By following its own logic, capitalism (which includes socialism or state capitalism) has brought itself to a state of crisis. For example, the practice of surplus value encouraged mass production at the expense of quality for this attitude encourages getting more money, increasing one’s capital, and so what is known as “wealth” becomes simply the quantity of money collected. The consequence is disastrous:
1. It robs life of all quality; industrial, scientific, artistic and social life all stagnate in this atmosphere. Any country that wishes to develop has to create the same industries, produce identical merchandise and then try and sell it on the international market, often at a lower price. Competition becomes about quantity and price or selling more for a lower price to the detriment of the people who have become impoverished both materially and psychologically (in terms of spiritual values). The consequences of this are clear: observing his articles going unsold, the capitalist must reduce his production, pay his employees less or raise his prices. He exports his factories to less developed nations, deprives his own country’s people of work and forces his customers to buy a lower grade product. This impoverishes everybody;
2. The second great consequence is that those who strove to gather the most capital are now selling off their liabilities at an ever greater rate. If there is no solid base developed to sustain capital it can no longer exist;
3. The addiction to capital rather than work has led to a situation where we have an incredible number of industries all producing the same things and polluting the atmosphere, rivers, lakes and seas, occupying enormous areas of land unnecessarily and channeling the workforce into worthless tasks that prevent true human development.
A lesson in the fundamentals of modern economics could go like this: “Do you have money? Then, you are rich. If you don’t, you’re poor.” The same can be said about nations and consequently about all humanity; all the rest is secondary. A second lesson would be “know how to get rich without your neighbor or the country being poorer for this,” because a millionaire surrounded by misery is also miserable or, even worse, his life is in danger. What I am proposing is for the human being to earn his money by working, not by capitalist speculation / exploitation or through a position of authority in a socialist system.
These two fundamental principles would create an entirely new economic regime with a whole series of consequences, including placing Man and his actions at the centre, opening minds to the world, to culture and to civilization, leading us to economic, social and scientific development, bringing peace among human beings, realizing human aspirations in all sectors of activity and bringing true liberty, meaning doing what is good, true and beautiful. If we don’t have wealth based on work, the economy will suddenly collapse as has happened throughout history. The most important thing at present is to see that the economy must enter a new phase and move from quantitative to qualitative production.
The economy must follow the same development as the human being. Just as we live in houses and have better cars, televisions, more sophisticated refrigerators and so on, our destiny is to create new flying machines and medical and dental treatments that simplify life. What’s more, after satisfying his anxieties about basic necessities, man will finally be able to change his economic philosophy completely for he will have all he wants and will be free forever from this present day sick craving for money.
From: KEPPE, Norberto da Rocha. Work and Capital. São Paulo: Proton Publishing House, 1989
Reflection:
Do you realize that the true economy must value and develop human beings through their work?
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