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Taming The Capitalist’s Economy
WebStamp March 05, 2022
Not only is Capitalism Destroying the Earth, but it has put the world into a sustained economic crisis on a scale not seen since the Great Depression. There must be a better system than one that produces so much conflict, pollution, and alienation. Karl Marx, the father of Communism, suggested that capitalism contained within it the seeds of its own destruction. He stated that companies would mechanize their workplaces pursuing a relentless drive for profits. They would continue producing more and more goods while squeezing wages until the workers could no longer purchase the products they created.
Karl Marx did not simply dislike capitalism but was impressed by it. He actually argued that it was the most productive system that the world has seen. Outlining how capitalism worked, he was convinced it was plagued by contradictions that would bring about its downfall. Marx predicted an unsustainable globalized economy where nations would be interdependent on each other brought about by a relentless search for new markets and cheap labour, all while depleting the Earth’s finite natural resources.
Communism today is not what Marx had hinted at, but not having developed any clear path of action for a true sustainable socialist economy dictators fashioned it to fit their own needs and not those of the people. So, which do we choose? A corrupted communist regime or a greedy capitalist economy? Or is there another choice? How about a true socialist worker cooperative economy that is self-managed by its workers where every worker-owner participates in the decision-making in a democratic fashion.
The Mondragon Corporation, founded in 1956, is a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque region of Spain. Mondragon workers own their jobs, so they decide how they are treated and how they want to operate the business. All the workers receive their fair share, with the top executives only receiving 6.5% additional earnings than those at the bottom of the wage scale.
In 1932 the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was founded in Calgary seeking economic reform to help Canadians affected by the Great Depression. This political coalition of progressive, socialist, and labour groups set a goal towards regulating production, distribution, and the exchange of goods providing for human needs instead of making a profit. The party worked towards establishing Canada as a Cooperative Commonwealth with the determination of eradicating a corrupt capitalistic system. The CCF party flourished in the ‘40s and began its downfall after WWII when accusations of being associated with communism for being a democratic socialist party. In 1961 the CCF merged with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and became the NDP.
A socialistic economy is not the dictatorial communism that is practiced today, nor is capitalism the true democratic equal opportunity system it is touted to be. The majority of the people struggle to get their fair share of the wealth that is generated by our current capitalistic economy. Even the dictatorial communist countries use capitalism to boost their countries' economies while controlling their citizens. The capitalistic world economy needs to be restructured into a more socialistic arrangement giving the management to the people and removing the servitude of the few that have taken control.
People are fed up with the current economic system and are speaking out. They have for centuries and the capitalistic economic system responds by providing some form of compensation to appease its dismayed citizens. Yet these overseers see a greater benefit from the protesting public than the masses do, each time leaving the people struggling considerably more. It is time to reform the economy by removing control from the greedy predominant players and letting the people self-govern. Make A Difference with the M.A.D. Move towards developing a Co-operative Commonwealth Government. We could start with the creation of more companies and corporations designed as worker cooperatives. Speak out, the greater the number of people complaining, the greater the movement, and the more likely change will happen.
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