Friday, January 22, 2010

Flawed System

My own right wing brother told me he thinks the whole concept of Capitalism is flawed from start to finish. This is because, he feels, it is based on never ending growth and spending and greed. If people don't spend their money on needless items, over and over, you can't have economic growth.

The messages sent out by the government are conflicting.

"Save!" But if people save, they don't spend. Then jobs are lost, factories are shut down and the distributors and retailors who ship and market those products shut down jobs. That's why, he concludes, products these days are more than ever built to fail. In one way, you could say, this retains jobs. But in another way, it fleeces the common folk struggling as it is, and it consumes natural resources and fills landfills, often with harmful chemicals in these products.

Our economy and jobs are no longer jobs based on fulfilling basic needs. There are too many people needing jobs and to support families in our ever growing human population. But how many "things" and products does on person or one family need to survive? In reality, not that many, but if we're not consuming, consuming, consuming, the economy flops or stagnates. In the end, the inevitable end, it will anyhow, no matter how many plastic and electronic gadgets we buy.

I told my brother, "Boy, that's dire."

I said, too "I wish I knew how to fix it all."

I do, actually.

Humans could stop breeding too many humans. This is the root cause of all problems. And the only way we can survive, economically, in the long run, is to curb our human animal urge to breed. I really believe this, because we are an animal species and the models are clear with every other overpopulating animal species. We justify our refusal to see ourselves as an animal population usually through religion.

Capitalism only works if people are spending and consuming way more than we need. It is based on delusion, the delusion of never ending growth. I see no other viable economic or political systems that have ever worked long term either. We need to become creative, and perhaps integrate a mix or think up a new one.

5 comments:

  1. Our momma is standing up and clapping fur you☺

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  2. Agreed, but what would you suggest as an option?

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  3. Ummmm......ummmmmm......get back to me on that one!

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  4. There have been books written on that very topic--I can't remember the exact ones. I think Slow Money believes that too. Maybe as we all start coming to the realization that we don't need these things, we will start an economy based on service and things we do need--a simpler way of life that has more fulfillment--local food, local care, local doctors who help out and most importantly know their patients, community run fun etc... Someday... maybe...

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  5. Sounds really good, Cheysuli!

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