•

a common argument for capitalism is that governments should interfere as little as possible with the workings of the markets

•

reduce taxation to the minimum so as not to take money out of the market

•

the logic is that markets know far better than governments where to invest the money

•

this is called a belief in the free market

•

but it is extremely rare in history that the market was free of politics and intervention

•

the reason is that the most important economic resource is trust in the future

•

markets by themselves offer no protection against fraud, theft and violence

•

it is the job of the government to ensure an environment of continual trust by by punishing people who violate agreed upon laws

•

this is why investors are more likely to invest in countries with transparent governments: it's a matter of trust

•

when governments fail to do this properly, it leads to loss of trust in the market, dwindling credit and economic depression

•

if markets are not regulated, powerful players will exploit the less powerful

•

this is why we have laws against monopolies

•

a common argument is that a factory owner's own greed will compel him to treat his workers well, since they can go elsewhere

•

this doesn't always work because monopolies can form

•

workers are then no longer able to protect themselves by changing jobs

•

at the end of the Middle Ages, slavery was almost unknown in Christian Europe

•

the Atlantic slave trade began with the early modern age and the onset of colonization

•

it was not so much tyrannical kings or racial ideologies, but unrestrained market forces which led to the Atlantic slave trade

•

the Atlantic Slave trade in Africa

•

from 16th to 19th century, about 10 million African slaves were imported to America

•

many died in the wars in Africa to counter the slave trade

•

the slave trade was controlled very little by states or governments

•

it was mainly economic enterprise which organized and managed the slave trade

•

privately owned slave trading companies sold shares on the stock exchanges of Europe

•

people invested money in the slave companies because it provided good returns on their investments

•

in the 18th century, the profits from investing in slave trade companies was about 6% each year, a very high rate

•

a completely free market cannot ensure that profits are gained in a fair way

•

the craving to increase profits has a tendency to blind people of ethical issues

•

whereas religions such as Christianity and ideologies such as Nazism were used justify horrible treatment of human beings out of ignorance and hatred, capitalism has led to horrible treatment of human beings out of ignorance and indifference

•

the Atlantic slave trade not only resulted from hatred or racism of Africans, but the fact that many otherwise innocent investors were making 6% annual profits on companies that participated in the slave trade

•

many of the plantation owners didn't hate Africans per se, and often lived far away from the plantation, what was important for them was how much money they made at the end of the year

•

this was similar to the Great Bengal famine of 1770

•

the British East Indian company cared more about their profits than about the famine that caused 10 million people to die

•

the human species and the economy as a whole may well keep growing but many individuals still live in extremely poor and unfair conditions

•

arguments for capitalism

•

1. communism and other economic experiments were so much worse in so many ways than capitalism that nobody has many better ideas to try again anything different than capitalism

•

there may be many pockets of poverty and unfairness which the global free market capitalistic economy leaves unattended but when we look at history, there are few viable alternatives to capitalism and the fact is that we cannot live without it

•

2. we just need to be more patient

•

mistakes have been made in the past, such as the Atlantic slave trade

•

but as we have seen throughout the centuries, more and more people are receiving a larger and larger percentage of the profits provided by the capitalistic economy

•

the distribution of the profits will never be equitable, but there will be enough to satisfy a greater percentage of the population than could be realized from any other economic system

•

positive signs that capitalism is making the world a better place for all people on the planet

•

increasing life expectancy

•

decreasing child mortality

•

increasing calories per person

•

the mantra of capitalism: "allow the economic pie to keep growing, keep your trust in growth, and everything will be ok"

•

an important question facing humanity in the 21st and 22nd centuries is: can the global economic continue to grow indefinitely?

•

one reason this may not be the case is if the earth's raw materials such as oil and coal are depleted