Where are we heading 2.0: The economy, our political state and you on a daily basis.
Some people may say...politics does not affect me, they talk and talk, but nothing they ever do will change my daily routine, how I think or more importantly how I choose to live my life. While much of this may seem generally true, the reality is not so.
Our current state of political affairs is revolving around the capitalist market and what role our political institutions play with in it, as well as outside of it.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, our government is vital to society as it both relies on our society as well as allows it to exist. I understand this may seem very confusing and rightly so, but when you understand how a society forms and for what reasons, the answer becomes more clear. Humans come together because we are social beings and evolution has shown that in a group we stand a higher chance of survival as opposed to going it alone. This mind you, only covers the general aspects of what we know as society. There are other examples where going it alone can prove beneficial, but that is best left for another discussion.
Our current row of issues consist of the deficit our country and many others are accruing and the major problems that are springing up as a result. The Canadian government is currently telling the world that our financial foundation is firm and we are going to come out of this with little trouble. Our government says this confidently while other global giants such as China and The United States of America struggle to maintain their status quo, let alone envision further profit. I see this and the tension that rightly so becomes a reality as a result and I think of how these Mega-Conflicts (Mega-Conflicts are defined as conflicts that occur between civilization and countries) affect and stem from the everyday life we live and our actions.
Could it be that the push we see coming from all angles to buy, buy, buy coupled in with the decreasing amount of good stable jobs has put us in this position? Times have become so bad and the banking corporations have become so imbedded with the governments of the world that when we find ourselves without any physical money in our hands, our bank smiles and offers us a piece of plastic with credit to help us spend more! Does anyone see the hypocrisy and irony in this aside from me? I know many of you understand this and probably feel something is really wrong, but what I see here is a micro issue that affects our daily living, which has grown so large that even governments feel intense pressure because of it. Somehow, the mentality to spend and rely on credit has gone up throughout the ranks to even the highest and more important parts of our existence and social and political structure.
And what do the economists suggest we do to resolve the problem? Spend our way out of it with government bail outs!!!!!
So...lets add up the facts and see where we stand. We have Capitalism, which has heavily relied on Democracy since it's creation to prosper and remain free, all the while Socialism and other forms of social welfare have been lamented as evil. Now, we have highly privatized institutions that in 2008 failed and received government funding to survive, once again having issues of the same caliber and relying on more government stimulus to continue on. What we have come to now is not the end of Capitalism per say, but the evolution that so greatly needed to happen. Our system and our way of life has finally hit that big wall and unfortunately we do not seem equipped to scale it and continue on. We need some kind of change that will not only allow Capitalism to occur, but also ensure that it's survival is not at the expense of millions of people who have now become displaced from the middle class and rest among the lower classes of our society.
In an effort to avoid becoming "that guy" who always talks about change, but does nothing to inspire it...I have come up with a solution to our current problems this coming change has.
What will we call the evolution that occurs with Capitalism? In response, I can only say that we are entering the new age of Social Capitalist Democracy. Social Capitalist Democracy will be one where the state will step in ensure that jobs remain when these big companies have problems, however with added measures to ensure proper regulations are kept up with and penalties are issued for actions that put the stability of our system into jeopardy. Socialized institutions are no longer needed as regulations and empowerment to the worker will allow business to continue on in a more conscious and sustainable manner.
Gone are the days where we spend without truly knowing how much our actions are going to cost and where our money is going to come from. The average consumer needs to become more conscious with their purchases and have more confidence in not only themselves, but the system they live within. You cannot say that spending less will equate better living, when the path that leads to cheaper products disregards the safety and well being of other people and disrupts the balance we have with out planet. Not to mention, our society has got to let go of this mentality where cheaper products that are disposable are better, when in reality they are not and only leave us in a position where people now rely on cheaper paying jobs because of the demand of cheap items.
The circle of Social Capitalist Democracy relies on conscious well constructed items that can be purchased by a conscious and well placed middle class/society. If people are paid a decent wage that allows them to have a house, go to school and have spending money, then they will buy items also made by others who have similar jobs and will pay more for them if they understand that the item will last and give them an enjoyable experience.
More so, corporations can ease up on this dangerous game they play to increase profits by the largest amount possible. If a CEO starts focusing their attention on the consumer, worker and government as opposed to the board of directors, this change might be allowed to occur. A good work force and an educated and well placed consumer will always spell success for a company's product. In order to achieve this though we need the proper political reinforcement as well as the right business mentality that avoids treating the worker as an object and puts more emphasis on allowing the worker to become apart of the company as an educated member.
I could go on forever with more examples, but I would more importantly like to know what you think about this. How is our system doing and does our direction seem right? Where do you see society going and why?
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