When you really step outside of our socially constructed patterns of thinking, many of our conventions seem odd. Take, for example, the scathing anti-Marx letters to the editor that have been printed recently. Now, it is not my intent to show that communism is better than capitalism, although, properly executed, it could very well be. My point is that we are influenced by capitalist dogma that blinds us to certain problems inherent in it. Capitalism does have certain effects on a society, and these should be recognized.
Capitalism is, in many important ways, dehumanizing.
Capitalism erases beauty, morality, family, compassion and the worth of the individual. In place of these, capitalism gives us the commodity, that thing which can be bought and sold. Go to the sweatshops in India, where children are separated from their families and work for pennies a day. Go to Malaysia, where old growth rainforests are cleared to make room for resorts and golf courses for rich Europeans and Americans. Go to the advertising room of any toy company, where psychology is put to use to manipulate children and turn them into consuming machines.