Well... It's the week I have been waiting for...
I have a lot of thoughts on capitalism as a system. I think the idea of financial autonomy and the choice of where to spend that money is something we value a lot as humans because we believe that this freedom is vital to our enjoyment of life. But I don't really feel like my freedom as a consumer is even respected.
My view of capitalism is a lot narrower and less expansive than what is tradition
I don't feel free when I have to choose from various flavours of vitamin water to get my daily dose of flavoured sugar water (why is there a sex flavour? I'm not joking about this). Freedom is only granted under the system of capitalism when you have money as a surplus. Capitalism actually provides us with an idea of false choice as well to make us believe that we would have more choice and autonomy in this market than we actually do. Many of these different brands presenting a diversity of product are owned by the same conglomerates
I want to envision a world where corporations cannot have a global presence, and brands had to be localized to the country. This end of global monopolization would create smaller chains of production and more localized production. I think this would grant more autonomy to developing countries over their own financial freedom rather than having to rely on other global partners for investment.
I think we need to make a stronger effort as a world to control the economy on a global level. I do not believe there is a centralized authority that deals with monopolization on this scale but developing the world's economy as a whole like this would be beneficial to many humans and ecosystems on earth.
Capitalism, ah, I so hate this term, although I do not fully understand the connotation of capitalism, whenever this term appears in front of me, I feel sick.
I think that unless there is only one person left on the earth, capitalism will not stop its harm, even if there are two people left in this world, then capitalism will still stand like a big tree in the sky.
I can't agree with you more! Capitalism really exploits social resources and natural resources to a large extent. No matter what country or place capitalism is the most profitable, there will be some oppression of other people or enterprises. But cracking down on capitalism has to affect revenues, so it's really hard to made policies to balance it.
Hi Maia, I think you've presented some really cool solutions here and I wish there was a way we could see them play out!
interesting post! i like that put a clown emoji in your title
I like the title and the ideas you presented here! I also feel that the "choices" we have actually impede on our freedom especially when we look more closely at who's presenting us with these "choices". Many of the big brand names are owned by even bigger companies, and most of the time, the products they sell under different brand names are only very slightly different aside from their packaging and marketing. It is quite concerning to see the role that big business (i.e., multinational corporations) play in global politics, and it would be interesting to see how our world would change if they were removed from the picture.
Hi Maia O, your idea for intervention is very interesting! While I understand the premise of it and in an ideal world it would be a wonderful way to reduce waste and create smaller production chains, however, something that is important to factor in is the idea of food sovereignty and the privilege that comes with being able to choose our diet. If countries isolated themselves, a lot of food that can't grow in other places in the world would strip them of essential nutrients. Moreover, I think this would have large implications on a myriad of global fronts like on the economy, politics, war, etc. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this!