American Capitalism (and why we have been doomed from the start)

I am currently taking a course on economics in which I have had some pretty thought provoking conversations. Now, don't get me wrong, the average high school student could hardly claim to know how everything works (and it becomes evident after sitting for an hour in this particular class why they definitely should not make this claim). However, I do like to think that I have a well-developed, if relatively basic, understanding of the American economy. And it is clear to me that right now it is just not working.

Although we are currently managing to dig ourselves out of the largest recession we've seen in decades, there really is no way to avoid this happening again, as long as we remain in a free-market society (not that I am saying capitalism is the wrong way, since I believe that there is no such thing as a "right" way; I am just attempting to make an unbiased statement here). There are a few major reasons for this:

1. It is human nature to be greedy.
We all tell ourselves that we're good people, that we'd never willingly take advantage of others. But let's face it: money and power do terrible things to people. Here's the problem... as my economics teacher has said multiple times before, no matter how much money you make, you are going to need more. Not want, need. This may not make sense at first, but just think about the people you know who make a $60,000 gross salary or less a year. Now think about the ones who make more, maybe even over a hundred grand. Haven't they all complained about the economy since it's collapsed? The more you make, the more you spend, without fail. It's why we hear about lottery winners who blow it all in a couple of months and are left broke. They just can't handle themselves when they have that much money in their hands. That is why currency is one of the most dangerous things in this world: it has the power to destroy your life and leave you in excessive debt to others. Also, it sort of defeats our hopes of ever achieving equality.

Power, on the other hand, is thankfully something which cannot be owed. But don't be fooled, it is just as scary as money. Powerful business owners run their businesses the way they do for profit. Any motions they make to change procedure are always in the hopes that more money can be pulled into them individually. Usually, it only takes a few months of success to begin getting stingy and ripping off your workers. Power corrupts good people. Once you get a taste, you'll just end up wanting more. And there is just not enough to go around.

2. Big business absolutely must be kept in check, or we're screwed anyway.
Often we hear complaints about labor unions and how settlement-happy they can get. And sure, often the motions of many unions can be a little over exaggerated and even irritating, but without unions, the little guy would be in real trouble. In a free-market economy, the government keeps its nose out of businesses (for the most part). So if there are problems and the workers are being taken advantage of at Joe's Steel Mill down the road, and there isn't a labor union to communicate what is happening, there is no way for the government to know anything is even wrong. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of thousands of businesses in many industries across the United States. If you're having problems with your boss and the way you are treated at a little office building in the middle of nowhere, how are you going to get your voice heard? The only convenient, easy way is a union, as long as your claim is valid. And after that comes the state or even federal government. Now, it is important that the worker is protected by law. In fact, big businesses can often become too powerful for our own good. The heads of the big pharmaceutical corporations, for instance, have the federal government in their pocket. That is just scary to me, and it should scare you too. In all actuality, without labor unions, the government would be pushed out of the way, and then stomped like a pesky ant, and after that, who's there to protect all of us?

Now, I know this can be nerve-wracking, but these are only the basic reasons capitalism doesn't work. They aren't what caused the fall of our economy (well, greed is, but that's a different story).

No, what brought us into this mess was our own reliable folly. We can be pretty dim-witted when it comes to running a country (after all, don't forget that this country is run by the people, for the people), and tend to repeat our mistakes, despite the lessons history books teach us. The housing bubble killed the economy, and it won't be long before it happens again with a different type of investment sending self-proclaimed spending gurus racing to get themselves a piece of the action.

The American people got themselves into this mess, now they have to get themselves out of it. And guess what? It doesn't even matter. We're only going to make the same mistakes again.