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RE: Is Capitalism Responsible For Environmental Destruction? A short thought exercise!
I think that the weak point of capitalism is long-term commitments. Capitalism makes people immediate, only worried about the profits of here and now. But even though it is perfect, I still think it is the best system to bring people out of poverty.
Capitalism is the reason poverty exists. (Poverty) first is only a term used to describe those who don't have. Or it's better describing (inequality). This can only exist if it's possible to be so vastly unequal (through capital and its ability to own more than one needs). When someone takes and hoards more than they need, they inevitably take from someone who does, thus creating poverty.
Further, more concrete examples are what is presently going on all over africa. Where people who once lived freely off the land to meet their needs are being kicked off the lands they once freely used as 'capitalists' buy it up and claim ownership of it. Then these people are forced into poverty (something that did not exist to them before) as they are having to work in factories to make money in order to feed themselves... Capitalism creates poverty and then sells the lie that it helps people 'out of poverty'. The only metrics being used here are peoples access to the system of capitalism through money and GDP. They assume that someone who has only $3 a month is in poverty. But that wouldn't be the case if they could meet all their needs without money (as people were doing before).
Capitalism creates poverty, then allows some out of it and uses those as its own case studies as the 'good it does'...
Granted, of course, this is a highly simplified example to detail the problem. There are more nuances in our economic system that breed poverty, but this alone is a serious enough critique of "the best system to bring people out of poverty"...