Between the dystopia of capitalism and the Utopia of a post-scarcity economy, what is the alternative?

It is no secret that the capitalistic economic system brought us the technology and innovation we have reached today through free markets and derived competition. Most importantly, it fulfilled our desire to possess and prosper, according to research, ownership could produce an extent of positive behavioral effects, in other words, we thrive through accumulative ownership.

Are we aware at what cost?

The price of thriving is starkly striking, in 2020 only, a survey by Edelman cited in a BBC article showed that 57% of people globally think that the existence of capitalism today cause more harm than good. The result is logically justified given the surge in research to produce an alternative. To this end, in this article, I review a plethora of relevant theories and I conclude with a proposal accordingly.

Source 2: https://medium.com/@re.Marx/how-much-do-you-really-make-86d070f63919

Before kicking off, it is noteworthy that the choice of the photo was inspired by a conversation I had with a French friend that shared with me an expression that says “Monter sur le dos des autres” which means climbing on the back of others. This proverb refers to the occurring exploitation and social injustice due to the capitalistic culture, which is what, my friends together with a vast number of groups of activists, are criticizing about the current economic system.

Keywords recap: Ownership, innovation, technology, exploitation, social injustice, competition, and free markets.

Capitalism/post-capitalism debate!

According to a debate on the Debating Europe platform (2020), two considerable opinions were sorted out as follows:

1-??Yanis Varoufakis, an economist, and former Greek finance minister

We live in the post-capitalism era since we evolved from a market-based system to a central banks-based system with few companies performing remarkably well. Financial capitalism collapsed in 2008, and finance was re-floated by central banks printing mountains of money. Hence, Without the central banks, the system could have collapsed.

2-??Fredrik Erixon, an economist, and the director of ECIPE (the European Centre for International Political Economy)

Part of capitalism’s definition is the capitalist culture which refers to the purpose of capitalism, which is to promote changes. For instance, promoting innovation and technological change while ensuring a parallel positive correlation with the increase of people’s wealth and quality of life improve over time. Although this has may lead to the popularity of the thought that we live in the most innovative time; nevertheless, from a capitalist culture lens, it seems that the pace of innovation has slowed down. For instance, we have very few numbers of companies that possess the power to change the market and constantly attempt to eliminate competitors, which means minimal need to innovate and prosper for the benefit of society.

Matthew Wilburn, in his article, cited that capitalism is destroying the life of various working classes, people have lost faith in institutions, and they have an increased feeling of injustice; it is time to consider a new but broader and more inclusive social contract for capitalism. Best Buy’s executive chairman Hubert Joly said that focusing on profits between 1980 and 2010 caused some of the aforementioned issues, for the next 30 years it is essential to slightly unwind. This change could redefine capitalism.

Christian concludes, that despite whether we believe that capitalism is rooted in inequality, together with neglecting how culture, education, and media function in serving capitalist hegemony, capitalism, however, the same as any other system, will not last forever.

Then, when should we commence marching towards change?

The last country to board the train of capitalism provided us with the sign! North Korea’s economic system is transforming into capitalism. Sanbeer’s and Michelle’s review explained the opportunity that capitalism provided Kim Jong-un with, and how this system change was in favor of the government. If this shift, does not represent the final straw for capitalism, what will?

Keywords recap: central bank-based system, capitalist culture, wealth, quality of life, opportunity, and system change.

Alternatives, with much to criticize!

Source 3: https://lastdaydeaf.com/now-alternative-3-february-2022/

Post-scarcity economic model

It is vital to commence with the most utopic alternative to capitalism “the post-scarcity model of The Zeitgeist Movement”. The movement sees that the majority of modern society's problems such as inequality, poverty, and corruption are consequential symptoms of an outdated social system.

The “Post-Scarcity Economy” concept is “derived from principles of scientific, sustainable earthly management, along with contemporary findings in social and epidemiological research”. This concept fits perfectly with what ANNA MARIA researched and how she approached the Sustainable and Democratic Economy model; she stated that the alternative to capitalism must be regional, participatory, and sustainable, and empathized significant role of bioregions, limited international trade, and direct democracy (refers to the collective decision-making of how to distribute resources in bioregions).

The Post-Scarcity Economy model presents various ideas for system change. First, the Automation of Labor and the termination of the traditional labor system. Second, Access over poverty and advocation of no property for efficiency and strategic resource management. Third, Self-Contained/Localized City and Production Systems. Fourth, The Scientific Method is the Methodology for Governance and adaptation of the concept “If you don’t want people to steal food, do not deprive them of it”. Finally, moving away from money and markets considering 1) Infinite growth, 2) the other side of the competitive marketplace (wars, corruption, large scale financial fraud, etc.), 3) an Inefficient industrial complex that wastes resources and energy, 4 a) Market share and profits overweight socially positive advents projects, 5), Creation of inferior products to stay in the competition, 6) Monopoly and cartel, and 7)The market system is driven, in part, by scarcity. In sum, Post-Scarcity Economy in theory and practice is based on environmental specifics, the ideology of accessibility, and how the real issue relevant to meeting human needs is not ownership but accessibility.

Keywords recap: Accessibility, scarcity, poverty, automation, governance, upgraded trade system existence, participatory, bioregions, limited international trade, and direct democracy.

Mondragon Corporation (MC) model

According to a visit Richard Wolff made to MC, MC views that in capitalism, private owners establish enterprises and select their directors, and hence, this small handful of people makes all those economic decisions for the majority of people – who do most of the actual productive work.?

MC produced a stunningly successful alternative to the capitalist organization of production. MC group consists of various co-operative enterprises divided into four areas: industry, finance, retail, and knowledge. In each enterprise, the co-op members (averaging 80-85% of all workers per enterprise) collectively own and direct the enterprise. Furthermore, as “each enterprise is a constituent of the MC group, its members must confer and decide with all other enterprise members what general rules will govern MC and all its constituent enterprises”.?

Among astonishing co-operatively and democratically adopted rules governing the MC, there is one dedicated to limiting top-paid workers/members to earning 6.5 times the lowest-paid workers, whereas in the US CEOs could expect to be paid 400 times an average worker's salary.

Keywords recap: Decision making, collective governance, and limiting top-paid workers.

French Anti-capitalist new party model

The new anti-capitalist party in France together with their presidential candidate Philippe Poutou propose (translated from French by me):

First and foremost, advocates believe in three principles which are 1) capitalism puts both humanity and the planet in danger, 2) a new world is possible which is the socialism of the 21st century, and finally, 3) capitalists’ profit should not be our lives. Mr. Philippe said that, nowadays, to be realistic means to be anti-capitalist because this system is dangerous and cannot be reformed. Hence, to create a new world, it is significant to organize the society according to the social and ecological needs despite what this system could be called whether it is eco-socialist, communist, or self-managed; the system should be based on cooperation, and solidarity values, not based on competition. Furthermore, the new system relies on rebuilding the associations and unions and embracing bottom-up governance. The overall aim is to contribute to overthrowing capitalism toward an eco-socialist society for the emancipation of humanity.

Keywords recap: Solidarity, cooperation, realism, and reformation.

Islamic Economy model

The TIPYAN website shared an article about how Islamic Economy is a sufficient alternative to capitalism (translated from Arabic by me). One of the core arguments is formed about how Islam consolidates the human instinct of ownership but for the benefit of the society, since Islam requires Zakat (2.5% of your ongoing income if it exceeded the value of 80 grams of gold after a period of a lunar year/355 days).

Of note, Zakat must be paid to someone who is in need and the person must not be a close relative that you are obligated to support financially.

Zakat is a form of solidarity among the members of the community, and it is paid despite other taxes.

There are many other aspects to be discussed, however, Saray-Con summarized that the basic difference between capitalist and Islamic economies is that in secular conventional capitalism, the profit motive or private ownership is given unbridled power to make economic decisions; therefore, the Islamic economy is an ethical alternative given the spiritual dimension beyond it (utmost ownership is for god).

Keywords recap: ownership, the fixed proportion for solidarity, and ethical alternative.

The future of capitalism

Source 4: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-future-of-capitalism-by-paul-collier-an-extract/

Delanty Gerard wrote five scenarios to the end of capitalism in his recent research 2019, and one of the mind-blowing quotes I saw in the research is that?‘it is easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism’ (Jameson, 2003: 76). Let’s see together to what extent this quote is true:

<<Expanded summary in the Appendix>>

1-??‘Varieties of capitalism’ (VoC)

“The presumption is that capitalism takes one major form and that there is one direction of travel leading to its final collapse”.

2-??Systemic crises of capitalism

“The future of capitalism is that it does not have a future. It will simply come to an end due to reduced capacity for growth and over-production”.

3-??Catastrophic collapse

“The notion of a systemic crisis (natural, biological, etc.) of capitalism is based on a view of the internal dynamics of the capitalist economy, leading in time to the end of capitalism”.

4-??Low growth capitalism

“A more realistic prognosis scenario, at least for the short to medium term of the next 20–30 years, is a long period of low growth capitalism (circular economy) bolstered either by an enhanced regulatory order or constrained neoliberal regimes”.

5-??Post-capitalism

“For the immediate future, it is difficult to envisage a whole-scale transition to a socialist society or some kind of non-capitalist society. Future trends are more likely to lead in the direction of a postcapitalist world in which capitalism wanes but does not disappear. Capitalist accumulation may reach its limits for reasons of systemic contradictions but does not undergo a systemic collapse”.

Keywords recap: socialist society, capitalist accumulation, limited resources, political transformation, consumption, low growth, ecological and biological crisis, overproduction, advantages, benefited parties.

Time for a realistic alternative proposal!

Source 5: personal photo during Paris Peace Forum 2019

The previous keywords' recap was not miscellaneous but was aimed at constructing a source of unity, to all presented scenarios and alternatives to capitalism, that we can rely on to elicit the essence of the new economic system. To this end, and post-analytical review, I propose 12 pillars that the call for system change must consist of, namely:

???I.???????Associate automation of labor with sufficient training to uphold alternative opportunities;

?II.???????Be realistic while reforming the new system, especially in terms of pay gap between both genders and the various levels of workers;

III.???????Change the capitalist culture to a culture of solidarity and cooperation for the collective gain of the planet and what it contains;

?IV.???????Comprehend the human instinct in possessing and thereby generating wealth while ensuring equal opportunities together with equal quality of life;

??V.???????Continue from the occurred change to shift to a central banks-based economy in association with interconnected economic data robust;

?VI.???????Embrace smart and wise consumption behaviors to hinder the occurrence of ecological and biological crises;

VII.???????Foster engagement and inclusivity for prosperous bioregions;

VIII.???????Guarantee equal but fair access to resources and ensure their distribution accordingly;

?IX.???????Place innovation, technology discoveries, and sustainability as the core driver of the marketplace development and for the benefit of society instead of competing to maximize the market share;

??X.???????Prevent any potential overproduction and/or oversupplying of goods and services, for the benefit of all stakeholders;

?XI.???????Produce a new form of governance and decision-making mechanism (ex: direct democracy) undertaking an eased political transformation as well as a new form of regional and international trade system;

XII.???????Respect the concept of ownership while considering the social injustice.

Visualizing these pillars is not impossible, not even difficult, it is simply described in the following sentence: “I am because you are” which is the meaning of Ubuntu, the concept that demonstrates how we are all connected and one can only grow and progress (without causing any harm to others even if it was indirect harm because of this growth [e.g. buying from a company that exploits labor in another country]) through the collective growth and progression.

A crystal-clear instance of the implementation of the pillars thereof is a super-consolidated financial system that will build the central nucleus of interconnected systems and that will stabilize the interrelationships between the various beings on several levels.

In unpretentious terms, the system is constructed based on proportional spending for individuals (and/or families), businesses (despite the sizes), and governments (despite geopolitical alliances, unions, GDP, etc.).

1-??For governments, trades, such as selling locally produced crops of corn for 10 billion and importing the same amount from a different country for 6 billion, should be restricted. This government must pay according to its economic power, and if they are to import, they should pay for the same amount of 12 billion, for instance. On the other hand, less fortunate countries, if they cannot afford to pay even 6 billion, should pay 4 billion and the other two will be reimbursed by the richer countries.

2-??As for businesses, if they operate in the US, they charge customers the US rates, but their labor is in Somalia, they must pay their employees equal and fair salaries according to the revenue they generate.

3-??For individuals, for instance, if a director works in France, and earns 300,000 euros a year, the director’s income provides an opportunity to afford to travel 20 times in the EU, especially, to Hungary e.g... Whereas, if a director works in Hungary, the earnings per year probably will not exceed 10,000 euros, so, this person will not be able to travel even one time. Therefore, the French director, when traveling to a country that has a weaker economy, should pay the rates of France, similarly, for the director from Hungary, the payment should be according to the rate of the person’s country, and vice versa.

This payment system relies on the income and values of owned properties for individuals and families; other economic aspects for governments and businesses, to determine the rate they should pay and whether it is more than 100%.

Such a system, to begin with, enforces wealth distribution and minimizes the social injustice gap severely; in addition, it maintains the growth ideology and shapes it by a reformation of consumer/producer behaviors to derive it towards smart and wise production/consumption behavior (smart and wise consumption, in my definition, consumption that is, sustained and innovative; for example, purchasing second-hand materials and foster recycling), etc.

Alqudsi Mouhamad Mamdouh

#engagement?#management?#future #grenoble?#managementconsulting?#GrenobleEcoledeManagement?#grenobleMBA

Appendix

The future of capitalism

Delanty Gerard wrote five scenarios to the end of capitalism in his recent research 2019, and one of the mind-blowing quotes I saw in the research is that?‘it is easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism’ (Jameson, 2003: 76). Let’s see together to what extent this quote is true:

1-??‘Varieties of capitalism’ (VoC)

The upshot of the VoC approach is that capitalism differs greatly in national contexts due to the institutional advantages that national states offer. Therefore, the presumption is that capitalism takes one major form and that there is one direction of travel leading to its final collapse. The theory suggests that globalization as a monolithic one-directional trajectory of universal deregulation is less pervasive, in that firms will not automatically offshore when it may be cheaper to do so. To this end, nations can prosper not by adopting neoliberal policies but by building on institutional advantages.

2-??Systemic crises of capitalism

The future of capitalism is that it does not have a future. It will simply come to an end due to issues including but not limited to falling rate of profit leading to a reduced capacity for growth, improved technology leading to the over-production of worthless goods, and oversupply of credit that leads to goods being produced that do not have enough people who can afford to buy them.

3-??Catastrophic collapse

The notion of a systemic crisis of capitalism is based on a view of the internal dynamics of the capitalist economy, leading in time to the end of capitalism. An alternative scenario can be briefly considered, namely, the possibility of global catastrophe. The most obvious possibility is an ecological crisis resulting from severe climatic change. Other possible catastrophic crises that might lead to the collapse of capitalism are biological, for example, the global spread of a deadly virus or nuclear war.

4-??Low growth capitalism

A more realistic prognosis scenario, at least for the short to medium term of the next 20–30years, is a long period of low growth capitalism bolstered either by an enhanced regulatory order or constrained neoliberal regimes. Low or zero growth economies will lead to increased unemployment that will be eased only by the rise of low-paid temporary and insecure forms of employment (Doogan, 2009; Sennett, 2006). Meanwhile, the super-rich will retain their privileges, and global inequality will not decline significantly. This scenario fits with the definition of degrowth theory which is that only a reduction in global production and consumption can ensure the future of humanity and the preservation of the planet. Finally, it is noteworthy that circular economy is also embedded in this theory as George-Konstantinos Charonis concluded.

5-??Post-capitalism

For the immediate future, it is difficult to envisage a whole-scale transition to a socialist society or some kind of non-capitalist society. Future trends are more likely to lead in the direction of a postcapitalist world in which capitalism wanes but does not disappear. Capitalist accumulation may reach its limits for reasons of systemic contradictions but does not undergo a systemic collapse.

Nonetheless, technological change could lead the way to a post-capitalist society if it were accompanied by a major political transformation that made possible the eradication of many of the problems produced by capitalism.

The political impact of climate change in the next decade or so may lead to major changes in consumption, which is currently based on the myth of sustainability. It is evident that if current consumption continues, the ecological impact will be catastrophic and reduced consumption may be the only viable option for turbo-charged growth and super-capitalism.?