Is Capitalism Good or Bad

The debate on Is capitalism good or bad has been raging for many centuries now, and like all other economical systems, capitalism too has its pros and cons. Over the years capitalism has evolved from its original conceptualization, and people's opinions on it has also wavered as a result.

Capitalism is something that has been originally associated with the Western and industrially advanced countries, but there are many who firmly believe that capitalism signifies all that is evil in society. The age-old adage of 'the rich get richer and the poor get poorer' can be accurately described as the prime evil of a capitalist society, but there is certainly more to it than this.

What is Capitalism
Before we decide 'Is capitalism good or bad', we need to understand the nuances and the actual meaning of this economic system. Most academic journals define capitalism as a condition where all the means of production and infrastructure are privately owned, thus giving the power to make decisions (and earn profits) solely in the hands of the capitalists, or the private owners. The forces of supply, price, distribution and investment are solely in the hands of the private sector here, thus leading to an inevitable sense of exploitation on the parts of these owners.

There is a general agreement that capitalism encourages economic growth rates, but the cost at which this is achieved is the main source of the debate. Today, an economy operating on a pure capitalist nature is not common, as more and more countries are adopting policies that reflect the nature of a mixed economy. This is in stark contrast to socialism, a structure of economics which emphasizes the ownership of all means of production in the hands of the Government.

The Case for Capitalism
A non-capitalist country will see all the power and means of production fall in the hands of greedy bureaucrats, and this is the main advantage of capitalism. It prevents this from happening, and instead gives the power to entrepreneurs who are driven by their own personal needs. This in turn leads to a chain of events where the capitalists do all they can to enhance production in order to earn greater profits, which inadvertently means that the economy surges ahead as a whole. To understand the answer to 'Is capitalism good or bad', economic growth is the most important thing we should be concerned with.

The economy thus gets opened up with a greater deal of competition, and this benefits everybody in the long run. With greater competition comes harder work by the members of society, and this decentralized system of operation is good for everyone involved. Moreover, the consumers are free to choose what they want to purchase and are free to spend their hard-earned money as and when they please. The society in general becomes more liberated, and standard of living goes up. With all these things in mind, it is hard to imagine that capitalism could actually be bad.

The Case Against Capitalism
In spite of all these benefits, non-believers always view capitalism with suspicion and skepticism. The reasons for this side of looking at things are also justified, and in most cases, completely accurate. The major drawback here is that bigger and richer capitalists can then exploit their workers, and can prohibit other competitors from entering the market by monopolizing resources. If this happens, the entire purpose of capitalism is destroyed, but sadly this is a very real occurrence.

Moreover, a capitalist economy becomes very materialistic and money-oriented in nature, and this affects the people of that country morally and spiritually. The impact here is not a direct and explosive one, but more like a mild poison, slowly corrupting the minds of people. Economic disparities begin to rise, and this leads to a rise in many social evils and the crime rate. Overall, the society suffers some negative consequences which it could have surely done without. The biggest drawback though is that of exploitation, which stems as a natural result of wanting to earn more and more. People and resources are exploited ruthlessly here, and this leads to severe consequences in the long run.

The Verdict
So the answer to Is capitalism good or bad lies firmly in the manner in which capitalism is embraced in a country. No matter what system of economy one employs, there will always be certain bad seeds and corporations that will try to take advantage of the weak and helpless. This is an inevitable evil of society, and even socialism is not excused from this.

It is for this reason that many countries are adopting a mixed economy today, where there is a mutually beneficial co-existence of capitalism and socialism. This opens up the economy to the benefits of capitalism, while shielding the poorer classes from exploitation as well.

There is no definitive answer to 'Is capitalism good or bad', because it depends on how the economy is run. There are both, advantages and disadvantages of capitalism, and to label capitalism as simply good, or bad, is not possible.