Lazzarato

The soundbite criticisms of capitalism are legion, yet it’s harder to offer alternatives, aside from the vague notion of 'something else'. Despite the carnage of trying to socially engineer equality in the 20th century, nevertheless the myth persists that capitalist wealth creation is superfluous and money is readily available to a small number of elitists called a government under common ownership, who distribute, or simply print more paper. Ironically, the ones shouting the loudest against capitalism are often those dependent on the profits of capitalism to provide the welfare payments needed to keep them alive.

social theories. Additionally, he illustrates how these variety of perspectives typically structure the sociological theories as a whole in which we perceive them in society today. One of the most important and critical perspectives addressed by Peter Kivisto can be seen in chapter three of his book. In this chapter, Manifesto of the Communist Party, Kivisto expresses the battle and disagreement between two very distinct main classes within the class structure of capitalist. Kivisto, with the help of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is able to identify such dissimilar and contrasting classes. These two classes involved the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Here, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels not only analyzed the discrepancies amongst the two conflicting classes, but the affectedness they had on alienation, low pay, and economic exploitation as well. Additionally, Marx and Engels elaborated in favor of the bourgeoisie due to the fact that they have constructed an assertive, creative, and extraordinarily beneficial economic system that is adequate for establishing the fundamentals for an insufficient society.

For centuries, many philosophers have discussed the issue of class struggle. Karl Marx and Andrew Carnegie both developed theories of the unequal distribution of wealth a long time ago; however the only Carnegie’s ideology could apply to American society today. In “The Communist Manifesto”, Marx first introduces the two main social classes: bourgeois (the upper class) and proletarians (the lower class or working class). He points out the revolution of industrialism has made changes of Capitalism to Communism. He suggests that the rich should redistribute property evenly because the proletarians have put a lot effort contributing in the

The readings examined how classism has negatively affected economics in the United States, how oppression manifests in taking financial advantage of groups of people who cannot advance financially, and systemic issues contributing to low wage and inability to move out of one’s social class. I was struck by the idea that most people in the United States are disadvantaged financially based on the way the country has set up its economic policies. From the beginning, black people have been oppressed by the inability to attain wealth, which continued through the end of WWII. I unnecessarily read a chapter speaking about financial companies targeting poor people, particularly people of color, with money schemes so they are losing their hard-earned money to fees and interest rates. This scheme continues to keep people in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I related to the reading about college loans creating a paradox that students with degrees enter the workforce unable to find a job in their their field of study. Then the added paradox of not being able to find work making

One of the strongest arguments against capitalism is the quote “It was a monster devouring with a thousand mouths, trampling with a thousand hoofs; it was the Great Butcher – it was the spirit of Capitalism made flesh.”(334), the description of monster depicts capitalism as barbaric instead of those under the influence of capitalism being barbaric. This quote lends itself to the idea that people must fight for what they

Since the time we are born we are fed the lies of capitalism. We are taught that capitalism hurts no one and that capitalism is the only way. Johnson and Robbins have some very influential ideas about capitalism. Johnson writes about the complexity of privilege. He also addresses why some privileged people do not feel privileged through the matrix of capitalist domination. Robbins gives us a background on how privilege became what it is today. He addresses the anatomy of the working class by drawing attention to how they were mobile, divided, powerless, and anxious for a revolution. Through Johnson and Robbins’ eyes we can begin to see how the world is not the one we were taught it was.

All we have is our humanity-our soul and our individualism. In Grapes of Wrath and “Modern Times”, John Steinbeck and Charlie Chaplin suggest that the stability of those parts of us-our humanity-are taken away by the big corporations of modern times. Humanity is the ability to choose your actions based on your own faculty and morals. When our faculty and morals are compromised, whether it be because family, food, or quality of life are on the line, we are no longer human. In their works, Charlie Chaplin and John Steinbeck reveal that capitalism dehumanizes man by forcing him to become a machine lose his life’s purpose.

“Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains” (Engels and Marx). Peter Georgescu, author and chairman of Young & Rubicam wrote the article “Capitalists, Arise”. Capitalism is a political system famously known for letting individuals own things such as businesses and property instead of the government. In his article, Georgescu tries to inform the readers about the widening wage gap. He also explores the idea that big businesses need to improve wages for workers so that the standard of living can improve for everyone in capitalist America. He does this through tone, diction, and rhetorical devices.

Income inequality is an important issue that affects almost every person in the united states besides the extremely wealthy. Income inequality is an issue that both John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx philosophy’s touch on in a way that could change the issue. Income inequality is touched on in both the philosophies of Karl Marx in the communist manifesto and John Stuart Mill in the Utilitarianism. Overall both philosophers have their opinions of how people should be treated and managed in the structure of government and how people should be compensated for their work. Income inequality is an issue that Karl Marx has an answer to in the communist manifesto.

In “Capitalism and Inequality: What the Right and the Left Get Wrong,” Jerry Z. Muller’s intention is to provide a history of capitalism that results in the conclusion that economic inequality and insecurity are inevitable. According to the left, inequality is the result of politics, which is untrue because inequality is rooted much deeper than just a generalization, and despite what the right believes, inequality is everybody’s problem, and ignoring the problem will undermine the established social order and people will begin to retaliate against capitalism itself.

Basirico, 2014). Sociologists like Karl Mark held the basic assumption that society is understood and composed by a conflict of power that forms its economic organization, in particular, the possession and ownership of property. Karl Marx explained that society consisted of two classes; the bourgeoisie who are the ones who had ownership and the means of production and the proletariat who were those that provided the labor for production. The conflict that exists is created by the difference in class structure between the wealthy and middle class. We see this difference in class in the article “Income Inequality is Costing the U.S. on Social Issues” by Eduardo Porter. “Over the last four decades or so, the labor market lost much of its power to deliver income gains to working families in many developed nations” (Porter, 2015). The middle class has fallen behind in its ability to maintain the social norms it enjoyed just a few decades earlier because income inequality has grown larger. “Today, (America), it’s still the richest, strongest and most inventive. But when it comes to the health, well-being and shared prosperity of its people, the United States has fallen far behind” (Porter, 2015). As taxes, inflation, and the cost of health care continue to rise, compensation has not. Many corporations are being called upon by politicians and the work force to finally raise the minimum wage to help families provide basic necessities. “According to Karl Mark, in any economic system that supports inequality, the exploited classes eventually recognize their submissive and inferior status and revolt against the dominant class of property owners and employers” (Laurence A. Basirico, 2014). The conflict that exists is not a destructive or degenerative effect on society; instead conflict becomes a constructive force. This occurs when

The meme of capitalism has distracted humans, causing the loss of focus in life. We have failed to resist this meme. Families are no longer closely knit because of the meme of capitalism. Hochschild writes, “So what began as a means to an end-capitalism the means, a good living as the end-has become an end itself” (188). She tries to explain that at first, capitalism was a source of living a good life till the

The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) had brought about significant changes in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and technology and subsequently established an era of unprecedented economic growth in capitalist economies. It was within this era that Karl Marx had observed the deprivation and inequality experienced by men of the proletariat, the working class, who had laboured excessively for hours under inhumane conditions to earn a minimum wage while the bourgeoisie, the capitalist class, reaped the benefits. For Marx it was this fundamental inequality within the social and economic hierarchy that had enabled capitalist societies to function. While Marx’s theories, in many instances have been falsified and predictions

As a society, we are inherently fascinated by trying to “fix” our world. Whether it be the environment, politics, human rights, gender equality, poverty, or medicine, there are individuals around the globe looking for ways to improve our society and those who are merely making suggestions on how to improve it. Published in 2015, William Watson’s book The Inequality Trap: Fighting Capitalism Instead of Poverty is full of analysis and suggestion on what humanity can do to create a more equal society. The book glides through a series of arguments that attempt to conclude that the issues of inequality in our society are brought about by capitalist venture and excessive wealth. Throughout the eight chapters, Watson keeps a reader interested

Capitalism started up as a system of investing and sharing money in order to increase the value of resources in the future. Capitalism was just an economic system, but then soon turned into a complex system of ethical practices. Harari defines capitalism as, “a set of teachings about how people should behave, educate their children and even think” (Harari 314). This economic system evolved along with the people that were endorsing it. Capitalism enables the rich to get richer, while the poor continue to get poorer. There are many benefits to capitalism, but there are downfalls as well, and these downfalls tend to be masked because of the rapid speed capitalists grow at. Harari first presents a definition for capitalism, and soon goes into great detail on why capitalism, while fast paced and unforgiving, is able to stand unwavered while other productions fail.