The Threat of Capitalism

Socialists and Communists have been predicting the end of Capitalism since Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848, which put the system into its historical context, and projected an ultimate uprising by its primary victims; the working class known in Marxist parlance as the "proletariat."  Thus far their predictions have had the same accuracy as apocalyptic prophecies announcing the end of the world, which is to say, one big zero.  There have been a handful of socialist uprisings of various degrees of success, but none have succeeding in doing away with capitalism on a global scale.  This has led many to conclude that Socialism simply "doesn't work" and that Capitalism is, in fact, the best possible system. 

Therefore, the Left and the Right, here in America, both seem to have accepted Capitalism almost as a law of nature.  It is a given.  The only question remaining then, the only tension, is whether to approach it with a laissez faire attitude that, though there will be a few hiccups, if you just trust in the system, the market will work in the best interests of the people as a whole; or the regulatory approach which holds that capitalism needs to be curbed, given limits, to manage inequality, to provide safety nets that ensure that huge numbers aren't killed and exploited too badly in the process of the market working itself out. Even if we look at the animosity between the progressive "Berniecrats" in the Democratic Party, and the establishment ideology embodied by Nancy Pelosi, the Clintons, Cory Booker, and Diane Feinstein, the difference is primarily not one of quality but of degree.  They want corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes by closing loopholes or, if they're really far left, using progressive taxation to recoup some of the value theft stolen from the workers by the capitalist system, and giving it back to the people in the form of tax-funded social programs.  This generally amounts to looking at Marx's critique of capitalism, and trying piecemeal to account for the worst of it, and smooth out the defects in the system.  But it is outside the bounds of political acceptability to discuss REPLACING capitalism. 

I understand; it would be a massive undertaking.  It would require a paradigm shift across the board, and would be a commitment to a period of instability for the transition period.  Capitalism colors our thinking, the way we structure our relationships, our life decisions, our friendships, our purchases, our tastes.  Switching to a new system would require, not only changing how we do business and how we govern, but how we think.  It would entail a new value system and a new cultural mythos.  Just thinking about it is daunting.  The obstacles might even seem insurmountable.  Why should we go to all that trouble when there is no guarantee that whatever we come up with will even be any better than what we have now?  It will almost certainly be worse for some people, no matter what it is, and no one wants to be that person.  So why should we take this colossal risk, and upset our whole way of life?  Because it is necessary.

Predictions of the end of capitalism have always failed, but this does not prove that capitalism is eternal, or the best system out there.  These predictions have largely depended on the idea that such a collapse (and subsequent rise of socialism or communism) was inevitable.  Marx, Luxemburg, and others believe that the transition to socialism was established in the course of history, as an unavoidable direct progression.  This is a mistake of hindsight.  Life is unpredictable.  Without the Black Death wiping out 1/3 of Europe's population, serfdom might have continued indefinitely.  Without the Medici family creating a banking empire, that enabled the growth of private wealth; had Columbus sunk while crossing the Atlantic and never introduced Europe at large to the vast resources and markets of the New World, feudalism might have been replaced by something altogether different than capitalism, and we would never have had this conversation.  It was never inevitable that we end up with this system at all, but now we have it.  It is not inevitable, that we do away with it, but now we have to.  This need is not mandated by some historical progression or convenient narrative, but by the present needs of humanity.

We have ravaged our ecosystem.  The endless pursuit of ever greater profits has led to mass deforestation, to the pollution of our air and water, and to the extinction of a plethora of species.  Our need for bulk quantities of food has led to homogenization of seeds, which are patented and must be bought.  This reduces diversity, and makes us ultimately more susceptible to disasters and major food shortages should there be a blight that effects the kinds of crops we grow.  Diversity in plant and animal life also supports a number of other chains, and the removal of these species throws whole food webs into disarray.  Between our beef industry, keeping miles and miles of cows, and our oil industry, pumping tons of carbon into our atmosphere, our global climate is getting hotter.  97% of climate scientists agree that we are doing this to ourselves.  This is not just about having warmer weather.  Climate change causes wider temperature fluctuation and anomalies.  We will soon be see 30 degree temperature anomalies causing massive deaths of people and crops; and with the widespread crop loss, we will start to see worldwide famine take the result of millions (perhaps a billion or more) lives.  Stephen Hawking says that we need to have populated another planet within 100 years if we are to survive, and gives us (factoring in climate disasters, the threat of nuclear war, AI, and so forth)  1000 years at most on Earth.

So why does that necessitate an end of Capitalism?  Can't we just, you know, regulate the industries that are causing the problem?  Maybe.  But that's a fraught road.  It sets us up to fail at any of a hundred places.  Remember, everyone uses cars, trucks and so forth, that run on fossil fuels.  All the corporations are going to keep using that as long as it's cheaper than overhauling the entire system all at once.  It's hard to switch quickly under those circumstances, and we're running out of time.  Meanwhile, we while there is money to be made selling beef, its going to be difficult to convince cattle farmers to stop herding cows.  And these are only a few industries to think about.  We also have to stop coal, AND establish new industries to pick up the slack.  We have to convince every car company to switch entirely to 0 emissions vehicles.  And keep in mind that we still have all these gasoline cars lying around.  What do we do with THEM?  How to we make sure they don't go on polluting?  And factories all over the world making all kinds of products pump out carbon emissions day in and day out.  And just look how tenuous our regulations have proven, now that Trump is pulling the US out of the Paris Accord, and rolling back regulations left and right.  That's the problem with regulations; they are always subject to deregulation.  To go about it this is the path of Sisyphus.  At any point that boulder might roll right back down the hill.

That's the problem with working within the current system.  Any changes we might make will be too small to be effective and too vulnerable to count on.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  If we are to make the necessary changes, we will need to go big.  We need to shoot for the moon.  We MUST attempt more than we think we are capable of.  We MUST try to build a new world; not just tinker with this one.  Private profits will always get in the way.  Private profits are destroying this planet; and private profits are ensuring that we don't do anything real about it.  Private profits are making sure we don't have adequate healthcare, and private profits are bribing our politicians to defend the status quo.  Private profits are poisoning our rivers and streams, and private profits are taking water that is ours so they can sell it back to us.  Private profits are turning our world into a wasteland for us, while the rich who ruined it get to retreat to their private islands and country clubs.  Private profits are what allows them go on burning down the world, as long as it lasts just long enough for them to live out their lives in luxury.

Capitalism must go.  Not because IT needs to, but because WE need it to.