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Capitalism and Corporations vs. the Environment
As presented in the coursework and course reading, capitalism is a situation whereby the economic and political system is centrally managed, with the private sector and individuals with economic and political power being the main controller of the economy. This occurs when people work in the effort of building solidarity economies that are built on the basis of the work-owned collective, the creation of local currencies, and making one’s own things right to facilitate the sharing of resources to enable life satisfaction and prevent negative impacts of the environment (Kaufman, 2017). The process is however objected by the rich and politically strong people for self-gain which has greatly contributed to poverty and unemployment. Environmental degradation and over-exploitation are facilitated by the senior individuals in cooperates and competitive enterprise institutes, limiting the scientists from releasing environmental information that is likely to interfere with their economic activities (Klein, 2015).
Through my learning in my civil engagement fieldwork, I have come to realize that capitalism is greatly influencing the entire world, especially in the economic and political sector. For the past years, capitalism has been reigning as the supreme in the ultimate economic forms especially in the globalized neoliberal economy (Loh, 2017). Through experience, money and power had been controlling the law and judicial system for the benefit of few and deteriorating the lives of the larger global citizens. For example, the phone call that I made for Corean Todd who failed to help college students as she was helped. The voting process as I analyzed was based on popularity, financial strength, and gender consideration instead of credibility, a situation that greatly facilitates capitalism.
As learned in this course, capitalism influences the environment in which people lives in, with a great favor and opportunities being available for the rich. Environmental protection requires efforts from all individuals regardless of whom the interest will serve, just to ensure that everything runs in the right order for the benefit of all. The society needs people who will volunteer to ensure collective growth and development rather than working toward personal benefits and gains. The state needs to strengthen the social state over individual dominance to facilitate representation for all to enable collective growth and participation in economic decision-making and progress.
Works Cited
Kaufman, Cynthia. “Breaking Our Dependency on the Old Economy As We Build the New.” Cynthia Kaufman, 14 May 2017, cynthiakaufman.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/cynthia-kaufman-2/.
Klein, Naomi. “Capitalism Vs. the Climate.” The Nation, 6 July 2015, www.thenation.com/article/capitalism-vs-climate/.
Loh, Penn. “Capitalism Is Not the Only Choice.” YES! Magazine, Nov. 2017, www.yesmagazine.org/issues/solidarity/capitalism-is-not-the-only-choice-20171114.
