Alternatives to Capitalism: Ramesh Shrestha

Things people already know

People have enjoyed the fruits of capitalism over the decades as it spread employment and generated enormous amounts of wealth. It also steadily created three classes of people, ultra rich who are able to dictate any and all terms in economy & in politics, an ever shrinking middle class and a constantly growing underclass population. The relationship between Capitalism and People has become like a Master-Slave relationship endangering the very existence of society as we know today. Many academics have written articles and published books on negative aspects of the current system of capitalist economy but no one ever probed the doubtful intentions and the degenerating ethical values of current economic policy that could redesign a new economic model suitable for an egalitarian society. What we now have globally is a likely scenario of a free fall of democratic capitalism of governance if certain remedies are not put in place.

Our lifestyles and relative stability of the 1970s or 1980s are now like daydreams which we cannot revive. We have to find ways to regulate our economies and make peace with nature for our own survival under the current economic pressure. It requires a change in governance model as well as economic model for us to sail through the remaining decades of the 21st century. Whichever system of governance and economy countries choose must address issues of inequality, degeneration of environment, social integrity of our society for survival of human species. The governments must focus on the outcome of governance from profit to people.

Three main issues

The overdrive of the capitalist driven governance has three greatest negative impacts - severe degradation of the environment, reprehensible growth of inequality in human population and fracturing moral values of people as money became the sole objective of life which is killing the idea of social cohesion and coexistence risking total social collapse including even collapse of nuclear family. Couples in many countries decided not to have children as the cost of rearing children has become unaffordable. What would be the definition of family in the next thirty years? Yet, governments everywhere seem tone deaf under the influence of capitalism, more suitably capitalists. Current model of capitalist economy based on brutal exploitation of nature, acquisition and merging of public services by the private sector, excessive production and wasteful consumption is not sustainable. It is essential for governments to review democratic system of governance and economic policy as two separate entities. Reviewing economic policy alone with the hope of taming Capitalism will be futile. Long live tone deaf leaders!

Why do we need an alternative system?

Human beings have been able to find solutions to all known problems except for the problems created by democratic capitalism which has converted the atmosphere into a gas chamber and our planet into an open landfill to dump garbage. It is also killing all local traditional culture and value systems replaced by wasteful living devoid of moral values. It is gradually destroying the social justice system with exploitation and monetization of labour and social services devoiding social responsibility and social rights of individuals. Democratic capitalism also globalised inequality without any sympathy for equity and equality beyond rhetoric talks. Today's development model(s), people's way of life and technology that we rely on are here to stay but must be tamed to prevent catastrophe that could eliminate life on Earth. In any such event nature will rebounce but once humans go extinct, it will be forever. There is an urgent need for principled social movements to take control of economic policy by the government from the clutches of capitalists. There is no more time for philosophical debate on these issues.

Known solutions but never acknowledged

While new financial models are being discussed or existing models are being redesigned, unconditional universal basic income (UBI) could be a good alternative to introduce as a transient measure. UBI is not a new initiative. It has had several experiments in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America during the 20th century. Most recently it has been tried in several countries during COVID lockdown and to assist people displaced by automation with positive outcomes. Many countries also have various social assistance programmes such as old age benefit, single mother benefit, child benefit, etc. UBI will be an extension of these existing cash assistance programmes with necessary modifications. It will require visiting current taxation policy to generate additional funds. It is not an impossible task; it just requires serious political commitment. But UBI is just a temporary measure. What we need is a total overhauling of the current system of democratic capitalism.

Positive examples

Nordic countries topped as the most livable countries in the world with Finland occupying the top rank for several decades. Nordic countries are considered as having the most appropriate system of governance (social democracy) with clear focus on universal health care, education, housing, strong labour rights and good environmental policy. The system targets inequality with consultative planning. In recent decades the governance and economic system in these countries are also being influenced by Capitalism with some degree of privatisation and deregulation but it is still considered among the best. Inequality in these countries are assumed to be minimum but with rising push by the Capitalism and defense industries their current position as countries with best governance and economy may be in jeopardy.

The idea of Socialism and Communism is allergic to democrats worldwide. But one cannot deny the benefits of these systems such as extensive social services which includes universal education, health care & other social services and redistribution of wealth through taxation. The disagreements against these systems lie in government ownership and their disdain against state ownership of properties. But as we are witnessing the relaxing of some of these rules in Vietnam and China there are lessons to be learned from their experience which may be applicable to democratic systems of governance. Would anyone care?

Countries may not require to totally change the governance system; they just need to break the monopoly of a handful of Capitalists who have become powerful whereby they control all means of production, distribution and media undermining the government. Capitalists' dedication to production of wealth has created unfair competition to exploit nature at any cost resulting in an unlivable environment. The governance policies of social democracies in some European countries have good environmental policy which could be a global model to preserve nature and environment. These are all known facts; there is not just any initiative by countries to adopt this system which could benefit them.

The democratic capitalism is also gradually destroying the social justice system with exploitation and monetization of labour and social services devoiding social responsibility and rights of individuals. Here is an example. According to the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, in one work day an average CEO among one hundred CEOs from reputable Canadian firms would have made the annual salary of an average worker in 27 minutes (posted 2 January 2024). The average CEO got paid $14.9 million in 2022. There is no time for philosophical debate and academic studies on such issues as these are known facts. Everything that democratic capitalism contributed to creating wealth has also contributed to expanding inequality in income, standard of living, access to services, housing, etc. If democratic capitalism is not tamed now the next system of governance will be Democratic Anarchism.

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