Can Capitalism be Just?
Introduction
Is capitalism moral or immoral? Is it justifiable? To know if Capitalism can be just, you must fully know what Capitalism is. Adam Smith the father of modern capitalism, was a philosopher who was a part of the Enlightenment era and believed in having a free market economy. Socially capitalism is built off the principles of individuals and their rights and politically it is built on the system termed laissez-faire also known as freedom. Capitalism is the economic and political system by which the trade and industry markets are ran by private owners rather than government involvement or interference. Capitalism brings emphasis to a person’s individual rights as business and property owners; allowing one to …show more content…
Even though there are questionable ethics and consequences involved in all social systems there is good that can come out of it. Capitalism can be morally justified in the means that a class division creates structure and balance. According to Libcom.com, “Capitalism is presented as a 'natural ' system, formed a bit like mountains or land masses by forces beyond human control, that it is an economic system ultimately resulting from human nature.” Having a class division allows everyone to play a part within the society. Not everyone can be a part of the wealthy class and not everyone is capable of doing certain jobs; everyone has their own skill set. So if everyone were wealthy or were a part of the working class there would be no services and production of goods therefore leading to no distribution. Capitalism creates greed and self-interest. Greed and self-interest within a society establishes motivation and competition in the free markets. Free markets are a system based on the economic system that allow the consumers who buy the goods to set the prices of goods and allows for competition between privately owned businesses to be unrestricted. Business owners are allowed to be innovative and develop new products without the government interfering. According to James Doti, “Not only do I believe that self-interest benefits society, but I also contend that it is the only efficient way goods can be produced and distributed in a modern economic system” p. 7. When competition is created between consumers there is no monopoly on the market causing more goods and services to be available or produced. The only concern with a free market economy are market failures. The consequences of a market failure can be severe and have a major impact on an economic
Introduction
Is capitalism moral or immoral? Is it justifiable? To know if Capitalism can be just, you must fully know what Capitalism is. Adam Smith the father of modern capitalism, was a philosopher who was a part of the Enlightenment era and believed in having a free market economy. Socially capitalism is built off the principles of individuals and their rights and politically it is built on the system termed laissez-faire also known as freedom. Capitalism is the economic and political system by which the trade and industry markets are ran by private owners rather than government involvement or interference. Capitalism brings emphasis to a person’s individual rights as business and property owners; allowing one to …show more content…
Even though there are questionable ethics and consequences involved in all social systems there is good that can come out of it. Capitalism can be morally justified in the means that a class division creates structure and balance. According to Libcom.com, “Capitalism is presented as a 'natural ' system, formed a bit like mountains or land masses by forces beyond human control, that it is an economic system ultimately resulting from human nature.” Having a class division allows everyone to play a part within the society. Not everyone can be a part of the wealthy class and not everyone is capable of doing certain jobs; everyone has their own skill set. So if everyone were wealthy or were a part of the working class there would be no services and production of goods therefore leading to no distribution. Capitalism creates greed and self-interest. Greed and self-interest within a society establishes motivation and competition in the free markets. Free markets are a system based on the economic system that allow the consumers who buy the goods to set the prices of goods and allows for competition between privately owned businesses to be unrestricted. Business owners are allowed to be innovative and develop new products without the government interfering. According to James Doti, “Not only do I believe that self-interest benefits society, but I also contend that it is the only efficient way goods can be produced and distributed in a modern economic system” p. 7. When competition is created between consumers there is no monopoly on the market causing more goods and services to be available or produced. The only concern with a free market economy are market failures. The consequences of a market failure can be severe and have a major impact on an economic