At the moment i´m reading a lot about the rise/invention of capitalism.
What thus far amazes me the most is that capitalism was initially hailed as a civilising force.
It´s hard to draw the line exactly, as to where and when capitalism was born, but there have always been markets. The degree to wich markets have dominated society has changed though.
In medieval, feodal europe, society was definately much harder. Most people where more or less born as slaves in the sense that they belonged to the land owned by a master. People in city´s had a little more rights in the sense that they wheren´t 'owned' by anyone. But they could not choose their own profession or start their own busines.
When capitalism became more dominant, much in society changed. Power became more economy-based than military-based and the majority of intellectuals in europe agreed that capitalism would make people 'softer', more gentle and polite. Especially montesquieu, adam smith and david hume are very positive about this effect capitalism was supposed to have, but there are numerous less well-known thinkers who had the same views.
Another thing i noticed is that criticism towards capitalism has always been the strongest, during economically hard times. During boom-times, most people have more positive views about capitalism and criticism is hardly ever heard off.
I now think that it has to be said that capitalism is not a simple force of light or darkness. The truth is probably that capitalism has both positive and negative aspects, acting simultaneously. Most of the views people have on capitalism are too superficial: it´s either a force of evil or a divine system to most people.
I cannot say i have a view on capitalism myself, in the light of what i´m discovering. Most of my views up till now, i must admit, have been based on concern for the wellbeing of other people than myself: i cannot help noticing that many people realy like the fruits of capitalism, but not capitalism itself. People like wealth, but not labour, they like travelling but oppose the construction of new roads, railway´s or runways for airports, they like i-phones but disagree with slavery and they oppose the construction of new powerplants while they do like to watch TV or visit the DMT-nexus.
I think i don´t realy have a view on this, in the sense that i no longer believe that there is a clear answer to all of these dilemma´s. And most importantly....i think each of us just has to face these dilemma´s and answer them for ourselves.
I know the world is changing. That has been bothering me because i know that most people in the west aren´t ready for the changes that are coming...but at this moment i no longer see why i should be bothered because OTHER people cannot cope with the world the way it is and the way it is becoming.
There are a few things that concern me, like pollution, slavery and opression or the irrational behaviour of financial markets and i´m going to examine these things some more. But i no longer think that we can simply adress these issues as mere results of a rotten system...i think the system is more complicated than that. Capitalism is pretty neutral in itself and quite benign compared to most other economic systems (like the feodal system), it´s an interplay of different forces that causes it to escalate into disaster sometimes.
What thus far amazes me the most is that capitalism was initially hailed as a civilising force.
It´s hard to draw the line exactly, as to where and when capitalism was born, but there have always been markets. The degree to wich markets have dominated society has changed though.
In medieval, feodal europe, society was definately much harder. Most people where more or less born as slaves in the sense that they belonged to the land owned by a master. People in city´s had a little more rights in the sense that they wheren´t 'owned' by anyone. But they could not choose their own profession or start their own busines.
When capitalism became more dominant, much in society changed. Power became more economy-based than military-based and the majority of intellectuals in europe agreed that capitalism would make people 'softer', more gentle and polite. Especially montesquieu, adam smith and david hume are very positive about this effect capitalism was supposed to have, but there are numerous less well-known thinkers who had the same views.
Another thing i noticed is that criticism towards capitalism has always been the strongest, during economically hard times. During boom-times, most people have more positive views about capitalism and criticism is hardly ever heard off.
I now think that it has to be said that capitalism is not a simple force of light or darkness. The truth is probably that capitalism has both positive and negative aspects, acting simultaneously. Most of the views people have on capitalism are too superficial: it´s either a force of evil or a divine system to most people.
I cannot say i have a view on capitalism myself, in the light of what i´m discovering. Most of my views up till now, i must admit, have been based on concern for the wellbeing of other people than myself: i cannot help noticing that many people realy like the fruits of capitalism, but not capitalism itself. People like wealth, but not labour, they like travelling but oppose the construction of new roads, railway´s or runways for airports, they like i-phones but disagree with slavery and they oppose the construction of new powerplants while they do like to watch TV or visit the DMT-nexus.
I think i don´t realy have a view on this, in the sense that i no longer believe that there is a clear answer to all of these dilemma´s. And most importantly....i think each of us just has to face these dilemma´s and answer them for ourselves.
I know the world is changing. That has been bothering me because i know that most people in the west aren´t ready for the changes that are coming...but at this moment i no longer see why i should be bothered because OTHER people cannot cope with the world the way it is and the way it is becoming.
There are a few things that concern me, like pollution, slavery and opression or the irrational behaviour of financial markets and i´m going to examine these things some more. But i no longer think that we can simply adress these issues as mere results of a rotten system...i think the system is more complicated than that. Capitalism is pretty neutral in itself and quite benign compared to most other economic systems (like the feodal system), it´s an interplay of different forces that causes it to escalate into disaster sometimes.
