Philosophy

The Philosophy Behind Capitalism.

Photo by Elti Meshau on Unsplash

Capitalism is not just a social and political ideology; there is also a science of numbers behind it, called economics. The subject doesn’t seem so unworthy to gather such a great deal of imprecise condemnation as it has. Yes, it has shortcomings; we can reject theories based on them. Nonetheless, we cannot defy the fact that “profit” is one of the most important principles of economics, and humans like to have more of it. By running away from that, we not only lay bare our shallow understanding of human nature but also defy what’s achievable. Capitalism has, since its inception, come under constant assault by not just the intellectuals but also by ordinary citizens. The battle, for and against capitalism, is not just about the accumulation of wealth, it is about “individual rights” and how society and the individuals therein perceive it.

It ( the criticism) resurfaces itself in dark times as we lose hope in ourselves, in our abilities, and become insecure about our merits again. We need to rearrange the pieces in our hard-wired brains about what merit, competition and profits mean and how do we “inculcate, face and share them”, respectively, to make this world a better place. It needs evolution, not just civility.

I don’t mean to say that all we yearn and long for is pure profits and nothing else. However, in our pursuit of happiness, profits are included, be it money or kind, as in, love, respect, besides other abundances. Ever wondered why the latter doesn’t bother anyone, but the former does? Cause profits are scarce, while love and respect are not, presumably. Passion for any of these would create a drive in us, which keeps us working hard until we achieve our goal. Wait! Like literally. On our way to success, we need to transitorily stop and look around if it’s okay to be so individualistic. Discover in the profundity of your psyche — immoral psyche, if it’s okay to be so selfish and primitive. Is this greed to attain more and more, making us advanced or rolling us down the hill?