People prefer not to discuss their own mortality, and the same goes with capitalism. We can’t imagine life without it (in capitalist nations), and so we simply presume it will always exist.
Those few who can imagine an alternative are those who hate capitalism, and wish to replace it with communism, socialism or anarchy. Rarely are such people from backgrounds where capitalism has benefited them.
Here are five reasons why the days of capitalism, as we know it, are numbered. To be considered collectively.
Population declining soon. While over-population has been a nagging issue, without an acceptable solution, for a long time now, it is a problem that will soon go away. Many experts suggest peak global population could be as soon as 2050, as all nations have less children when they become more developed. Most advanced economies only maintain population numbers through immigration.
For the first time in the history of capitalism, we will get to see if it works when there are less and less customers every year. Can permanent negative growth work? Who will buy Apple shares if they predict a decline in iPhone sales for decades ahead?
Wealth inequality growing. Occupy Wall Street highlighted inequality of wealth and income in the USA, which has one of the worst ratios in the world. That was almost a decade ago, and in the USA and globally, the problem is only getting worse. When 99% of the population are getting relatively less than the 1%, in a democracy, at some point enough will be enough.
Overall equality is growing. Meanwhile in all other aspects, equality is on the rise. In much less than a century we have seen new rights – equal rights – given to people who were otherwise mistreated or disrespected due to their race, religion, gender, sexuality or being less abled.
The trend suggests the few remaining equality issues will be fixed in the next decade or so. These are however the hardest, which is why they have been left to last. In the USA, despite being legally equal, minorities (especially the African-Americans) are not having anything like equal outcomes. The current Black Lives Matter protests occurring globally suggest that this has to improve. Likewise wealthy people are legally equal, but that has not stopped the wealth inequality growing. These are difficult issues, and they will be resolved, as per the overall trend. And they will be resolved economically.
Climate change is worsening. How we fight climate change and how we deal with climate disasters will both require all people to work together. Stopping pollution will only happen if people vote for it. Dealing with hurricanes and floods will require much more government welfare, in ways that will stretch current financial devices for dealing with them. Add to this the coronavirus pandemic which could linger for years, and we have nations turning to Universal Basic Income, or short-term varieties of it, to cope.
Quality of life is improving. Futurists from the mid-1900s told us to expect flying cars and 20-hour working weeks. If we had been happy with the standard of living back then, and stuck with it, we would indeed be working less hours per week.
We are running out of physical things to buy. And digital is cheap. Smartphone sales are dropping, electric cars will end up being much cheaper, and more affordable housing can’t be far off. Soon we should reach a point where we decide we have enough. In theory anyway.
When we collectively decide we have enough, the conversation will turn to how we share what we have. Capitalism is great when everyone wants more, because it rewards success and drives us forward. But when it has done its job, perhaps it is time for society to let go of capitalism, and, essentially, retire.