PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Capitalism: Is Capitalism The Problem Or Is It Human Greed?
by Gabrielle Reilly Monday, Jan. 05, 2004 at 11:17 AM

I write this article for people much like myself, idealistic and desiring a fairer, more stable world with less violence, less starvation, equal rights... you get the picture. Throughout the quest of searching for solutions I evolved from being purely idealistic, and more often than not counter productive, to finding practical applications based on successful models that have actually been implemented and utilized around the world. That�s the whole point isn�t it? Not just to fight for �something� but to actually improve �something� for the greater good of mankind.

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It has been capitalism that brought liberty and freedom to the masses, to the poor, to the unequal class systems. Human greed has given capitalism a very bad reputation when in fact greed is the problem and greed unfortunately is part of human nature. Greed is prevalent in any model of society whether it is communism or capitalism. If we recognize the core of the problem we can address the issue with emotional intelligence. We can reduce the risk factor of society being punished by the greedy minority such as the Enron�s and yet still let the capitalist economy flourish to provide a reasonable standard of living.

It was the entrepreneurial spirit of the middle classes that gained economic independence beginning with private property rights in Europe that first removed some of the power of rulers. This was the first beginnings of democracy as we know it in the Western world today. Without capitalism we could very well still be living under a feudal system were peasants worked for nothing and the lords and aristocracy kept all the money. Capitalism for the first time gave the peasants a way to determine there own destiny if they worked hard and used ingenuity. It was the economic success of the middle class that applied pressure to the political system that forced the institutions to introduce fair and equal rights throughout society.

For rest of article: http://www.gabriellereillyweekly.com/full/politics/capitalism.html

http://www.gabriellereillyweekly.com

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