The Impending Death of Modern Capitalism
Let's make sure we're all on the same page on the definition of capitalism.
It's basically a system in which private ownership of everything prevails. It's a system which provides rewards to the people who meet the marketplace desires of consumer.
I will define "modern" as the system of the last half century when the dominant generation (Boomers) of the dominant nation (USA) entered the workforce and decided they no longer wanted to pay taxes leading to the 49 state blowout win for Ronald Reagan in 1984 and the Democratic Party takeover by neoliberals like the Clintons (and later Obama) whose economic policies were effectively equivalent to 80's Republicans. It's a system which doesn't have a balance of power between labor and capital.
Before I go on, let me say that I don't consider myself an ideologue. More like a carpenter who has to choose which tool to use in order to complete a task. Capitalism is a tool and I want to give that tool a great deal of credit for many of the historical advances in human civilization. I foresee a future in which some elements of capitalism are retained. I believe the people who have the scarce skills and willingness to contribute what is necessary to maintain a flourishing civilization should be well rewarded for their contribution. Positive reinforcement will always be a good idea.
Capital has a gravitational force. It is invested where it yields the greatest risk adjusted return and it has purchased the American government outputs. The mission embedded in the Preamble to the US Constitution of maintaining domestic tranquility is obviously not being realized. We are a polarized nation of people who have aggregated into tribal affiliations full of cognitive dissonance.
Societies fail when too many of their citizens fail.
The cracks in the system are morphing into giant crevasses. The private insurance market which backstops the US mortgage market and property values is disintegrating due to both increasing extreme weather and inflation in the cost of building replacements. In states like Florida and California, the insurance industry is migrating to socialist state administered insurance. The physical health of our citizens is deteriorating as well. We're increasingly obese, contaminated with environmental toxins like plastic and our sex hormones are rapidly declining.
The problem with capitalism is that literally anything which makes money is considered virtuous. There is no desire which is considered negative.
The problem we run into is when there is a conflict between what we desire and what we need.
We need food, water and shelter from dangerous environmental factors.
There is no incentive under modern capitalism for the selfish players to contribute to the protection of our shared environment. So we see the rise in environmental poisons such as greenhouse gases, plastics, PFAS, metals growing without regulation.
Democracy in the US is effectively already gone. We are effectively living under feudalism with a group of actors / performers in both major parties offering no substantive difference in economic policy.
Socialism is going to emerge because it must in order for us to survive as a species. It may be an authoritarian and dictatorial socialism like the Nazis or it may be a democratic socialism as espoused by FDR and the pre-Boomer Democratic Party.
Any species whose population grows unchecked is destined to drown in its own toxins. A system which depends on perpetual growth on a finite Earth is programmed to eventually exceed its limits. Survival does not accrete to the strongest. Survival accretes to those most adaptable.
Adaptation is coming. The cliffhanger is whether the adaptation will be timely enough for us to continue the human experiment. In 4 billions years of life on Earth, money has only existed for 1 millionth of that time and our attachment to it is becoming fatal. It's time to let go of money as the basis for human hierarchy. A reliable food supply and the ability to reproduce should be at the top of our list.
