The Contradictions Of Capitalism In The United States

So essentially the increase in production and specifically the power of mans product of his labour suppresses him further into an alienated state at the cost of his humanity. His fulfillment at work is minimal; on the contrary he is miserable and survives only as a means to produce capital. The worker remains detached from the product of his labour and produces only wages in an attempt to prosper in the same way as the capitalist seeks to prosper – only the prosperity of the capitalist ascends at a higher level through the exploitation of the worker . (ibid).

Despite the inequality in the United States, many Americans have been determined to have their voices heard. Recently, movements such as Occupy Wallstreet and the Tea Party Movement have formed in response to the growing wealth and control by the “1%”. These social movements have become very popular at times due to discontent among the populace and the wide accessibility of social media. While these movements tend to have rapid success early on; lack of cohesion, results, and true direction

As the economy grew, it allowed for the expansion of a new class. In essence, they concluded that the bourgeoisie was the result of industrial capitalism. According to historian Neil Harding, “[the bourgeoisie] was a class that had been formed by the expropriation of the peasants through the spread of large scale capitalist farming and by the extinction of the artisans and handicraftsmen through the dominance of large-scale manufacture and the wholesale introduction of machinery”.3 As a result, the newfound wealth allowed this emerging class to accommodate and produce more goods. Therefore, this change in production required that the goods be produced in mass quantities.

One of the most renowned social movements since the civil rights movement was the “Occupy Movement”. This movement helped people see how big of a fraud the financial system was, at the the time. These occupiers demanded that there be a change towards the lack of real democracy and social inequality that was displayed within the economy during this time. Occupiers wanted economical justice, and through their protests they earned the economical rights they deserved. For example, “The occupy movement started as result of the great recession from 2007-2011. Due to the Subprime mortgage crisis, the stock market crashed and people on wall street began to rage with protest which led to this movement. Occupiers were resolute to make a change towards

"Instead of 'exploitation,' growing out of the nature of production, our industrial evolution shows certain evils of competition imposed by an 'unfair' menace." Since Marx was wrong to assert that ownership was the source of oppression, Commons held that appropriation of the means of production was no answer to the laborers' needs. (Dawley, pg 181-183)

In 2008, the United States of America (US) experienced a financial crisis which affected the rest of the world. Investment banks and Wall Street crashed. It left a good portion of US citizens in debt, unemployed, homeless, etc. As a result, Occupy Wall Street became a movement to demonstrate that the people have had enough and started protesting and voicing their opinions. In terms of globalization, the development of ‘Occupy’ movements have altered the notion of social movements to which it is not just about highlighting and fighting for causes, rather it desires to place the power back into the hands of the people. The term ‘movements’ has become a catchall definition about the mobilization of people from short term causes to longterm

To close, in addition to granting the fundamental rights to citizens and facilitating change and progress, a constitutional democratic republic also allows for more economic innovation and motivation. As previously mentioned capitalism influences nations in a constructive manner that encourages hard work and individuality. Capitalism is the economic center of a constitutional democratic republic. Its progressive power and economic potential can be seen through China’s economic boost in the late ‘90s to the present day as they began to adopt a capitalist mindset (Coase). Capitalism also embodies the concern for an apathetic citizen population, specifically in the workforce. This issue is the driving concern for socialism in the United States

We live in a world controlled by an invisible yet very present force that shapes the way we live our daily lives. With industry as its host and technology as the blood being pumped into its heart, it is a force powerful enough to bend politics to fit its needs. Capitalism; a method of industry where production and distribution are privately or corporately owned, its operation grows through profits, exploitation of labor, and extinguishing competition. During the Industrial Revolution technology was on the global stage. Factories and machines are built in existing cities producing and distributing mass goods on a global scale. Over time this fast production of goods would replace the old agricultural economy to a modern urban economy. Today the revolution is praised for creating a global trade market while surging us into a world of technology.

The top ten percent of the US’s population make over a half of all of the US’s income. With that leaves a large chunk of the population earning money that can hardly sustain a family. The reason leaving 45 million Americans struggling to make a living results from the flaws of capitalism. Capitalism dominates other economic systems because it allows private owners to own production and distribution. Items that get traded, in markets go to the owner. Philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790) proposed the theory and in a matter of centuries flooded all over the world. With freedom of the economy, corporate owners tend to have and make the majority of the country’s income. With the bourgeoisie, the capitalist class who owns most of the economy, making

Do you ever wonder what is happening to your freedom, and question why government is controlling more and more of your life, property and constitutional rights?

As the bourgeois advanced financially, they also gained political influence. They progressed from a once oppressed class to an independent urban republic. As their political influence increased, certain changes became clear. The bourgeois had “torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation (Marx).” This force eventually grew to the point that it was able to force other nations to conform to its values and methods or suffer extinction. As the bourgeois became richer, the proletarians began to suffer more. The balance of property began to shift even more rapidly than before leaving property “concentrated…in a few hands (Marx).” Eventually, the super-efficient production of the manufacturing economy began to take its toll on the bourgeois as well as the proletarians. More goods were produced due to the cheaper costs and ease of manufacture leading to an over-production of goods (Marxism). Over-production became a serious problem, resulting with widespread unemployment of the proletarians, and threats of a revolution on the horizons.

Capitalism as a concept has mainly gained traction in modern, industrial societies due to its nature of being able to remain stable in times of economic instability- whether because of lack of resources, tension between two trade competitors, or otherwise- and therefore remain a dominant economic force (Global Capitalism: Imperialism, Corporate Repression, Autonomism and Direct Action, 2010). As a dominant force, other varying economic structures have mainly given way to the rise of capitalist trade-focused economies (Global Capitalism: Imperialism, Corporate Repression, Autonomism and Direct Action, 2010). Accumulating capital, the main goal of capitalist production and consumption, requires an output of productivity and efficiency from those who produce the means of acquiring capital; this often ends up creating an image in which those who acquire the most capital rely on workers to produce goods in order to profit (Global Capitalism: Imperialism, Corporate Repression, Autonomism and Direct Action, 2010). To meet this demand, capitalists rely on a reserve army of workers, the surplus of workers that overpowers the demand for workers (Akitu, 2002). Often, despite the working class present in nations accounting for an overwhelming percentage of national population statistics, those in power demand productivity through repression of personal freedoms by working within

The increase in industrialization opens up the job market of labor which induces an increase in workforce. Through the fact that “Tokyo is bigger than Kumamoro,” industrialization is taking over rapidly (16). Coming from a traditional Japan, Sanshiro cannot keep up with the fast pace of industrialization. Industries increase the use of machinery which creates the demand of products at a higher pace. This creates conflict between the proletariats because more people are losing jobs. This leads people joining forces to create union groups to express their anger. “Some walked along looking at the sky, others at the ground. All wore shabby clothing. All lived in poverty. And all were serene” (62). The working classes who lose their job due to the increase of machinery are angered by these rich owners. Although Marx predicts that the workers do not have appropriating properties and that they will destroy the properties of bourgeois, this won’t happen is because they are destroying their assets.

This intimate relationship between man and nature, his activity and the objects of nature, is the ‘appropriate’ relationship because worker is not capable of creating without nature, that is, without the sensual external world. Hence, the world is the material into which man invests his labor, through which he produces things, and without it he cannot live. However, in a capitalist society, such relationship does not exist and man is alienated from nature, from the products of his activity or work. Under capitalism, workers produce for the market rather than for their own use or enrichment. According to Marx, the object produced by labor in modern society stands as an alien being to the worker. His labor is embodied in the product he created, and this product is an objectification of labor which represents a loss to the worker, as well as servitude to the object. Hence, alienation occurs when worker lacks control over the products of his labor. Additionally, during the process of production, man’s labor are seen as much an object as the physical material being worked upon, since labor is a demand in modern society, which can be bought or sold. The more objects the worker produces, the fewer he can personally possess, and therefore the greater is his loss. For instance, in

The Industrial Revolution was the quintessence of capitalistic ideals; it bred controversy that led to Karl Marx’s idea of communism as a massive grass roots reaction to the revolution’s social abuses. Firstly, the Industrial Revolution featured the construction of machines, systems and factories that allowed goods to be manufactured at a faster rate with a lower cost. The seed drill made it so there could be “a semi-automated, controlled distribution and plantation of wheat seed”(Jones 2013). Secondly, there was a great social and economic divide between the wealthy owners and the poor workers, which gave rise to the mass’s vulnerability to the advent of extreme socialism. Figures of authority severely oppressed their employees by giving them insufficient pay, a treacherous work environment, and even making some children work more than 12 hours per day (Cranny 150). Finally, far right capitalism created a brutal boom and bust cycle of economics that made, for the multitude at the bottom, a perpetual nightmare of poverty and death. People responded to this social situation by taking part in violent protests; oppression sires rebellion. The Industrial Revolution was the chassis of great imagination and progress of political, economic, and social force that still affects this world today.