive or die in appalling conditions, the system can’t find a way of profiting from their presence, so there they will rot. The worst form of hedonistic individualism is fostered as success, inequality is accepted as inevitable. These are all manifestations of “Capitalism”, I’m sure you can come up with more of its inhumane and unjust qualities, but with a track record like that, why do we tolerate this man made economic system? It is after, just a product of man’s mind, not a system set in tablets of stone by some higher being. Do we lack the imagination to see a better fairer system. I’m sure all of us ordinary people can visualise a system of fairness and justice that would see to the needs of all our people. The resources are there, our ability is there, the vision is in our hearts, it is just the will to start to tear down this stinking edifice to greed that is lacking, and time is running out.
Visiat ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk
