"One can make a decent profit and still respect people," you may say. How about corporations? Is dumping toxic trash to underdeveloped countries moral? Some say Sodom and Gomorrah are here on earth. Was not BP's oil spill in the Golf of Mexico preventable?
Which brings us to the next question: Should corporations treat the environment as persons? Obviously, they should. Why? Because the environment is our milieu: it's bigger and encompassing, the total of earth, vegetation and animals and thus, it directly includes us. In fact one can say that the environment is much more than a means to an end because it was here before us! So, corporations have responsibilities towards the environment, which is exactly Kant's idea of reversibility now between business ---> life. If profit is gained by deceit, manipulation, or by pollution, that's wrong (you wouldn't like anyone dumping trash on your backyard).
Some say that capitalism is just a tool to use, and that's independent from morality. You do your business and that's it. The problem is that capitalism today is everywhere! We live in a global society, corporations have an amazing power (think of Wal Mart). For example, recently the Supreme Court has redefined that when it comes to political contributions, a corporation counts as much as a single person! In addition to economic influence, corporations now are legally entitled to buy political influence!
Wasn't Ayn Rand the one that exulted the virtues of Homo Economicus? There needs to be a balance. Remember the prudent egoist? I'd assume that's the kind of egoist that Rand defends. But what if everybody is running for easy profits and you feel pushed by the system? Imagine a man that walks in an office with his wife. He has saved 30,000 for years for a down-payment. You are a mortgage representative, and you need to sell a mortgage and your boss is a borderline sociopath. This is your chance! The problem is that you have to lie and that is going to cost this man his 30,000 savings. Would you sell this man this toxic mortgage just to reap a profit? Why not approach the issue from the view point of Homo Reciprocans?
Thus this chapter reading of E. F. Schumacher's Buddhist Economics. Schumacher makes three important points, 1- work needs to be creative:
(...) there are two types of mechanization which must be clearly distinguished: one that enhances a man’s skill and power and one that turns the work of man over to a mechanical slave, leaving man in a position of having to serve the slave.2- real needs are not fake needs:
(...) since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption. Thus, if the purpose of clothing is a certain amount of temperature comfort and an attractive appearance, the task is to attain this purpose with the smallest possible effort, that is, with the smallest annual destruction of cloth and with the help of designs that involve the smallest possible input of toil.and 3- local instead of global.
From the point of view of Buddhist economics, therefore, production from local resources for local needs is the most rational way of economic life, while dependence on imports from afar and the consequent need to produce for export to unknown and distant peoples is highly uneconomic and justifiable only in exceptional cases and on a small scale. Just as the modern economist would admit that a high rate of consumption of transport services between a man’s home and his place of work signifies a misfortune and not a high standard of life, so the Buddhist would hold that to satisfy human wants from faraway sources rather than from sources nearby signifies failure rather than success.So, do you think we can use capitalism and still be moral?
I'll close this post next Wednesday Sep. 28 at 11pm.
It is widely believed that money is the root of all evil. In my opinion it is a great way to cause destruction to and in ourselves. we the people have given corporations too much power,why? Because of our greed. We are just as guilty as the corporations. What many don't realize,or choose to ignore, is that we the people,the community are what sustain corporations. Can there be a moral capitalism? Of course! We just have to train it to be that way.If we as people notice that a corporation is getting out of hand for ex: Harming the environment,unjust to its employees,etc.. We the people must put a stop on that. But do we? No,We bend to their every will because of the "low prices" they serve us.And with these low prices we become blind to the hidden clause because we too become greedy when money is involved. Society needs to take as much responsibility as these corporations because we,the society it targets, are what feeds their ambitions. Some ways that we can train the corporations to become more moral are to hold meetings,
ReplyDeletediscussions about the issues,Helping them understand their impact on our society and earth. And if all else fails then boycott until they see the error of their ways. notice that none of these methods involve any violence because I believe violence is never a way to resolve an issue. With a little understanding and communication we can get far as a whole. After all,we're all humans
Capitalism is defined as an economic system in which investment in, and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.Capitalism, to me, is about profit, your right to achieve your profit with whatever motives, as long as it falls under legal circumstances. For example, monopolies being illegal, and no corporations should or cannot be a monopoly because it does not allow other corporations to achieve their profit in a certain industry. I do not feel that capitalism can be moral. Most corporations use commercials, sponsor events, and find education to deceive their buyers into thinking that they are helping, when they are really brainwashing their buyers in order for them to purchase their products. Any form of deception is immoral. Another example, of why I believe capitalism is not moral is because of minimum wage. The banking system, fees, and interest rates are a few more examples of my opinion on capitalism. As long as the economy is not firm, there will not be a moral capital system. Greed also plays a big role on influencing capitalists. With greed comes deception, conning, and cheating. As long as greed is embarked in capitalism it cannot be morally just. Although, a corporation might be moral in some ways; I do not think that capitalism can be moral.
ReplyDeleteWhether I decide if capitalism is morally justified is based on which general theory of justice turns out to be soundest. One argument for capitalism is that it reflects people's natural rights to property. Our capitalist system is simply the outcome of this right. With that being said, I do not believe that capitalism can be moral, only because our society is not balanced out where everyone can be satisfied. In order to make capitalism moral, everyone and everything would have to be perfect, including the capitalist. For instance, waitresses at diners and restaurants are being paid minimum wage, which is now $7.31 per hour or below excluding tips, and the company for which they work for convince laborers that their tips will justify the fact that the are being paid minimum wage. To make matters worse, the laborers at these low paying jobs are hired as part-time employees, to exclude them from the benefits of the company, compared to a full-time employee. Benefits such as, Health Care, extended sick leaves, a decent amount of hours, etc. In addition to that, some companies do not allow unions within their corporations, which gives the worker no choice, but to take it or leave it. Without these cuts, there would be no profit.
ReplyDeleteI don't think capitalism can become moral because there's always going to have economic system in major portion of production and distribution in private hands,and operates under profit or market system. socialism is economic system characterize by public ownership of property and a planned economy.
ReplyDeletecorporation has to promote their company and steal lots of customers from other company that sale the same items but for lower prices and better deals, such as Walmart, Publix, Petsmart, toyota, and more.
Walmart can not be moral because whenever a walmart is built in a community most of the people in the community decide to go to walmart and abandon their old community shopping centers or plazas for walmart. for that to happen companies go down in business and eventually close and loose their jobs.
-STACY LEANDRE
I can only agree with Vanessa Quiroz after reading the comment; I think she's said it all!
ReplyDeleteMakki is my signature...
Thank You Makki! I'm glad to know someone shares my perspective on the Morals in capitalism :)
ReplyDeleteOk let’s analyze the question and begin with the foundation. What is morality? Morality is basically the distinction of telling right from wrong. What is capitalism? It can be defined as an economic system in which the major portion is privately owned, with a purpose of operating to make a profit (Shaw p.164). Understanding this we must ask the important question, is making a profit moral?
ReplyDeleteMy answer is yes making a profit can be moral, and just as Vanessa Quiroz said we (the consumers) have to train it to be that way. For example if Wal-Mart keeps making massive profits yearly with paying their employees barely minimum wage what motive does Wal-Mart have to change their ways? None, such corporations are all controlled by greed, the more they make the better for them and it doesn’t matter who they leave behind. Sound’s a whole lot like an egoistic point of view to me.
We must keep protesting and keep fighting to prevent this from in the end controlling our whole society. If corporations are allowed to have a political impact, what is next? Capitalism should just be privately owned and have no effect on the political aspect on the society. Moral capitalism is possible and not very difficult to do, according to Buddhist economics. As long you carry proper morals such as treating employees with respect, produce with the smallest annual destruction, and still make a profit you can be a moral capitalist. Profits and capitalism are what make corporate America and unfortunately doing it legally (which is not necessarily moral) is the only requirement.
Just as it is said that you can be religious and immoral, you can be a capitalist and be moral. Capitalism is about profit and sometimes to earn this profit you must adjust your companies to unjust ways, but we're just the human race aren't we all in a race to get ahead?
ReplyDeletePeople must keep in mind that corporations aren't people but rather, it is a corporation that is made up of different peoples ideas and ideals and these ideas aren’t always against the consumer, the worker, the community, but it’s for the betterment of the public.
Capitalism can be moral in such ways: how companies treat their workers, how companies treat the consumer, how companies treat the environment, and the people that surround that area where the company is. Although, not all companies and corporations follow these legal moral standards many companies and corporations do. You can’t rule out some, because of others mistakes.
Corporations such as Wal-Mart and BP are examples of corporations don’t have high moral standards but these aren’t the role models of the rest of the companies and corporations. Just because Wal-Mart and BP haven’t contributed much to consumers, workers, and the public doesn’t mean that all companies and corporations fall under these circumstances.
The public shouldn’t judge all companies just because of the mistakes of big corporations. Capitalism is made of up big companies just like it’s made up of little ones as well. Capitalism has the chance of being moral. Just because some people kill doesn’t mean that all humans are murderers.
Capitalism can be both moral and immoral. Just because some corporations such as walmart treat their employees unfairly does not mean every other corporation does the same. Just as Juliana Gutierrez said " just because some people kill doesn't mean that all humans are murderers."
ReplyDeleteCapitalism is defined as an economic system with a purpose of operating to make a profit. The idea of capitalism has noting immoral about it. There is nothing wrong with making a profit, if no profits were made no one will make money they will just break even. There are plenty of corporations that make their profit and treat their employees completely fair. With that being said, is capitalism immoral? No it is not, but are there corporations in capitalism who are immoral? Of course there is just like there are people who are moral and immoral.
The only way to change corporations that do the wrong thing is to go against them. They're not going to change their ways without anyone making them. The reason walmart is the way they are is to maximize their profit. Yet we can all agree they can afford to pay their employees better and still make enormous profit.
In every economic system, entrepreneurs and managers bring together natural resources, labor, and technology to produce and distribute goods and services. The term capitalist refers to an owner of capital rather than an economic system, But the way these different elements are organized and used also reflects a nation's political ideals and its culture, we Americans often disagree about exactly where to draw the line between their beliefs in both free enterprise and government management,and yet still allow it, the mixed economy we have developed has been very successful.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism can be moral in some ways for example how these big/small companies treat their employees and costumers but can we assume all companies are equal ? No.
Does greed in America be the issue ?
It's sometimes difficult to see how any nation that has come this far on the road and has become so addicted to the MONEY could ever alter course. This society depends on the involvement of the people most directly affected by government policies yet too many remain uninvolved so the opposite is true. MONEY has replaced political involvement and by passed whatever else we might have cared about today. Street sense says "it's over" - but these are human institutions, so literally anything is possible, and while it seems most unlikely at the moment: tomorrow could really be "another day".
Think about it, in today’s society capitalism is a natural phase of progression in our society. As my fellow classmate commented above (Vanessa Quiroz), we have given corporations, big corporations, way too much power. Every single being now-a-days try to find a way to expand their money. So obviously you will get attracted by these commercials, such as Wal-Mart’s slogan “Always Low Prices.” And by being attracted to this, you will go ahead and check the place out, and see what bargains they have. You see something you truly wanted for a great bargain, and you won’t think twice of getting it. Why? Well, for one, why pay for a higher price item that you usually get at your favorite smaller store, when this one has it for a much cheaper price? This is just an innocent way of helping this company that has come to put other small business out of business. Do I think we can use capitalism and still be moral? I don’t think capitalism and morality can be mixed together; as it is said “morals cost money.” All that these corporations aim for is money, to gain money at whatever cost. That is, exploiting their workers, paying minimum wage, no type of medical insurance, etc. and making them work “x” amount of hours. Corporations have also found ways to suck you into their ambitions by teaming up with well known, respected, admired people, and making it seem like they care. They might tell you that if you buy a certain thing, some percentage will go to a helping cause. There probably still are companies who are managed by moral people, but now-a-days I believe it’s hard to find one. From the surface it might seem moral, but you will have to closely look in to see their true colors. Money rules everything, and moral companies can be hard to find.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, I would have to tell you what morality and capitalism means to me. Morality is the sense to make contrast among choices, ideas, and actions between right and wrong ; good or bad. Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets. We cant forget that capitalism started in the mid-19th century, when the industrial revoultion was going on, and individual business owners was starting off their corporations with tons of money to spend. With that being said many, but not all companies seem to have a leash on people when it comes to sale. To ignore a sign that says 50% off and walk right ahead to another store that you know more money is going to be coming out of your pocket wouldnt be a smart move at all. Day to day you see and hear commericals about sales that would save you major money. So why not take it? Walmart is one of the stores that always have a bargain willing to take. The question is though are you really getting what youre buying. The way the company uses its employees by only giving them the choice part-time, so that they wouldnt be able to get certain benefits such as health insurance. Also, getting paid on top of the crazy hours they have. Their force to go out their way to find an insurance that could have been handled by jobs they hold. But with economy nowadays, you dont have no choice but to get what you have and deal with it. To find a compant out there that would be abe to treat you as they would want to be treated will be extremely hard. To them all they want is their money and they dont care if your needs are taken care of. Making a profit is not wrong its just the way you use the people around you to get it is.
ReplyDeleteLuis C. Sanchez said:
ReplyDeleteCapitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, usually in competitive markets. Capitalism can not be moral, and this case is a good example. No other retailer, at any time or in any place has ever come close to being as large and influential as Wal-Mart has become. We are talking about more of 4,750 Wal-Mart stores every week visited by 138 million shoppers. It controls about 30 percent of food sales market. It is a gigantic operation based on profits for a little group of people. How can these people be moral? Could someone who does not care causing damage to the community have morals? Its a fact that when a new Wal-Mart store open about two supermarkets are forced to close because Wal-Mart pays low wages. Its average sales clerk earns $ 8.23 an hour only, and most of the employees must survive without a health insurance. It is not fair that thanks to Wal-Mart's hard line on costs many factories have been forced to move overseas, sacrificing American jobs and holding wages down. I believe that Wal-Mart as a corporation should take a little more attention about the consequences its operations are bringing to our country, which apparently does not care about violating the rights of other companies in their eagerness to gain billions of dollars no matter what. Definitely I do not think that Wal-Mart owners can be moral at all.
Luis C. Sanchez
I don't think capitalism can be justified as moral. Why? Because a lot of corporations decide that they want people to work extra hours, but yet they do not pay the right amount. There is a chance that they can chose to be moral, but why would that happen? They would end up losing money, and that's one thing that that they don't like doing. Corporate America now in days expects you to work for lower than minimum wage. That's why they reach out for 3rd World Countries to build factories where they end up hiring people that are in poverty to only pay them cents a week. They tend to exploit these people through all the work that they do. They don't offer benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, and etc. That's why in America there is a set minimum wage, such as in Florida that it is set at $7.31. Money controls the WORLD, so this causes corporations to take control over everything and everybody. For companies such as Walmart, they know that they can out perform any other local store such as target, winn dixie, or publix. Walmart provides the services of all those other companies and for a lot less. The only thing that happens is that they don't pay their employees properly. This is why Corporate America cannot be moral. They ridicule themselves into something that they are not. Bottom line is that in order for this to stop employees need to take a stand, and fight for their independent rights in order to change the culture of the corporate people.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Ponce
First off, capitalism is define as an economic system in which the major portion of production and distribution is in private hands, operating under what is termed"profit" or "market" system.Based on the question,do you think we can use capitalism and still be moral I think one can not be capitalist and be moral because capitalist mindset is always focus on making a profit, but also other ways they can make more money. For instance,Walmart is capitalist because they only think about market system and how they can expand. they think about how they are treating their employees or even how they affect the other stores in their community. In fact, many employees of Walmart can not afford insurance because of how expensive it is and Walmart is taking no action in helping them out, but rather telling them to apply for medicaid.This is why I believe a capitalist can not be moral because they only think about how their profit.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism can be moral or inmoral depending of comapanies, businesses or corporations. Small business can be moral with their employees and treating them right with a good salary and benefits. Owners of small companies can be more sensitive with their employees and treat them individually. Comparing with big corporations, such as Walmart in this case, they have to face different responsabilities and more competition and probably follow some political regulations that it cost them more money. These issues make them think more about themselves and make their own profit without care their employees.
ReplyDeleteMileyka Camac
Karla Huari
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Shaw & Barry textbook, capitalism is, ideally, an economic system in which the majority portion of production and distribution is in private hands, operating under what is termed a “profit” or “market” system. There are certain key features to capitalism such as companies, or corporations, a profit motive, competition, and private property, which is central to capitalism.
History has shown that certain corporations do not know how to make a profit and still respect people. This is demonstrated in the examples discussed in the blog post such as Ghana, where the Korle Lagoon is so polluted that the locals have named it Sodom and Gomorrah; and BP’s Oil spill. This mistreatment of the environment shows that some corporations not only lack respect for people but also have no remorse in exploiting our surroundings.
That being said, it is no small secret that society, and we are all guilty of it, has allowed these corporations to get out of hand. It is easy to be seduced by the massive amounts of commercials advertising ridiculously low prices. Wal-Mart particularly is famous for these steal of a deals. Just as we fueled the growth of these corporations, we can also propel the demise of them. Yes, it might hurt our pocket to shell out a few extra bucks for everyday items, but in the long run it will benefit our community.
Do I think capitalism can be moral? Yes, however, it is very hard for it to be. One of the biggest aspects of capitalism is a profit motive. If one were to look at corporations as human entities, they would be described as egoists. The sole purpose of the existence of companies is to make money. Companies are nothing without customers, however. The power is in the public's hands. It is up to us to see what we do with this power. A point to always keep in mind is that there are good and bad sides to everything. Not every company is run by people who are constantly scheming new ways to manipulate the public into spending more money. There are companies that practice capitalism in a moral way and we should use these companies as models for change.
We know by definition that capitalism is an economic system operating under profit. Now how can we perceive capitalism as a moral system? Capitalism wasn’t mean to be immoral when it first started. Along the way, many capitalist change their perspective about not only making profit but despite the sad conditions of workers. The capitalism in itself is not bad but people who are “capitalist “are using laborers to gain more money at any cost. The issue is they don’t pay employees enough as they are supposed to. They are just exploiting workers. We are going to put the blame on one company because they are out there some honest and moral capitalist. For example, companies that offer jobs with benefits such as sick days pay, vacation pay, health insurance etc...As one capitalist should aware the market is opened for everybody. Maximizing your profit doesn’t mean you have to take over every little company who is trying to make their way out there. In my opinion, the competition in the market place makes capitalism somehow immoral because it’s not anymore about making more money. It’s more about crashing, tearing apart, and breaking any small company just like Wal-Mart is doing it.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism is what this country thrives on. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. My parents live in Cooper City, and they witnessed first hand all the mom and pop stores go out of business once Walmart came to town. Within 6 months, only one store remained and just a few months ago, they lost the 3 years battle to keep up with the retail giant. Everyone complains about how poorly Walmart treats their emplyoees, yet they still flock the store week in and week out just to save a few bucks. I cannot tell you the last time I stepped into Walmart, as I refure to shop there for this very reason. As a company owner, it makes me sick what Walmart does to its employees and I refuse to contribute to it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I must give Walmart credit, as they have clearly outsold and out profited every other competeror, all while being a very un-moral company.
Why everybody is blaming Wal-Mart about been a successful corporation. Wal-Mart is the typical case of capitalism and survival, Wal-Mart has re adjusted to the costumers needs making it more comfortable and affordable to buy household products, this is survival and evolution. Why people talks abut unfair wages. We life in a capital country we have the opportunity of saying yes I’m going to work for these company or not that’s not what I want. Have you asked who the primary stakeholders are? Yes people like you or the person that is attending in a cash register at Wal-Mart, so at certain point walk mart incentives its employees to grow with it and stick with it for one propose, keep American families happy and producing jobs, so capitalism is immoral? I don’t this so it is depending of the prospective of the person. My real concert is if the government somehow should get involve on putting regulation on corporations of certain size to be obligated to offer medical insurance to its employees, or enforce regulations that oblige these companies to have a current amount of people working for them full time. That’s the real question we need to go to the root problem.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism in itself is not moral. However, it can be placed in some sort of moral framework based on values implemented. A major corporation like Wal-Mart is at the hardnosed end of the spectrum or as people like to say, “all things wrong with capitalism”. The ultimate goal of businesses such as this is to decimate any and all competition. Let’s take for example H&H Hardware which was a main focal point in the documentary, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price”. H&H Hardware was a family-owned business in Middlefield, Ohio that was open for more than forty years until Wal-Mart came into the community and eventually closed the store down. What happened here is simple.
ReplyDeleteAs with most big businesses, an advisor is sent out to scout and report on a particular region that contains a competitor(s) that can possibly be a threat or taken down. In this case that region is Middlefield and the competitor is H&H Hardware. Now granted, when you’re talking about a corporate giant like Wal-Mart going against a single family-owned and operated store, it may seem like a joke, but it’s still considered competition. In a hypothetical sense, here’s what could have happened:
1) Wal-Mart decides not to invade the
Middlefield region
2) H&H Hardware is safe
3) H&H Hardware eventually expands, becoming a national corporation
4) H&H Hardware puts Wal-Mart out of business.
That is the hypothetical result of Wal-Mart being naïve instead of competitive. In that scenario they had their chance to take H&H out, but didn’t act upon it. Now they are the ones closing their doors. It’s the oldest case of survival of the fittest. A business like Wal-Mart doesn’t want to risk making the utilitarian choice simply because, it is impossible to measure or justify the end result of an action. It’s a shrewd reality, but it’s also smart business. If Wal-Mart were to say, “Ok guys. There’s a family-owned hardware store in Middlefield, Ohio, but we’re going to spare it. Let them keep their store and jobs”, that would be an example of moral capitalism. It’s a rarity, but it does exist.
However, you also have strategic capitalism. This walks the fine line between hardnosed and moral capitalism. Some would even call it being sneaky. Let’s use Wal-Mart and H&H Hardware for example again. Say Wal-Mart didn’t build its store directly within the vicinity of H&H. Instead, they strategically set up location just outside of the region, but close enough to still remain a viable threat. They would be in a sense, killing H&H quietly rather than shooting it in the head. In this scenario, Wal-Mart knows that they will eventually succeed, but have chosen the humane route of taking out the competition. So you see, capitalism can be moral, but it all comes down to the values implemented.
“Without some form of capitalism, societies stagnate, prosperity weakens, and innovation starves.”
Yesenia Luis.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that money is the root of all evil. All the wrong actions in this world are motivated by greed and the desire of overcoming other individuals in profit and social status.It is a natural tendency of humans to act in such a way.It's called the process of natural selection.
Capitalism can be moral, of course. The problem resides when the desire to shine is much stronger than our own moral values. One can be looking forward to succeed while playing fair. For example, if you are required to open certain amounts of store credits for your customers in order to mantain your store high scores, but this particular customer tells you that she/he has a bad credit history, stop insisting. You are going to damage the customer's credit even more. What are you going to get with that? Is it correct to go through life successfully despite of other people's disgrace? I don't think so.
The issue with Walmart is that they are forcing their employees to work without certain benefits. They should provide at least health insurance for their employees. I'm sure that a multimillionare company like walmart can afford it. Other than that I really don't see any problem with this store. Walmarts are located primarily in low-income neighborhoods to provide the residents with prices they can afford. There are no walmarts in sunny isles or aventura. So the issue of walmart forcing other stores to close or move is not as bad as they make it sound.I still see plenty of publix in and around.
Saying that capitalism is moral is a tough decision to explain. Capitalism was established in the US so people could make a better life for themselves and the surrounding community. Wal-Mart followed that path and beyond that, but they forgot about the little people the community, the town their in. All Wal-Mart cared about is shutting sown the competition and by doing that Wal-Mart puts people out of work and the town begins to deteriorate to the point that people move or start on government assistance, which the rest of the country has to pay. Also Wal-Mart after it puts all surrounding business out of commission it begins to cut its personal hours and by doing that they can eliminate their health care and encouraging their workers to go on government assistance instead of lowering their premium or giving more works our. Capitalism is what our forth father fought for but, taking advantage of its people is flat out immoral Wal-Mart CEO does not even do interviews they know what they did, but all we can do is boycott which it doesn’t last long and make documentaries which shows the wrong in Wal-Mart, but we as consumers love bargains so we are willing to put up with all the wrong doing and Wal-Mart employees need money for leaving so they cant quit. Capitalism can be moral, but greed will always overcome morality.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism is an economic system which concentrates mainly in making profits. The only goal of capitalists is growth of their investments, firms, business or corporations; everything is about supply and demand.
ReplyDeleteCapitalism can almost be compared to the theory of evolution: The survival of the fittest. Which refers to the survival of the ones that are better equipped. In other words, existing corporation or new business to be open have to be prepare and open for competition because the system requires them to do it, so their business can keep on float.
Therefore, I think is very difficult for capitalism to be moral. As I mention before this system undermines moral standards by letting the strong set standards of justice to the detriment of the weak. Of course this is regulated by the government to a certain extend otherwise, there wouldn't be room for small business to compete or even exist.
On the other hand, If a person strongly believe in moral standards and act morally and decided to open a business with rules based on his or her believes and principles and therefore his/her employees work under this rules then is a moral business existing in capitalism, but the purpose as a business in whole is to make profit and compete with the business across the street. So, employees and owners can be moral to a great extend but business or corporations whether big or small are part of capitalism and their only goal is profit.
According to the pollution of companies, is sad but at the same time inevitable. The government does play part in this issue. Companies can exceed a certain amount of pollution per year if they don't meet the conditions corporations are closed down. Moreover, corporations and big firms should pay somehow, or create programs to diminish the amount of pollutants and damage of the environment.
Just as Michael Toussaint said...
ReplyDelete"Capitalism is defined as an economic system in which investment in, and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth." Capitalism is the precursor ideal for the American economy. I believe that if you open a business in this country, there should be no limit as to how far you can grow as a company, as long as it is legal. Even though Walmart may not treat it's employees too great, they did not start off as a multi-billion dollar corporation, but they are the best at what they do so they were able to crush their competition. Now we come to our first question, can capitalism be moral? My answer is yes, making a profit off your business sure is moral. Here is where I argue against Walmart in regards to how they treat their employees.Walmart makes massive profits each year, but pay their employees the bare minimum wage and set their company health plan/benefits at a price where most of their employees can't afford. This I find immoral because they don't have any intention in changing that, they over work their employees and treat them as a means to an end, they don't value them as people. Now i'm not saying greed is a bad thing...because it fuels competition and economic growth, but when it comes to the foundation of your company (the employees) they should be treated better.
Anonymous said:
ReplyDeleteChristina Budhoo
So many people in America believe that the big money making corporations like Wal Mart are the reason behind much turmoil. Capitalism can be moral, if we as citizens stand up against what is wrong in a large business. So often, consumers get caught up in the hype of rollback prices because in today’s economy with the number of jobs being lost, a store like Wal Mart carries prices that are appealing to the average family. A step in the right direction would be for consumers to find out what exactly they are purchasing. Taking a look at a certain product would be helpful in terms of saving the environment. Companies should be responsible for letting the consumer know through labels what impact a product might have on their surroundings. Something as simple as a label would allow for the consumers to become aware and decide for themselves if they actually buy an item from a large corporation. Another way, in which capitalism can become moral, is if the people decide to join or form a lobbying group. These groups could fight for better pay and benefits for employees that work there. Citizens can even stand up and fight for their local farmer’s market to remain open, showing the impact it has had on the community. When a place like a local farmer’s market closes, and citizens are not saying or providing interest about it, this allows for the Wal Mart to remain open and thrive with its profits. Wal Mart paints this façade, that all is “smiles and low prices”, when in reality they are hiding certain truths such as not even paying their employees a fair amount. Consumers feed into this façade because they feel like a deal will slip away if they are not the first to grab it. We are all humans and make mistakes, but this should not mask the concept of morality in corporations. A corporation can turn around and become more moral once they realize that a few simple steps can be taken on their behalf. As citizens, we have the responsibility to speak up and show corporations other ways that they can become moral.
Corporations are taking over control in almost all of America. Day by day we see less and less community stores opening, and even as these community stores or restaurants may open they shortly start franchising and becoming larger, more known companies.
ReplyDeleteNow can these companies be moral? Of course. It's possible for anyone to be moral but with fame and fortune, morality may be easily forgotten. As Michael Quinn mentioned, Wal-Mart did not start off as a multi-billion dollar corporation. My argument goes to, this corporation starting off small with a small amount of employees, they had morals and valued their employees.
The corporation growing more just meant that they were focusing more on what the customers want and less on what their employees need. They would still offer health insurance but a little less affordable. This scenario can be compared a lot to the media. News stations are now focusing on scandalous stories rather than broadcasting real news, just for ratings.
Many corporations are moral, if not wouldn't all corporations be given such bad publicity as Wal-Mart? It all depends on how bad the corporation wants the fortune, if they want it fast and easy they won't care what it takes, even if it means treating their employees poorly. If the corporation values their workers with their eyes still on the money, they may become a very successful and moral corporation. This is all of course, in my opinion.
The morality of a company or corporation is not defined by its total employees, but by the employees who can affect the company or corporation. For example all the employees in a store can agree with one thing but if the CEO or CFO do not agree, their opinion is all that matters. Therefore the actual morality of the company is not really based on the company, but on who has the most power in the company. Capitalism can be moral but at this point in time it is not. In society today, the problem with capitalism is that people are at an extreme point of greed. The economy is doing horribly therefore people are doing anything to maximize profit. Right now so long as companies are profiting they don’t care about morale. The only way the morality of a company changes is if the consumers stop responding, and even then the morals of the company are not truthful or honest.
ReplyDeleteHowever, capitalism can work morally if they stop distributing such a large amount of power to a small group of people. The CEO’s of the companies are corrupt and make capitalism look like its exploiting or imposing on society, other companies, other countries, and its consumers. Capitalism needs privately owned companies that have corporate social responsibility. For example, going green. Corporations need to do what is best for the company, shareholders, consumers, suppliers, employees, and community all by also being aware of the environment and the economy. If the government can adjust the regulations and auditing rules than it would be possible for capitalism to be moral.
It is true that all this power that big companies have are being given to them by "we the people". Do we know this? Yes, some people do. Do we do something about it? No. Why? Because still go to Wal-Mart, buy our food, clothing, entretainment needs and basically all the other things we need for our daily life, feeding these money hungry companies more money, and yet they are still not satisfied. There are some companies that pay the equal amount of money to their employees and still make a good profit but must of them are private companies like Wal-Mart that just care about getting more money everyday with out caring about the way they treat their employers, so my question is, How can capitalism be moral with not enough equality in the system? If you are rich you will keep getting richer and if you are poor you just going to become poorer.
ReplyDeleteWe must give credit to Wal-Mart for or those jobs that it creates which help the economy. A point that i will want to discuss is that Wal-Mart do abuse of their employers by paying them less money than what is should be, but its not slavary. Workers are not forced to work, they agree to work for that salary. Why would you accept a job if you are going to be complaining that you're not getting enough pay, that you're doing too much work, if you agreed to do the job earlier. "we the people" as the constitution says, are the ones killing each other, abusing each other treating in abusive ways. Why? We are the human "creature". We can be very ignorant, greedy, and "immoral" at some times, and this can ultimately lead us into our own destruction, not by anyone else, but by "we the people".
*Edit* (Pasted rough draft instead of final draft by a mistake)
ReplyDeleteHere is the final draft:
It is true that all this power that big companies have are being given to them by "we the people". Do we know this? Yes, some people do. Do we do something about it? No. Why? Because we still go to Wal-Mart, buy our food, clothing, entretainment needs and basically all the other things we need for our daily life, feeding these money hungry companies more money, and yet they are still not satisfied. There are some companies that pay the equal amount of money to their employees and still make a good profit but most of them are private companies like Wal-Mart that just care about getting more money everyday with out caring about the way they treat their employees. So my question is, how can capitalism be moral if there is not enough equality in the system? If you are rich you will keep getting richer and if you are poor you just going to become poorer.
We must give credit to Wal-Mart for or those jobs that it creates which help the economy. A point that i will want to discuss is that Wal-Mart does abuse their employers by paying them less money than what is should be, but its not slavery. Workers are not forced to work, they agree to work for that certain salary. Why would you accept a job if you are going to be complaining that you're not getting enough pay, that you're doing too much work, if you agreed to do the job earlier. "we the people" as the constitution says, are the ones killing each other & abusing each other. Why? We are the human "creature". We can be very ignorant, greedy, and immoral at some times, and this can ultimately lead us into our own destruction, not by anyone else, but by "we the people".
Juan Leon you are the best!! You made laugh so hard,when i read "we the people"
ReplyDeleteOk, Dr. Triff... Short but straight to the point....
After WWII; Banks took over and "literally" ruled the world since than...
After WWII; America became and over consumed its goods and food, and life....
After WWII;
The word Capitalism did not exist anymore...
I would call it the Greed..
But Capitalism itself is too beautiful to be compared with what we have today!!
Makki
There is no reason why Wal-Mart can’t be moral. If the store were to pay its employees higher wages and offer them less expensive medical insurance, then Wal-Mart would be considered "moral". Though many people consider it to be, there's nothing wrong or immoral about Wal-mart destroying its competition. This is simply natural selection applied to the corporate industry. The strongest survive and the weak die off. It is the principle by which all life on Earth has evolved, and it applies to all aspects of life, even Wal-Mart. She strongest don’t climb to the top by being moral, they do it by being the best and by stomping out the competition. The only real problem with Wal-Mart, is its unfair treatment of its employees.
ReplyDeleteDespite this argument, I’m not siding with Wal-Mart, I do agree that the company’s unfair treatment of its employees is wrong and immoral, but they get away with it and don’t care. If people truly wanted to end the problem, they simply need to stop shopping there. But why would people stop shopping at a place where they can get everything they need for low prices? Logically there’s no reason for someone to not shop where they can get the best deal. if more people were educated about the topic maybe It would have a bigger impact. It is easy to feel bad for the business owners who are forced to close down their shops, when they put them on a documentary and play sad music in the background, but from an evolutionary point of view there’s no reason to show pity on these people, because they have simply become the victims of natural selection
Michelle Estevez
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to be looking at capitalism as being immoral but some corporations can also be moral. I do believe that capitalism can be both moral and immoral depending on the company and also depending on their policies and the way that they treat and acknowledge their workers/consumers. Touching the topic of Wal-Mart I do believe that what they are doing is considered immoral. Their propaganda influences their public that Wal-Mart is the best out of all other competitors because they offer lower prices and a better selection for everyone but they do not show what is behind the scenes. Behind all of the “happy” workers in their commercials Wal-Marts workers are actually dreading working there. They are overworked, underpaid, and not offered any benefits for themselves or their family. This is a perfect example of capitalism being immoral but not all corporations are this way.
Nordy Perez said
ReplyDeleteWalmart does treat their employees bad by not giving them the benefits they deserve. like vanessa said we should do something about it to give them the benefits they deserve. That being said capitalism has always been an issue but the real problem is the knowledge that we the people don't have about it. These corporations are able to get way with what they do one because no restricts them for what they do and seconded people don't seem to care. Corporations have always done it immoral because it's effective and like I said before no one restricts them. We the people have to let them know that we will not stand for there immoral acts. This country has always been about we the people and what we allow is what will happen. If capitalism is immoral it's because we have allowed them to have that opportunity. If we don't acknowledge what they do is wrong and let them know we won't stand for this then it will continue. One way we can start is by educating others of what these corporation do and how they are immoral and to stand against it.
Raquel Miller
ReplyDeleteCapitalism I think there could be some form, if we as a community were to come together than maybe we could stop the corporation from getting out of control. An example of what I’m talking about is how the company treats it employees. Saying that they have to apply for Medicaid and being deceitful. I think that we as people should find a way to protest against their company. But the more I think about there will not be a change. Mostly because our people refuse to pay for higher goods like food, clothing, etc. They rather pay the lower cost because they want more.I also think that we people should take some responsibility we are what drives their business. And if we continue to allow this things will stay the same. I think that some good ideas for a least trying to make the corporation become more morals by talking to the head person in charge and having community outreach meetings. It will take a lot to try and do something about this problem. With that being said if the corporation continues to make money they would not really care about anyone as long as the money keeps rolling in they are satisfied.
Being a capitalist shouldn’t be an excuse for Wal-Mart’s immoral actions. There are moral capitalists out there. I agree that sometimes being nice get you nowhere, especially dealing with money, but one can only take it so far. What Wal-Mart is doing is biting the hands that feed them.
ReplyDeleteMetaphorically, if a mother is feeding her baby and the baby bites her finger, she is not going to stop feeding her child. Same situation with Wal-Mart, they know that regardless of what they do, they are always going to have loyal customers. Same situation with their employees- they know that the economy isn’t doing well, so there will always be someone waiting to replace each employee. They don’t think about the welfare of their employees. All they know is that they’re making higher profit by paying their employees less. As egoists, they’re thinking “we’re making high profits, so whatever it is that we’re doing must be right.” As professor Triff said, “like the Roman Empire, Wal-mart will start to deteriorate from the bottom up.”
But as of now, how do we kill this monopoly-like corporation? The answer simply, “DON’T SHOP AT WAL-MART.” Next time you decide to shop there, think about how badly that bite hurts.
Jessica Jean-Baptiste