HISTORY OF IDEAS - Capitalism

Almost all economies in the world today are based on the principles of

capitalism

. However, at the same time it awakens feelings of disappointment, frustration and distrust. It should be noted that none of the criticisms are new. Criticism has dogged

capitalism

since its inception. So let's look back to see how capitalism got its bad name and what can be done to fix it. Padua, Italy 1304. Giotto paints a fresco on the wall of a church near Venice: Jesus and the money changers. The fresco represents an idea well known at that time: the idea that a good spiritual life and business activity... ...are archenemies.

Jesus goes to the temple in Jerusalem, sees merchants and bankers there and gets angry. This sacred place is not suitable for activities as low as buying and selling. The Christian attack on the moral corruption of money had a profound effect and would set back the development of capitalism for several centuries. Venice, 1450. Franciscan monk Luca Paciolli publishes the first book on accounting. The addition of arithmetic is the most important capitalist invention... ...until the birth of the joint-stock company and the modern factory. The book describes the principles of double-entry accounting, which will gradually become a common practice in all companies.

The textbook states that proper money management no longer depends on faith. Money is neither God's punishment nor reward. Money is a type of science that can be learned with patience, intelligence and hard work. Geneva, 1555. John Calvin, Protestant preacher, in his influential sermons... ...emphasizes the Protestant virtues: diligence, renunciation, patience, honesty and sense of duty. For capitalism, these virtues will be very useful. Like many like-minded preachers, Calvin preaches that we should not be extravagant or indulge in luxury. All profits must be reinvested in the business. He adds that success in business... ...pleases God much more than being a noble warrior or a monk.

It is possible that it is this set of values, rather than technology, that accelerated the development of capitalism. 1670, Delft, Netherlands. The newly independent republic is the first explicitly capitalist country, where lazy aristocrats are looked down upon while hard-working businessmen are respected. Hard work and economy are preached in churches. The pictorial celebration of kings and queens is receding. Johannes Vermeer completes The Lacemaker, a painting that represents the meticulous national production of lace. Ulička's image suggests that a quiet life in the peace of home and running a business is much more attractive and noble than war or life in a monastery. 1776, 141 The Stand, London.

Here is the headquarters of the Strain & Cable publishing house, which had great success with a new book: The Wealth of Nations. It was written by the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith. Explains the creation of wealth through the growth of capitalist economies. He reaches several important conclusions: Slavery is downright inefficient. Violence is a less effective motivator for workers than money. Additionally, the cost of purchasing and maintaining slaves is much higher than wages. A capitalist will make much more money if he treats workers legally and humanely. Economies grow through specialization, Smith maintains. Focusing on the production of pins, he concludes that while one worker can produce twenty pins in a day, a well-managed team of 10 workers can produce not 200 but 48,000.

This is possible because of what Smith calls the division of labor. Smith also tells us that capitalism is guided by the so-called invisible hand. The individual, by increasing his own benefits... ...involuntarily contributes to society by providing goods that are in demand. In his words: “That we can have lunch is not because of the good will of the butcher... ...brewer or baker, but because they look after their own interests. These

ideas

further absolve capitalism of any suspicion of moral objectivity. However, capitalism has not won yet. 1854, London The British economy is the largest in the world. Thanks to textiles, shipbuilding and coal.

Expanding cities envelop the rural areas of the Midlands and the north of England. The merchants and the new rich capitalist class achieved their success. But many are angry. The writer Charles Dickens passionately criticizes unbridled capitalism. His novel Bad Times is set in a fictional version of Manchester. In it, he criticizes ruthless capitalists who abuse workers and employ children in mines and chimney sweeps. What's more, they keep them ignorant of their miserable condition. Dickens's description of the city of Koksov: It was a city of red bricks, or rather of bricks that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had permitted it.

However, under the circumstances, the city was abnormally red and black, like the painted face of a savage. Dickens argues that capitalism is bad because it creates dire conditions for workers. Under the influence of capitalist logic, quite decent people... ...justify the employment of children in factories or consider it natural to let people who cannot work die of hunger. 1860. London. The reformer John Ruskin publishes a very critical essay To This Last Against Capitalism. He does not criticize the capitalist production process so much as the realm of consumption. Like Dickens, he is enraged by the abuse of people and the destruction of the environment.

However, he poses another question: In the name of what? Ruskin points out that capitalist wealth is built by selling absurd things. Overdecorated candy and plates, embroidered handkerchiefs, top hats and carved furniture. All the suffering in the factories is caused by our demand for very cheap shirts with elaborate collars. We destroy our lives for trinkets, while money should not only be earned ethically, but also spent ethically. Spent on truly noble and beautiful things that people need. He contrasts the beauty of Venice with the ugliness of modern Britain. Berlin, 1963. The leader of the communist GDR, Walter Ulbricht... ...launches an ambitious project: the Neues Ökonomische System.

His goal is to resolve, in his eyes, two basic deficiencies of capitalism. First: it will guarantee good conditions for workers... ...by expanding state education, building apartments and recreational facilities. Second: It will not focus on producing fashion items like jeans or pop. It will offer people the works of Plato and Marx and television programs about tractor production. 1976, Dresden, East Germany. Communism's fatal flaw is revealed in the mass riots... ...caused by a lack of coffee. East Germans love coffee, but the global rise in coffee prices means the regime can no longer import it in the quantities needed. The party leadership will remove all coffee from the shops and replace it with the so-called "Mich Kaffee".

It's 51 percent coffee, the rest is substitutes like... ...chicory, rye and sugar beets. Discontent must be quelled with the help of the state's secret police. It is an involuntary tribute to capitalism, which is good above all for offering us small luxuries. November 1989. East Germans, having just torn down the Berlin Wall, head straight for Western supermarkets like Edeka, near Hamburg. They marvel at the productive possibilities of capitalism and its ability to provide modest but very important things like olive oil, party hats, cakes, and coffee. The old East German team that thought people would be satisfied... ...with philosophy, athletics, sauerkraut and agricultural programs... ...is being driven out of office. 1999, Seattle, United States.

The World Trade Organization, which removes barriers to trade and liberalizes markets... ...meets for another round of negotiations. Ten years after the fall of communism and after ten years of great economic growth. Despite the optimism of the negotiations, there are thousands of anti-capitalist protesters in the streets who have united to declare an end to the inequalities of global capitalism. The complaints are strikingly similar to those of Jesus Christ. Capitalism doesn't care about producers and neglects the important spiritual aspects of life in favor of hamburgers, unsustainably cheap clothing, and tacky and distracting media. The protesters look like Jesus with their beards and thin figures.

The police are very forceful and fire tear gas into the crowd. He arrests two thousand people and calls the National Guard. The protests remind the world that in addition to the winners, there is a large crowd of those excluded and angry. They see more meaning in Jesus, Dickens, and Ruskin than in Adam Smith and Bill Clinton.