The crises of Capitalism
Tags: Capitalism, Communism, Crisis, Communist, Leftist Politics

The crises of Capitalism

What world crisis can be caused by capitalism? I will be discussing the major negative impacts that capitalism will either cause, caused, and does nothing about, or the capitalist systems not wanting to prevent a catastrophe if in place there was another economic system which would prevent these. The biggest issues currently facing humanity are caused by Capitalism.

Starvation and access to foodstuffs.

. The global population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 with growing concerns we will not be able to feed enough people. (“Population to reach 9.7 billion by 2050). Even before then it is expected we will run out of sufficient food supply to keep that many people alive. Every year 9 million already die due to starvation, this amount will only increase with the growing amount of land needed for crops. (“Mai, NPR”). As global warming gets worse it is expected more droughts and severe climate situations will occur. Damage to crops and less water on the crops will reduce the supply of food. (“Nasa, Climate Change”). Currently humanity produces an overabundance of food and we could even feed 10 billion. The problem is not in production but in distribution of resources. (“Holt, Huffpost”).

Rapid Climate change

. Global warming is not stopping and as long as we continue to put carbon dioxide into the atmosphere it will only get worse. Climate refugees will become more and more commonplace along with natural disasters (“Podesta,Brookings”) such as increased hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, desertification, crop loss, bee loss, certain species of plant and animals which will either have to migrate or die due to change in temperature. Along with other direct economic losses such as the stopping of maple production in the US. (”Fritz, Maple”). More disease and outbreaks will occur as the climate gets more erratic. There will be continuing sea level rises as the poles begin to melt and lose more and more ice. Many negative direct and indirect reactions will occur.

Social changes in society and the people. the effects of covid-19 with millions homeless, (“Borden, Evictions’’). In debt (“DeMatteo, CNBC”). or with life lasting medical conditions.

“Once the pandemic is over, there will be a group of patients with new health needs: the survivors. Doctors, respiratory therapists and other health care providers will need to help these patients recover their lung function as much as possible.” (“Galiatsatos, John Hopkins”).

Americans will continue to grow poorer and poorer for the very rich while we go bankrupt and die. They get richer as single moms are pushed on the streets. And the government’s support of the very rich who will refuse to even give people the most basic of rights will exacerbate the situation even further, causing people to want mass social change.

. The poor allocation of resources during covid like the increase in cost for essential products such as food (“Labor Bureau”). and the rising inflation while the minimum wage stays the same (“DeSilver,Pew”). will also increase social unrest, it is becoming more and more expensive for people to live in this country while the wages stagnate and prices increase.

. the government does not supply the basic needs of education, healthcare and social security nets. This leaves Americans with the loss of savings and a worse economy for America. It’s already been proven by economists that these policies will only benefit the economy, (“Diane,The Hill”). only the stock market will hurt because the rich people couldnt take every dime from the poor.

. the world has seen a rise in far right fascist groups,ideology and politicians. In America early fascist signs and tendencies are already showing with Trump supporters repeatedly showing signs of fascist tendencies which have been exhibited in Italy, Germany, Spain and other fascist countries. This is due to growing social unrest, one of the hallmarks to the beginning of fascism, populist leaders who direct class issues onto social ones and the growing of political echo chambers which only confirm and radicalize political or social beliefs via social media, demographics and the “news” we consume. Only showing one side’s point of views, using straw man arguments and demonizing the opposition. As these people continue to be radicalized, mass killing will continue, the defence of these killers as patriots will continue, the defence of unjust killings by law enforcement will continue, hate groups will continue to grow as the indoctrination sets in deeper and deeper until these people are utterly brainwashed.

Automation of workplace jobs by Artifical Intelligence.

The increase in job loss due to automation will also further increase class tensions as it is expected in the next 10 years 40% of all jobs will be automated in the US. It is true newer jobs will be created but not for Americans. The loss of low education jobs with the transition to newer higher education jobs will leave many small towns people across america with higher unemployment rates and increased poverty when H1V1 visas will be used for immigrants to come and have these jobs. Those who lose their jobs will have to scramble over the ones you can still have since many americans have no college whatsoever and the american education system is a joke.

Capitalism has caused and will cause major issues in society. It excaerbates the issues of food for the people. It has accelerated the rate of global warming through the ever increasing mining and exploitation of resources and it sees no short term profit in saving the planet. Social issues from automation to starvation will increase in a capitalist system and peoples lives will deteriorate on mass. Capitalism will continue to fail the people and our planet because it only wants capital not human well being or environmental.

Works Cited

New York, UN. “Growing at a Slower Pace, World Population Is Expected to Reach 9.7 Billion in 2050 and Could Peak at Nearly 11 Billion around 2100 | UN DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations, United Nations, 17 June 2019, www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2019.html.

Mai, H.J. “U.N. Warns Number Of People Starving To Death Could Double Amid Pandemic.” NPR, NPR, 5 May 2020, www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/05/850470436/u-n-warns-number-of-people-starving-to-death-could-double-amid-pandemic.

“The Effects of Climate Change.” NASA, NASA, 21 Aug. 2020, climate.nasa.gov/effects/.

Holt-Gimenez, Eric. “We Already Grow Enough Food For 10 Billion People — and Still Can’t End Hunger.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 18 Dec. 2014, www.huffpost.com/entry/world-hunger_b_1463429.

Podesta, John. “The Climate Crisis, Migration, and Refugees.” Brookings, Brookings, 4 Sept. 2019, www.brookings.edu/research/the-climate-crisis-migration-and-refugees/.

Fritz, Anita. “Maple Sugaring Expected to Decline Drastically by Century’s End.” Daily Hampshire Gazette, Concord Monitor, 21 June 2019, www.gazettenet.com/Maple-syrup-production-expected-to-decline-26455040.

Borden, Taylor. “Evictions Loom for as Many as 20 Million Americans Who Are behind on Rent. That’s about the Population of Florida.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Dec. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/millions-of-americans-are-behind-on-rent-risk-of-eviction-2020-12.

DeMatteo, Megan. “The Average American Has $90,460 in Debt-Here’s How Much Debt Americans Have at Every Age.” CNBC, CNBC, 2 Dec. 2020, www.cnbc.com/select/average-american-debt-by-age/.

Galiatsatos, Panagis. “What Coronavirus Does to the Lungs.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 13 Apr. 2020, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/what-coronavirus-does-to-the-lungs.

“The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Price Indexes and Data Collection : Monthly Labor Review.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 Aug. 2020, www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/article/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-food-price-indexes-and-data-collection.htm.

DeSilver, Drew. “For Most Americans, Real Wages Have Barely Budged for Decades.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/.

Diane Archer, Opinion Contributor. “22 Studies Agree: ‘Medicare for All’ Saves Money.” TheHill, The Hill, 24 Feb. 2020, thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/484301-22-studies-agree-medicare-for-all-saves-money.