Does capitalism marginalize the masses?
Posted by T.Collins Logan on
Answering the question: "Does capitalism marginalize the masses?"
Of course it does - but not directly. Both the ideal and the real-world manifestations of capitalism empower those who appropriate the most capital, and marginalize those who don’t - usually via exploitation, oppression or outright enslavement. The “freedom” so vaunted by pro-capitalist ideologues is - again both in theory and reality - restricted to those with the most capital. Everyone else receives a highly propagandized illusion of freedom, without the power to self-actualize. Because of this, the de facto outcome of capitalist systems is huge wealth disparity, with its concomitant property ownership disparity, political influence disparity, and continuous degrading of economic mobility. Ultimately, then, those at the bottom of this feeding frenzy are the increasingly impoverished masses, who often don’t realize just how impoverished they are (because they have been provided huge amounts of debt and endless stimulating distractions to shield them from this awareness). It’s a bit like the frog-in-a-pot-of-water slowly coming to boil phenomenon. There are moments (like 1929 or 2008) when the illusion is shattered, but that’s when government steps in to regulate, bail out and prop up the fundamental flaws of a capitalist system.
My 2 cents.
Of course it does - but not directly. Both the ideal and the real-world manifestations of capitalism empower those who appropriate the most capital, and marginalize those who don’t - usually via exploitation, oppression or outright enslavement. The “freedom” so vaunted by pro-capitalist ideologues is - again both in theory and reality - restricted to those with the most capital. Everyone else receives a highly propagandized illusion of freedom, without the power to self-actualize. Because of this, the de facto outcome of capitalist systems is huge wealth disparity, with its concomitant property ownership disparity, political influence disparity, and continuous degrading of economic mobility. Ultimately, then, those at the bottom of this feeding frenzy are the increasingly impoverished masses, who often don’t realize just how impoverished they are (because they have been provided huge amounts of debt and endless stimulating distractions to shield them from this awareness). It’s a bit like the frog-in-a-pot-of-water slowly coming to boil phenomenon. There are moments (like 1929 or 2008) when the illusion is shattered, but that’s when government steps in to regulate, bail out and prop up the fundamental flaws of a capitalist system.
My 2 cents.
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