CAPITALISM
Capitalism is an economic system
which allows private ownership of property, means of production and
distribution. Examples of capitalist countries includes: Britain, America,
Japan, France, Nigeria etc.
The following classes exist in a
capitalist society:
(i) Bourgeoisie or Bourgeois: this is the
most wealthy or richest class in the capitalist state/system. It is the members
of this class that control the political power in a capitalist system. Members
of this class are divided into two; the comprandor bourgeoisie and the national
bourgeois. The comprandor bourgeois are those wealth or rich people who got their wealth through dishonest or
corrupt means e.g embezzlement of public fund, illegal trading and drug
trafficking. This is the type we have in Nigeria and other African countries.
The national
bourgeoisie are the wealthy people who became rich through hard work and honest
investment in industries. This group of bourgeoisie contribute positively to economic development
of the country by establishing industries and employing people. The profit made
from the industry are often re-invested in these industries for better
development of the economy and the country in general.
This is the type of
bourgeoisie we have in most advanced countries such as America, Britain, West
Germany, Israel etc.
(ii) Petit-Bourgeoisie: this is also a rich
group, but not as rich or wealthy as the bourgeoisie class.
In terms of
acquisition of wealth or riches the petit-bourgeoisie are inferior or below the
members of the bourgeoisie class. The petit-bourgeoisie are mostly children or
dependants or relations of the bourgeoisie class or wealthy people.
(iii) Proletariat: these is the working class
or the workers, for which the sale of labor power is the only source of
livelihood. The central determining feature of capitalism is the transformation
of the labor power of man into a commodity to be bought and sold in the market
for gain like any other object of exchange.
(iv) The peasants: this is the poorest class
and the comprise mostly farmers, the downtrodden and all those who wallow in
abject poverty. The members of this class are the most exploited in the
capitalist system. However, there are some rich farmers who are called Kulaka
and they cannot be classified under the peasant class. This rich farmers or
kulakas can be classified as petit-bourgeoisie.
Features / Characteristics of
Capitalism
(i) Private ownership of means of
production
(ii) Commodification of labor i.e transformation
of the labor power of man into a commodity to be bought and sold in the market
for gain.
(iii) Diverse between ownership and
non-ownership of means of production. In other words those who built and own
the factory are different from those who work in the factories (i.e. owners of
the factories are different from workers in the factories).
(iv) Production is skewed towards exchange
value as against use. The emphasis is on the production of those goods which
will bring more profit.
(v) Domination of labor by capital. In the
production processes capital is rated higher than human labor. In other words
he who provides the capital for business is regarded higher than he who
provides the human labor.
(vi) Accumulation of capital i.e. the tendency
to accumulate profit and to re-invest these profits in other to modify the
social forces of production in the society as against amassing of wealth.
(vii) Right of inheritance
(viii) Free-movement of capitals
(ix) Exploitation of the workers by the
capitalist
(x) Inequalities between the haves and the
have-nots (i.e. the rich and the poor).
Advantages of Capitalism
(i) Development of the forces of production
through competition
(ii) Maximum efficiency
(iii) Availability of choices
(iv) Free-movement of capitals
(v) Limited government interference
(vi) It guarantees equality of opportunities
Disadvantages of Capitalism
(i) Inequality
(ii) Duplication of technology
(iii) Conflict
(iv) Over-production
(v) Emphasis on profit
(vi) Exploitation
No comments:
Post a Comment