Everybody talks about capitalism -- but what is it? | Kajsa Ekis Ekman | TEDxAthens
TLDRThe speaker discusses the influence of capitalism on society, highlighting its driving force behind various aspects of life despite the absence of democracy within it. He explains capitalism as production for profit in private hands, contrasting it with state capitalism and market principles. The speaker critiques the lack of inherent responsibility in capitalism, especially concerning the environment and global well-being. He outlines the evolution of capitalism over the past 40 years, including strategies like financialization and privatization, and their impacts on society. The speaker questions whether the current system can address the crises in economy, ecology, and energy, advocating for a broader application of democracy to solve these issues.
Takeaways
- 🤔 The speaker highlights the often overlooked role of capitalism as a driving force in society, even in areas where democracy is supposed to prevail.
- 🏢 The workplace experience of the speaker contradicts the democratic principles he learned in school, illustrating the dominance of capitalist structures over democratic processes.
- 🏛️ Capitalism is defined as production for profit in private hands, distinct from state capitalism or non-profit production.
- 💡 Capitalism itself is not inherently good or bad; it operates without a moral compass and lacks inherent responsibility for the climate, economy, or society.
- 🔄 The principle of capitalism is the accumulation of capital, following the money - product - more money cycle, as opposed to the market's product - money - product cycle.
- 🌐 Capitalism takes various forms, such as imperialism, free-market capitalism, and vampire capitalism, and has evolved significantly over the past 40 years.
- 📉 The oil crisis in 1973 marked a turning point where profits declined, leading to cost-cutting measures, attacks on trade unions, and financialization.
- 💸 Financialization involved the deregulation of the finance sector, enabling banks to lend more and speculate with money, which contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
- 🏠 Privatization of essential services like water, electricity, and education was another strategy employed by capitalists to maintain profits during crises.
- 🌍 The inclusion of China and the Soviet Union into the capitalist world economy, along with strategies like financialization and privatization, significantly changed the economic landscape.
- 💡 The speaker challenges the audience to consider whether the current capitalist system can resolve the crises of economy, ecology, and energy, and suggests rethinking the role of democracy in all aspects of society.
Q & A
What is the main force driving inventions, economy, and war as mentioned in the transcript?
-The main force driving these aspects is capitalism.
How does the speaker describe the discrepancy between democracy and capitalism?
-The speaker describes a discrepancy where, despite living in a society governed by democracy, the absence of democratic practices is observed in areas such as employment, real estate, and consumer markets, highlighting the dominance of capitalism over democracy in these aspects.
What was the European media's portrayal of Greeks during the economic crisis?
-The European media portrayed Greeks as lazy, not working enough, and retiring too early. These characterizations were later disproven.
What is the definition of capitalism given in the transcript?
-Capitalism is defined as production for profit in private hands, as opposed to state capitalism or production in private hands that's not made for profit.
How does the speaker contrast capitalism with a market economy?
-The speaker contrasts capitalism with a market economy by explaining that in a market economy, the principle is product - money - product, where money serves as a tool for exchange. In contrast, capitalism operates on the principle of money - product - more money, where the primary goal is to end up with more money than initially invested.
What were the three strategies employed by companies to address falling profits after the oil crisis of 1973?
-The three strategies were cost-cutting, financialization, and privatization. Cost-cutting involved lowering salaries and attacking trade unions; financialization involved the deregulation of the finance sector, allowing for the making of money off of money; and privatization involved the transfer of state-owned services like water, electricity, and education to private hands to generate profit.
How did the financial sector change after the Great Depression?
-After the Great Depression, strict regulations were imposed on the financial sector to prevent a recurrence of the economic collapse. However, in the 1980s, there was a push to remove these regulations, leading to a financial explosion and the freeing of financial innovations from regulation.
What was the role of the European industrialists in shaping the European Union?
-The European industrialists played a significant role in the development of the European Union. They met in Paris in 1983, recognizing the need for a unified market and regulatory body across Europe. Their collaboration led to the creation of the European Community, which later evolved into the European Union and introduced the euro.
What was the outcome of the financialization strategy in the United States?
-The financialization strategy led to a situation where people, unable to afford living expenses with low salaries, took out loans to sustain their consumption. This ultimately resulted in the 2008 financial crisis when interest rates increased and people could not repay their loans.
What is the 'crisis of the three Es' mentioned in the transcript?
-The 'crisis of the three Es' refers to the concurrent crises in the economy, ecology, and energy sectors. The speaker questions whether the current system can resolve these crises on its own, suggesting the need for a more democratic approach in all sectors of society.
What solution does the speaker propose for the ongoing crises?
-The speaker proposes a return to the intended principles of democracy, suggesting that democracy should extend beyond voting every few years and be present in all sectors of society, including the workplace and other areas, to address the ongoing crises effectively.
How does the speaker view the role of the market in society?
-The speaker views the market as a good servant but a bad master and an even worse religion. This implies that while the market can be a useful tool for exchange, relying on it as the primary organizer of society can lead to negative outcomes.
Outlines
🤔 Introduction to Capitalism
The speaker begins by highlighting the absence of the term 'capitalism' in discussions about inventions, economy, and war, despite its significant influence on these areas. He shares his personal experience of learning about democracy in school and later realizing the dominance of capitalism in the job market and real estate. The speaker emphasizes the need to understand capitalism, not to criticize it, but to recognize its mechanisms. His journey to understand capitalism took him to Athens in 2011 to write about the euro crisis, where he observed the contrast between media portrayals of Greeks and the actual facts. He provides a definition of capitalism as production for profit in private hands, contrasting it with state capitalism and non-profit production. The speaker concludes this section by noting that capitalism itself is not inherently good or bad, but it operates without a plan or responsibility, focusing solely on profit.
🌍 Evolution of Capitalism and its Forms
The speaker discusses how capitalism has evolved over the past 40 years, leading to a series of global crises. He clarifies that capitalism does not always result in crises, using the analogy of gravity and plane crashes to explain this point. He reflects on the post-war period from 1945 to 1973, when the West experienced growth in both profits and salaries, leading to the rise of the consuming classes. The oil crisis in 1973 marked a turning point, with profits declining across the West. Companies responded by cutting costs, including labor costs, and attacking trade unions with political support from figures like Reagan and Thatcher. The speaker also mentions financialization and privatization as strategies employed by capitalism to cope with falling profits. He notes that these strategies, combined with the inclusion of China and the Soviet Union in the global economy, have significantly changed the landscape of capitalism.
💰 Financialization, Privatization, and the Working Class
The speaker delves into the strategies of financialization and privatization, explaining how they have impacted the working class. He describes how financialization, the process of making money from money, was unleashed following the removal of regulations in the '80s. This led to a financial explosion and a lack of regulation for new financial innovations. Privatization, on the other hand, involved shifting essential services like water, electricity, and education from state to private ownership, allowing capitalists to profit from them. The speaker points out that even countries like Sweden, perceived as social democratic paradises, have undergone significant deregulation and privatization. He highlights the issue of low salaries in the US, where people need multiple jobs to survive, and the subsequent reliance on loans to maintain consumption. This setup, he suggests, led to the 2008 financial crisis, where the burden of resolving the crisis fell on the taxpayers, who were also the workers.
🌐 The Role of European Industrialists and the Future of Democracy
The speaker shifts focus to Europe, discussing how industrialists responded to falling profits by advocating for a unified European market. He recounts the 1983 meeting of European industrialists in Paris, initiated by Pehr Gustaf Gyllenhammar of Volvo, which led to the development of the European Community into the European Union. The speaker criticizes the lack of recognition for these industrialists' role in shaping the EU. He then discusses the impact of the American financial crisis on Europe, which mutated into the euro crisis, exposing the flaws in the system. The speaker concludes by posing a thought-provoking question about the ability of the current system to address the crises in economy, ecology, and energy. He advocates for a broader understanding of democracy, suggesting that it should extend beyond voting every few years to include democracy in all sectors of society, including the workplace.
👏 Closing Remarks
The video script ends with a note of applause from the audience, indicating the speaker's presentation was well-received. This suggests that the audience found the speaker's insights and arguments engaging and thought-provoking.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡capitalism
💡democracy
💡crisis
💡production for profit
💡financialization
💡privatization
💡trade unions
💡European Union
💡euro crisis
💡market
💡democracy in the workplace
Highlights
The speaker introduces the concept of capitalism as a driving force in society, often more powerful than democracy.
The speaker shares personal experiences of the absence of democracy in the workplace and housing market, highlighting the pervasive influence of capitalism.
A definition of capitalism is provided, emphasizing production for profit in private hands, contrasting with state capitalism and non-profit production.
The speaker clarifies that capitalism itself is not inherently good or bad, but it operates without a plan or responsibility, focusing solely on profit.
Different forms of capitalism are mentioned, including imperialism, free-market capitalism, and 'vampire capitalism', showing its adaptability and diversity.
The post-war period from 1945 to 1973 is described as a time of growth in both profits and wages, with the working class becoming consuming classes.
The oil crisis in 1973 led to a downturn in profits, prompting companies to cut costs and attack trade unions to maintain profitability.
Financialization is introduced as a strategy for companies to cope with falling profits, leading to the removal of regulations and an explosion in the finance sector.
Privatization of essential services like water, electricity, and education is discussed as a means for capitalists to profit from necessities during crises.
The speaker contrasts the image of Sweden as a social democratic paradise with the reality of deregulation and privatization.
The issue of low wages in the US and the reliance on multiple jobs and loans for survival is highlighted, pointing to a capitalist dilemma.
The 2008 financial breakdown is attributed to the conflict between the need to cut costs and the necessity for workers to consume.
Taxpayers, primarily workers, are noted as the ones who had to resolve the financial crisis, illustrating the imbalance in capitalist systems.
The role of European industrialists in shaping the European Union and the euro is discussed, showing the influence of capitalism on political structures.
The flaws in the capitalist system are exposed through the euro crisis, questioning the system's ability to handle major crises.
The speaker calls for a reevaluation of democracy in all sectors of society, beyond just political voting, as a potential solution to current crises.
The three Es crisis - economy, ecology, and energy - is presented as a challenge that the current system may not be able to solve on its own.
The audience is encouraged to consider the potential of a democratic approach to solving the complex issues facing society today.
Transcripts
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