Capitalism vs global poor: the evils of greed, exploitation and entitlement

 

In a capitalist society defined by neo-classical economic theory further promoting the mechanisation of the workforce as merely machines and instruments of production, and compromising their rights for the hopes of improved economic efficiency and productivity, there can be no clearer way of proving that capitalism kills.

The decadent society we live in in the developed world led by image and status, all of this defined by wealth and material possessions continues to increase in prevalence as much of the world develops and undergoes social and economic transition. This in turn would prove to exacerbate what disparity in accessing resources is observed and further increase their concentration among only the wealthiest members of society. It is also important to note that the regions that are responsible for the majority of the supplying and production of these resources are not within the developed world (i.e. would make up the majority of the world). This would present for a large amount of resources, the amount of which are continuing to be increased at a constant exponential rate perhaps faster than that for the world population growth, to be primarily concentrated within a very small and defined demographic. These individuals would be overconsuming and largely responsible for the deficit of resources available to be evenly distributed amongst the world population. For that reason, it would not be that the world is going through a demographic crisis and has a population too large to be sustainable, but that greed, entitlement and exploitation are leading to famine, environmental degradation, and reduced quality of life. Moreover, the world's population and the amount of food able to be produced being assumed to be increasing evenly at a rate directly proportional to each other, would completely disregard the factors influencing periods of unsuccessful and successful crop yields (i.e. the Irish potato famine in the 1840s also influenced by inhumane economic policy under the UK rule leading to the famine being used by the British as a means of culling the Irish), as well as the implementation of more efficient strategies for maximising crop production which would mean that a straightforward linear rate of increase in food production is unlikely to be observed. Equally, the fact that crops can be grown at a faster rate than humans can reproduce, as well as the significant differences in mortality rates between developing and developed nations globally would prove to provide evidence disproving this perspective.

Exploitation of power, resources and land by the developed world can also be a significant cause of famine and resource scarcity. This is observed with the Bengal famine in the 1940s as discussed by Amartya Sen in Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation to have come not because of a lack of available food, but due to war, conflict and British imperial acquisition having led to a dramatic rise in prices of food rendering it inaccessible to much of the Bengali population (particularly the landless proletariat in society of the time), as well as the panic buying of food in large quantities by others. According to Sen, it is estimated that these British military decisions observed were responsible for the excess deaths of 3 million Bengalis, with the prevalence of disease and epidemic that they brough as a result further contributing to this figure. This would, therefore, prove to explain the significant contribution of corruption in power and exploitation of the people by the entitled and greedy capitalist elite globally to be the result of inequality and resource deficit as opposed to overpopulation, further emphasising the damage of rising global capitalism.

Clarke, S (1999)  Capitalist Competition and the Tendency to Overproduction: Comments on Brenner's 'Uneven Development and the Long Downturn' in Clarke/Capitalist Competition and Overproduction 

Ellis, E.C (2013) Overpopulation Is Not the Problem in The New York Times September 13th 2013 NYTimes.com

Lamont, T.W (2013) Why is there so much hunger in the world? Lecture in honour of Frank L. McDougall delivered by Prof. Amartya Sen: Thirty-eighth Session  Rome, 15-22 June 2013 Twenty-eighth McDougall Memorial Lecture

Malthus, T (1798) An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) in Malthus, On Population, Chapter 10

Smith, R (2013) Capitalism and the destruction of life on Earth: Six theses on saving the humans in real-world economics review, issue no. 64 http://rwer.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/rwer-issue-64/