Capitalism

As Pro has not provided a set of rules, I will assume that the rules of debate are based around common sense. I'll start with my definitions. Capitalism - The economic system in which the means of production are owned privately. Includes wage labor. Means of Production - Any industry. From tactile factories to televised entertainment. Bourgeoisie - The upper middle to upper class of the socioeconomic pyramid, commonly owning the means of production. Proletariat - The lower middle to lower class of the socioeconomic pyramid, referred to as the "working class. " Comprised of consumers and the lower-tier job positions. Communism - The economical-political system in which there is no state or standard currency, thus creating a lack of socioeconomic class. This does not mean that everyone is poor. Largely characterized by the ownership of the means of production being in the hands of the working class (proletariat). Now to present my argument. The Truth of Capitalism On the outside, Capitalism seems to work well. It's used almost entirely globally, and underneath capitalism extremely powerful nations have risen and prospered. However, it doesn't take much to see that Capitalism is failing horribly. Fluctuations in the economy drive people into crippling debt daily(1). Companies take advantage of loopholes to provide inhumane levels of wages to hard working employees(2). Debt collection agencies trick unknowing civilians into loans with impossible interest rates(3). These are just a few of the terrible things that go on within Capitalism. It’s commonly said that these issues don’t lie inherently within Capitalism; that the issues are with contemporary governments. This is false, as the issues are not related to the government. They are related to the fundamental aspects of Capitalism. What Capitalism Has Created I will not deny that Capitalism has allowed for massive positive changes in culture, government, and society. That much is proven just by opening a history book. However, Capitalism has done just as much bad as it has good. Capitalism has not rid of the caste system, and has not rid of the elite minority ruling over the majority. Such things are very much alive, and by making the populace believe they are not, Capitalism together with the government has effectively sterilized all possibility of uprising over unfair treatment. In other words, the only difference between modern society and feudal society is a lack of political conscious. The people don’t understand the situation they’re in. Where Capitalism Is Headed Capitalism’s fluctuating market is one of the biggest problems facing humanity next to environmental decline. Market crashes happen almost decennially(4), and lead to devastating periods of mass poverty like the Great Depression. These market crashes are a byproduct of Capitalism itself, and cannot be stopped without altering Capitalism at a fundamental level. Capitalism is a cycle of self-destruction. Already the 1% own more money than all of the bottom 95% combined(5), which is outrageous in itself. The 1% do not do any work to “earn” that money. Sure, getting to where they are must have been hard, but the profits generated from the products belong to those who manufacture those products. Those people who labor day in and day out to produce the products hardly see any proceeds from that labor, other than maybe $10 an hour. In Conclusion Capitalism is a slippery slope, and we’re already halfway down. This concludes my first argument, and below you may find the necessary sources for the claims made. Thank you for reading my argument, and I look forward to your rebuttal. 1 – 2015 4th Quarter Debt Statistics: . https://www.nerdwallet.com... 2 – October 2015, a whopping 398 employers exposed for paying below minimum wage (UK): . https://www.gov.uk... 3 – . https://www.splcenter.org... 4 – . http://i.telegraph.co.uk... 5 – a. ) . http://s1.ibtimes.com... b. ) . http://inequality.org...