Conscience in Times of Capitalism

Since I have been writing about issues that are important to me during these last months, today I decided to write about something that concerns the whole world on all of its spheres. The issue of conscience is particularly relevant for all those of us who spend their time studying something inside humanities or social sciences. Today, there is a loss of conscience and also of values due to several reasons but I believe that on a broader scale, this is also due to the new demands the system is claiming for all international actors to satisfy. It is not easy trying to overcome and go against the system, for the whole world for better or for worse is now used to it and those who are not, are suffering for getting used to globalization, international trade and international problems.

In the XX century, most people in their sixties and eighties remember the legacy left by two world wars and have been trying to make preceding generations understand the mistakes made and also make them understand the consequences of weapons, extreme nationalism and statist ambitions are. The importance of history as a series of events that determine the present through analysing the past and therefore make the best decisions for the future, is determinant. In many countries, this is a problem, because even though time has been going by, there are aspects that will most likely remain the same. I believe history has the role of educating a country in order to achieve progress and continuously develop itself for good. If people are aware of what has been behind them and how those events have shaped their current reality, then change is possible. Analysing what we have now and how we got it (or how we got to that point) is essential if we are expecting to get a better future.

The fact of economic crises hitting one part of the world or another,  generate anxiety and stress on everybody, from a Chief of State to a any person sitting in any office on any part of the world. Capitalism, according to some is the best system known and also according to some (mainly economists from the West, particularly the United States) it is the best system invented by humanity, because to the eyes of some ‘you are paid for what you are working for and therefore it falls on you to be well-paid pr poorly-paid’. I believe most of us wished this was true, however reality has been showing the opposite. Today, it does not matter how prepared you are, neither how many diplomas you have, nor how quick you are to hand things in on time, today it seems that business sectors all around the world are concerned about how much money they can save, either by cutting costs or by taking away workers’ rights but, they would never reduce their own salaries or, reduce their utility share.

The reality seen today with workers in China or in Southeast Asia is an overwhelming example of how capitalism damages other lives in the name of profit and how others get richer thanks to these poorly-paid people’s  jobs. Capitalism is not the best system, since the 1990s it has just been showing to be the least worse of the rest.  Totally opposite to what many believe, the economic crises being held in the European Union, the United States and elsewhere is a result of negligence from both public and private sector. The other root for this, and in my view, the most severe one is people’s ignorance of things and concepts like ‘credit, mortgage, payments’, the banking sector is also responsible of these economic crises. I believe that actions and measures taken by these sectors constitute the MAIN roots of the problem of capitalism.

In this system, it is not about common citizens taking decisions, but decisions being taken for them by those who claim to have the answer or who claim to be smart enough to make an informed choice. Selfishness is the strongest enemy inside capitalism, because it seems that money and power make them all the same: selfish and totally nihilistic to everything that surrounds them, just in the name of profit. The sad thing is, these sectors complain about people protesting on the streets, it is not the protestors who should go to jail, but those who took the important decisions that led the economy to crash. What to say about banks...the current situation is also generated by the huge credit bubble that is always growing and then all of a sudden it explodes. Education in finances and control of expense are necessary for people to stop spending what they do not have, but banks should stop giving credits and cards to people who financially cannot manage themselves

The ideal worker of today is a person who can work for 12 hours (or more), be paid half of what it is required, and owners of companies are exempt of giving any kind of insurance or help, more less what we see in Bangladesh or in China. In today’s world, instead of working for gaining a living, now it is living for work or, in some cases, living for gaining some work. Companies are supposed to hire people in order to divide tasks and therefore make the company grow, but the problem is these people all work for benefitting a small group who owns the company.  Unfortunately, most business people and entrepreneurs regard people just as objects who work for them and not as human beings. The more important the post, the more arrogant they are. I have found in some cases that companies believe they are doing people a favour by hiring them.

Today there are many ‘requirements’ for any type of job, most of them ridiculous. I wonder how can a recent university graduate have 3 years of experience if he/she has spent at least 4 studying (unless you live in a place like Finland, where the government kindly helps you with money and universities are free)and has a class schedule from morning until evening? Some have told me that this is for checking if the candidate has some consistency however, I regard it more as a ‘cutting costs’ policy.  Sadly, I see companies and business people regard workers as things rather than as human beings.

Ten years ago I remember one of my high school lecturers telling me that 'what the world needs the most are entrepreneurs and business people with a developed sense of humanity'. He was right. Many companies out there have lack of communication between company owners and workers. People need to work everywhere, but the way in which companies are now structuring their policies can lead to a social crisis in the future, and on a larger scale, paralyze economic activity. The same can happen if governments insist on policies supporting macroeconomic development by asphyxiating social systems which people are supposed to have just because they are human beings. There has to be mediation between the government and the economic sector because not only because they are business people or entrepreneurs means by default they are honest, or that they are exempt of committing mistakes. Yes, I am suggesting something in the middle of capitalism and communism.

If macroeconomic growth is supposed to generate development and improve quality of life, then I wonder why living conditions have diminished and gone for worse in some countries (mainly those on ways of development, like mine). Governments should take economic policy seriously for they should remember that their stability depends on the whole population, not only the business sector. I will conclude this entry with a personal episode: When I was studying International Business, the day in which I realised that it was not my thing was when my Management teacher told me: 'Why are you talking about worker's rights if you are supposed to use all resources efficiently?' I answered: 'If you are a tyrannic employer, then your employees will eventually crush you by quitting or by any other way' she stared at me and said: 'You will not be a good CEO then'. Unfortunately, in this century, as a friend of mine said, 'The weight of money is heavier than the weight of principles'.