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Is Capitalism Sustainable?
Concerns have arisen over civilization based on capitalism and democracy. In the
twentieth century, the world saw two ideologies, namely capitalism and communism, competing for supremacy. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and excitement filled the air over the end of the Cold War. However, this has been short-lived,
given that regional conflicts centering on developing countries continue to occur
frequently, and the fear of terrorism has decidedly enveloped the world. Aggravating
the situation, the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU (Brexit) has poured cold
water over advances made throughout history and has raised concerns that nationalism and ultra-nationalism have become rampant throughout the world.
One important explanatory variable is the widening economic disparity. There is
no doubt that in low-growth developed countries, the wealth gap has widened
between groups that have capital and are earning profits that exceed the economic
growth rate, and groups have no such capital and whose wages have been falling. In
addition, the gap between developing countries and developed countries is still
wide, and together with the disparity within developed countries, these disparities
have been increasingly destabilizing for the world. Can human society really continue to be sustained?
The sustainability of civilization found in capitalism, and in turn based on
democracy, has been called into question (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3 Refugees fleeing from their homeland in smuggling boats
LE Eithne rescuing migrants as part of Operation Triton (2015). By Irish Defense Forces. https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LE_Eithne_Operation_Triton.jpg
Licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Preface: From “Vision 2050” to “New Vision 2050”
Is Capitalism Sustainable?
Concerns have arisen over civilization based on capitalism and democracy. In the
twentieth century, the world saw two ideologies, namely capitalism and communism, competing for supremacy. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and excitement filled the air over the end of the Cold War. However, this has been short-lived,
given that regional conflicts centering on developing countries continue to occur
frequently, and the fear of terrorism has decidedly enveloped the world. Aggravating
the situation, the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU (Brexit) has poured cold
water over advances made throughout history and has raised concerns that nationalism and ultra-nationalism have become rampant throughout the world.
One important explanatory variable is the widening economic disparity. There is
no doubt that in low-growth developed countries, the wealth gap has widened
between groups that have capital and are earning profits that exceed the economic
growth rate, and groups have no such capital and whose wages have been falling. In
addition, the gap between developing countries and developed countries is still
wide, and together with the disparity within developed countries, these disparities
have been increasingly destabilizing for the world. Can human society really continue to be sustained?
The sustainability of civilization found in capitalism, and in turn based on
democracy, has been called into question (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3 Refugees fleeing from their homeland in smuggling boats
LE Eithne rescuing migrants as part of Operation Triton (2015). By Irish Defense Forces. https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LE_Eithne_Operation_Triton.jpg
Licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Preface: From “Vision 2050” to “New Vision 2050”