No one can predict the future, so it is impossible to say for certain if capitalism will die out. However, some experts believe that capitalism may become less prevalent in the future, as more countries move towards socialism or communism.
There are numerous reasons why capitalism may finally kick the bucket within the next century or so. For starters, so-called “advanced” capitalist countries are experiencing slow growth and high levels of unemployment. Such conditions provide the ideal environment for revolution or at least the destruction of powerful capitalist institutions (we can’t ignore the fact that our current system could be replaced by something other than a leftist utopia, yikes…).
Overall, there is a growing number of people in the world who are seeing Capitalism for the joke that it is. According surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center, 25% percent of people in the United States believe Capitalism is “just a way to increase the GDP.” In other words, they think it is no more than a “feel good” economic system. More importantly, however, even more believed that Communism and Socialism are “satisfactory ways to organize a society.” Which is just a watered-down way of saying “yes, more commies have entered the chat”.
Globally I’d say that most people in Europe and North America have become increasingly fond of Socialist policies. Believe it or not, middle-aged and older generations already have significant exposure to Socialism. Most European countries have a social security system designed around the mature population, which means that things like retirement and pensions are provided by the government. Systems like these have been met with wide praise for decades now, and there’s no sign that the general public of these nations wants to do away with e progress they’ve been making.
Also, the global financial crisis of 2009 still continues to make it difficult for small-scale companies to survive. In many cases, new companies will need to be restructured or even dissolved while still in infancy. With so many bankrupt companies, which rely on borrowed money, and leave little alternative but to seek bankruptcy protection and services to help those most affected by its failure (i.e. Universal Income, Free Healthcare, or any other basic social safety net).
Finally, the financial crises that we’ve seen thus far have also increased the importance and public support of the public sector in managing the economy. This could mean higher spending on things like infrastructure and education, which are both important for economic growth. So in short, we’re on a stronger path towards dethroning capitalism than a typical pessimist would have you believe.
THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY…
AMY BOSTICK